Liquid

You can make an anonymous IG complaint. If/If there is real misconduct and injustice being done, the investigation will reveal it. Many IG complaints are bullshit and filed by disgruntled people who do not have valid complaints. Those get dismissed. Others get fixed. Look, I don't speak for anyone but me. There isn't some magic network of senior leaders who coordinate actions. Linking me to all senior leaders is like me saying HeloDude speaks for every pilot in the AF. I value courage and make sure my subordinates understand it. I think the AF is screwing up by not putting courage as one of the core values. I despise cowardice and make sure the cowards are held accountable. You can do the same thing. The best thing you can do is pick a righteous fight, and fight it very publicly. Doing the right thing in a very public manner has a tremendous impact on all those who watch. Falling on your sword over something stupid like the "right" to say "so to speak" whenever you think it is funny to make a sex joke is not smart. You will rightfully get your ass handed to you for making a dumb ass stand. I can't believe how many people here argue for the right to say and do stupid, juvenile shit because they think it makes them better warfighters. If you are really being screwed over by a self-serving, overly sensitive, immoral leader, take on that fight. Keeping your mouth shut on things that are wrong, like the experiences you describe, is f*ing cowardice. Be an officer and step up and fix the wrong shit. Or go work in a profession where nobody expects you to lead and do the right thing, regardless of consequences.

Reprisal for IG complaints is protected by law. Don't be afraid of that. Keep doing what you are doing. Give AD leadership the honest and direct feedback their subordinates are not willing to give. Keep mentoring the young officers and enlisted. Trust me, nothing derails a shitty commander better than IG complaints. Use the system as it is designed to be used. Report the assholes and stop their progression. If you are the asshole, bitching about a good commander you disagree with won't derail him/her because the investigation will determine the facts. Most IG complaints are not substantiated because they are brought by disgruntled people who have no real grounds for formal grievance. If you see real misconduct, abuse of authority or incompetence, report it again and again. Anyone who reprises against you using protected communications and complaints (IG and Congress) will be fired. Believe me on that. The shoe explanation makes sense, thanks. I agree with everything you say here. Not bad for a nav.

Bendy, that was the best post I've read this year. Have you seen the MC-12 mishap video? Are you comfortable with the level of detail the SIB provided for mishap prevention? What can we do better to prevent future MC-12 mishaps?

My pilot training commitment was up in 1998. I aligned my tuition assistance and PCS commitments with my pilot training one so I had options. Airline opportunities were good from 1996-2001. Plenty of good dudes got out and plenty stayed in. There was a lot discussion about quality of life, pay, AF bullshit, bad leadership, retirement benefits, etc. The biggest factor impacting pilot retention is airline hiring demand, period. The airline job and lifestyle are very appealing to many people. I stayed in because I was good at it, I enjoyed it, and I didn't want to drag a black suitcase behind me on the way to a hotel for 10-14 days a month. I liked flying in the Air Force and the additional money and free time weren't that important to me. I decided to stay in before the bonus was offered. I took it, but I didn't stay in because of it. 9/11 changed everything for me. We saw many people quit their airline jobs to return and serve. After 9/11 I decided to continue serving until I was told my talents and service were no longer needed. We are a nation at war with an enemy determined to kill our families and destroy our way of life. I serve because someone needs to defend this great nation from the evil assholes that will attack us whenever they can. I'm still good at my job, I still enjoy it and not many people have the opportunity to do what I do. I enjoy taking the fight to the enemy and kicking the shit out of him on a regular basis. We are on the cusp of a big airline hiring surge and we will see retention drop. Good people will do what is best for them. All of those who leave service for other options should be genuinely thanked for their service and assisted with the transition to civilian life. Most will be combat hardened veterans who have earned the respect of a grateful nation and Air Force. They are not "quitters" or disloyal, they are incredible men and women who volunteered to serve honorably and have more than paid back what they owe for the training, resources and experience the AF invested in them. They are also not all disgruntled, or are quitting because senior leadership has lost their minds, or they are in mourning because their traditions have been ripped from them. We shouldn't attempt to broadly characterize why some don't stay and we shouldn't broadly categorize why people stay in. The reasons are complex and usually based on the individual's preferences more than institutional advantages or shortcomings. We should not tolerate talk and actions related to post-service employment at work. Do the f*ing job you are paid to do and plan for your post-service job on your own time. Stop the airline conversations in the pilot shop and make sure people are earning their damn paychecks. Flying hours and modernization will continue to be cut. Afghanistan and deployments will wind down. Staffs will be reduced. School opportunities will continue to be cut. Congress and POTUS will continue to cut defense spending and expect reduced costs. The all-time high retention rates we have seen will drop and we will have pilot production and retention challenges. Our all volunteer force will step up and meet the demands our nation asks us to meet. It will all work out.

I didn't. I said I wasn't sure because I didn't have the facts. And that I hoped his commander makes the right decision based on the facts. If/If he admitted to his commander or OSI or SFS that he was drunk, grabbed someone's ass, and was really sorry about it, they would have facts that could form the basis for administrative actions. If he was truly innocent and there were no facts showing misconduct, they probably wouldn't. My guess is that he was acquitted, but there is evidence of misconduct. I said I'm not sure he needs to lead in our Air Force. What would you do with the same incomplete information, suggest we put him in command of a recruiting squadron or promote him to Colonel BPZ? He may have already received an LOR and referral OPR for being arrested for sexual assault while intoxicated and fired from his SARC position. Perhaps we will find out what actions were taken by his commander and why. We usually don't because administrative actions are not publicly released.

There is a difference between civil jurisdiction/civil verdicts and administrative actions. He was found innocent in a civil court, not a court martial. He cannot be tried or punished again for the same offense under UCMJ. That doesn't restrict his commander from taking administrative action for the incident. What senior leader is considering him guilty?

I either assume 100% is true or I'm a liberal? Wrong. What exactly is unfair or discriminatory about this report/training again? Do you know what discrimination is? You don't like the author's assertion that WCHMs have unfair advantages or should be singled out as privileged? Ok, me either. Quit being so dramatic about this. Do the math. What percentage of the US population is military age MCHM? What percentage of serves in the military, all the way down to what percentage of those who fly AF aircraft are MCHM? I just guessing, but I bet the percentages go up and you get to your unit. How do you explain that? These authors probably (again, I haven't read the report) think it has to do with institutional and cultural advantages. Not saying I agree or disagree because as I have said, I haven't read the report, but I don't see what is pissing you off so much about this.

I don't either. I haven't read the manual or been exposed to any of the concepts talked about in the article. Falls into the "who cares what this study says" category. When the findings and recommendations impact training or policy, I might care.

Sure you can. Be aggressive and creative. When you are right, you are right. I think you are reading too much into it. It is not degrading or discriminatory. Yes, diversity and the protections EO enable make us a stronger and more professional force. You are naive to think there are not legitimate complaints and resolutions handled by EO every day across our AF. The quotes you reference from this document do not call for reverse discrimination.

Ok. I guess I am making the same point. Quit bitching and whining (bunch of words) on a forum and actually do something to fix the things you can fix. Mentor your crew or your flight. Provide feedback to your commanders and the support squadron commanders. Lead the Airmen you are charged to lead. Teach them to focus on mission accomplishment. Like I said, a lot of tough talk on this forum, but not a lot of talk about actions. I was directly addressing, with my holier than thou rhetoric, a specific example of seeing something wrong and doing nothing about it. I know plenty of commanders, chiefs and shirts who dedicate their lives to making the AF better, taking care of the men and women they are responsible for, and accomplishing incredibly difficult missions. I don't see the same AF so many here complain about. Maybe because I act more than I talk. Maybe because I am out of touch. I do learn a lot here.

Illegitimate? No really, how does it degrade them? This report obviously bothers you, why?

I haven't read the report. How does it degrade WCHM?

Have you ever talked to the CPTS/CC? Or the LRS/CC? Did you mentor the Airmen or the SSgt?

He got his ass kicked by a transsexual in the parking lot of a bar, while he was drunk, was arrested for sexual assault the day he completed training for his job as the AF Sexual Assault Response Coordinator and had millions, including politicians closely follow the case. The court found him not guilty but I'm not sure he needs to lead in our Air Force. I'm not sure because I don't believe everything I read in the paper and I don't know the facts. Hopefully his commander will make the right decision based on the facts.

False choice. It isn't dedicated professional killer or soft-skinned politically correct poet. It is dedicated professional killer or more dedicated professional killer. Nobody is suggesting we don't hire the men and women that have wild hair on fire, aggressive, creative and fearless traits. Our leadership does demand this. You should too. We also expect you to know how to treat all Airmen with dignity and respect. There is nothing brave, professional or honorable about degrading anyone, from 1CO, to "shoes", to women in combat, to homosexuals, to muslims. I'm sure the soldiers who pissed on the dead Taliban fighters thought they were bonding like only true warriors do, but they were not and they are not who we need fighting our wars. We can kill just as many people, just as quickly and precisely, without the stupid ass frat boy traditions, sexual innuendos and porn. We made a terrible mistake growing and encouraging a generation of officers who thought this was ok and that it made them better warfighters. It doesn't and it won't matter in a few years when we forget this minor behavior course correction. What is your point?

This is garbage. How are we chastising your so called "trigger pullers"? By cracking down on the stupid sex jokes and traditions? Misguided attempts to give the shoes a sense of belonging? How do you think you would get paid, get fuel, get parts, get weather, have the lights work in your building or any of the other thousand supoprt functions that we need to fly combat aircraft if there were no "shoes"? In a true peer fight you won't need "shoes", or they will appreciate you more? Do you really think the Army or corporate America would do a better job supporting you? Do you actually think you are capable of leading our force or a joint force into combat? Testosterone deficiency? #### off. If you actually spout this shit to our Airmen or young CGOs, I'll be glad to be a part of the process that sidelined you. I guess you have never had a boss you would rip your head off for saying juvenile crap like this. Corporate managers? We have more combat experience in our Air Force now, through all levels of leadership, than we have ever had. Not in peer air combat, but in killing the right people, protecting the right people and doing everything our nation has asked of the Air Force for over 12 years. How is there no justice? What injustices have the shoes imparted on you? Maybe this is troll bullshit, or maybe you actually believe this and spread it around. Never mind, just go do something else. Yeah, that courage thing is hard. You do know that if a commander or supervisor threatened you with a 365 or cancelled assignment for not doing something stupid you could go to the IG and have his/her ass fired in about a week. And you would keep this from happening to other people. And you've just sat on the sidelines and watched these heavy handed leaders make rank? So much tough talk from members on this forum, and so little action to do the right thing. If anyone threatened to cancel my assignment over a crew schedule disagreement, I would have their ass or have a different job. This is a dose of reality that makes me nauseous.

Bullshit. Your second sentence is baseless and without context. I told you to off for saying am a company man, try to jump higher and implying I am a cheerleader. Don't confuse professional disagreement, challenges and talking to your bosses about serious leadership issues with the anonymous and frequently whiskey influenced garbage dialogue on this blog. I get the broad generalizations about senior leadership, even when they are lacking specific details and context. I'm fine with being insulted by people who know me. You don't. Stick to the argument.

F*ck off. Comment on it yourself.

Good point. Glorify may not be the best word. Maybe glamorize, emphasize, value, push, honor... Glorify may be too strong for the point. Not sure how to precisely say bring sex into the workplace unnecessarily. Although our society values sex in entertainment and business, it has no place in the workplace, particularly in the military. So to speak, that's what she said and 69 are perfect examples. They are stupid f*ing traditions that belong in a frat house, not in the Air Force. So is nose art that is unrelated to history and heritage, but placed somewhere solely for the point of bringing sex into a situation. Painting "Strawberry Bitch" on a C-17 for example. I agree there is a challenge sending a message that sex does not belong in the workplace, while officially observing GLBT month. Nobody said command or leadership was easy.

I had to look up the definition of Janus-like behavior. I'm personally am not a big fan of the decision to honor GLBT month, but nobody asked me. DoD and AF guidance, with specific POTUS direction has directed we do it. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month Like it or not, it will happen. So professionally, I will comply with the lawful guidance. I probably won't attend the luncheon. Nobody will care. There is a difference between celebrating a special observance that recognizes the GLBT lifestyle and glorifying the sex part of it. You know there is a difference between allowing the celebration of the GLBT lifestyle being accepted into the military, and allowing the graphic presentation of homosexual sex acts in the work place. Glorifying sexuality with half naked "Strawberry Bitches" nose art at the ops desk is not the same as a fabulous GLBT luncheon at the club. Comparing the two is not useful.

Give me a break. You keep a list of reasons why you left, and add things that have happened since you left to rationalize your separation? Good thing you got out before it all got ruined. At least you get to continue bitching about things that don't affect you. Camera Shy came down because it was not appropriate on current aircraft. Preserving and honoring history and heritage are different than putting dated traditions (sexy, half naked women in suggestive poses) on today's aircraft or buildings. This nose art was not original and it was not destroyed, it was moved. I don't think it will ever be ok to paint Camera Shy or Memphis Bell on a modern AF aircraft and I am ok with that. Times and accepted traditions change. Our museums and our heritage should/should include WWII nose art. But we need to be careful using copies of the nose art in ways that present an unprofessional image that unnecessarily glorifies sexuality. Lining the halls of an ops squadron or the Pentagon with 25 prints of sexy nose art send more than a "we love our heritage" message. It sends a "look at all these naked ladies" message that is unprofessional, unacceptable and unwise. We should protect the museum history and not get too upset about seeing the nose art. But we need to be careful and smart about how we use it to glorify and encourage sexuality in the work place. So how is the good dude, who knows what right looks like and knows something needs to change, but is afraid to do the right thing because he wants to keep his job for now different than the CYA tow-the-line, don't rock the boat self-serving jerk you can't stand? Pick the righteous fight and fight. Be empowered to do the right thing, like helping the NCO understand the time and place to correct a senior officer. Let the Sq/CC know how you think it is bullshit that he is cracking down on you for correct the out of line NCO or Chief. Courage involves more than risking your life. I don't understand how you can criticize the careerists and those who "don't rock the boat", and do the exact same thing yourself. You made some good points Pawnman, I hear you. Stupid shit happens every day. Correct it the best way you can and move on. We need to close the gap between CSAF specific guidance and current efforts. This should not have happened. Either the squadron could have scheduled smarter to put the hours on pilots who needed the hours, or they should have landed with mission and training complete. If it was really wing cc direction to waste fuel no matter what, you should file an IG complain for Fraud Waste and Abuse. You can do it anonymously. Any money you don't spend on FHP can be repurposed to other O&M priorities. Wasting hours and all of the other resources you described is unacceptable. Do something about it. Or at least fix it so it doesn't happen again.

Not a typo, just a screw up. I meant the C-5 stall over Diego. It was one of the first simulator recreation videos with CVR and it scared the shit out of me when I watched it. All pilots and crewmembers can learn from other MDS mistakes. We shouldn't limit it to similar aircraft/aircrew only, and we absolutely should include FTUs. Mishap prevention is the goal, not limited distribution.

We don't give the FSOs the most effective tools they need to get the squadron flyers the lessons from a mishap. We give them AFSAS reports. We should give them the simulator recreation, with CVR, and brief the convening authority gets. You learn more from just seeing what happened in the recreation that you do in the report. The C-17 stall over Guam, the C-17 crash in Alaska, the C-5 crash at Dover, the MC-130H crash in Albania, the U-28 crash in DJ and the MC-12 crash in Afghanistan all have very powerful and informative videos that recreate the cockpit instrumentation, the relative aircraft position, and the exact crew coordination and communication that occurred. It is excruciating to listen to when you know the crewmembers, but it is an extremely effective teaching tool that will prevent future mishaps. We are allowing AFSEC and MAJCOM privilege policy, not law, to restrict our education and limit prevention. This needs to change now. The unacceptable way we handled the MC-12 mishap info clearly shows that.

Are you finished? Well allow me to retort... 1. We will be able to correct the purge over-reactions and bad decisions on heritage. They didn't burn the art. Nose art that was painted over can be painted again. Family pictures and magazines will come back. But the culture change will work and it will lead to a reduction in sexual assaults, and a reduction in the restricted reporting caused by mistrusting leadership. It isn't the only strategy, but it will help. We overcame racism and sexism. Our Air Force used to argue passionately that blacks, women and homosexuals couldn't serve. They were wrong. We will overcome the sexualized and inappropriate culture that tolerates sexually offensive material, sexual innuendos and sexually offensive jokes. It isn't very widespread in our Air Force now and it won't exist much longer. I have spoken to many, many female Airmen and officers who are very happy about this culture change. They think it will make a difference. I know you don't agree, but we will be ok. Pilots fled for the airlines in the mid to late 90s, when the sex traditions were at their peak and morale was high. Airline hiring is the biggest factor for retention, not word games, jokes, songs and porn. 2. Gym bags and sock colors are red herrings. They are rare examples of bad leadership on stupid shit. Put an Airman or NCO or lower ranking officer in their place for correcting you on stupid shit. Be careful about where you draw the line. Wearing a sexually offensive tee shirt to the gym (one that says "F*ck You" on it for example) should get you direct feedback from everyone. I've seen that shirt and corrected it. And nothing destroys a CGO's ability to lead and earn respect from the enlisted force than the selective enforcement of simple AFIs. Bitching to the finance Airman, crew chief or the 1CO about their professional failures while your sunglasses are on your head, your sleeves are rolled up, jacket is completely unzipped and your left arm has a Steeler's patch on it doesn't work. It will be difficult to have a conversation with a young Airman maintainer about the importance of discipline and following tech orders when you sport a Robin Olds mustache, are too cheap or lazy to get new boots or sport a fat dip in your lip. 3. Got it. Flying circles for 8.0 hours for no reason is ridiculous. You'll bitch about being told what color socks to wear, but when it comes to executing orders to train with your programmed flying hours, you waste fuel and flight hours to fly in circles. Do we have to give you the specific guidance about how to be good stewards of taxpayer money by turning fuel into currency and proficiency? The crazy thing is if you don't need to spend the money, it actually goes to someone who does. When you spend wastefully at the end of the FY, you are burning the opportunity for someone else to use those precious hours or ops/mx funds. And your current end of year spending actually has nothing to do with next years program. It has already been programmed and will be more informed with continuing resolution limits than it will be by last year's closeout. 4. A wayward word joke or misplace word is not sexual harassment or a hostile work environment. It won't ruin a career. Don't be so dramatic. Failure to correct the deviations (you know, be an officer), retaliating against those who complain, or constantly misplacing words and jokes, will rightfully ruin your career. Just have the courage to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. If the right thing is stopping stupid shit from happening, then stop the stupid shit. I can't wait for this mystical airman or chief who tells me what color gym bag I can carry says something to me. You will need to convince people that it was the right thing to do. Defending porn in the vault or on the network, sexual innuendos at work and sexual assault as the right thing will be very difficult. Gym bags, colorful shoes or socks won't. What we need is an officer corps willing and able to lead our Air Force into combat and at home, with the resources, policies, talent and missions we are given, not just the ones we want. We need officers who can motivate, build camaraderie, and lead people to do things they may not be all that willing to do. We need our pilot and crewmember officers to lead the Air Force, not complain about shoe clerks, socks and songs. We are at war for f*ck's sake.

It isn't just your BODN name, it is your constant message. I get that you don't trust senior leadership. Why do you think they don't trust you? Squadron commanders are expected to take care of most discipline issues. Some convening authorities and superior commanders reserve judgement on some offenses, like the most recent guidance on sexual assault. The decision to proceed or not proceed with NJP or UCMJ now resides with the SCMCA, not the squadron commander. Decisions to not prosecute sexual assault go to the general court martial convening authority (NAF or MAJCOM CC). Almost all of the other offenses are expected to be handled by the immediate commander. Superior commanders cannot exert undue command influence on their subordinate commanders. If they disagree with how a subordinate commander is handling an issue, they can lift the authority to discipline to their level, but they cannot tell the subordinate commander what to do. Of course command decisions and judgment are assessed by superior commanders. That is why they want to know what happened and what you did about it. It protects against the rare, but very damaging tendency to take care of friends or cover things up for selfish reasons. The AF is going to 360 degree evaluations for commanders and senior leaders. We just finished the first round of GO assessments, which were Likert scale answers to questions about integrity, abuse of authority, wasting resources, judgement, etc. There were also open answer blocks where you could write any specific feedback and stratify the GO's performance. All GOs were assessed by their peers, subordinate and superior GOs. The chief's plan is to push these surveys down to the 0-6 and squadron commander level, to use these subordinate and peer surveys to evaluate how well the commander leads. This will be a good thing. In my experience with common AF aviators, your perspective and attitude are not representative of them. Kind of like Frank the Tank going streaking. Not as many people are running with you as you think. How have warfighters been castrated at all levels?