General Chang

I know you meant this tongue-in-cheek, but to answer your question, no, I did not wash out of pilot training. I have an admiration for our rated force. I also appreciate the support force and recognize their value. As few support officers peruse the BODN blogs (compared to operators), I want to make sure they understand the importance of their contributions. As for those working tirelessly on staffs, thank you, thank you, thank you for what you do.

Agree...trying to head off a "rated v. non-rated" argument at the pass by conceding we are an AF run by pilots (as we should be...it is the Air Force, after all). Distinguishing Line AFSCs at promotion boards is a discussion that continues and is worth considering, although I don't think you would see a drastic difference in the promotion rates if it were to occur. Promoting more pilots simply because they passed through a screening when the majority of them were 21-22 years-old is not (and actually 16-17 years-old based on your USAFA argument). Goodness, most of you complain that we identify our "high speeders" too early...now you want to give certain people an asterisk at the Board because they competed for pilot slots when they were still kids? I'm sorry...that one is a non-starter. I'm a lucky man to have your vast expertise fixing all of my daily mistakes. Thank you sir.

I'm proud of the personnel work my FGOs and I have done on more issues than you could count. Deride it, doesn't matter...but I welcome positive, constructive thoughts, not the drivel you often post. You sound like a bitter squadron CGO that has never been exposed to complicated, strategic issues (hit the nail on the head, didn't I?).

Curious...compared to our brothers and sisters in other services, our personnel system is a bright light. We have cut our requisite bottom 10% performers (which became only the bottom 2% or so, thanks to voluntary separations) and are not facing involuntary separations in 2015. If sequestration hits again, thanks to last year's VSP, we can get rid of a few more underperformers without extreme stress on the system, but we're anticipating that will not be required. We revamped the EPR. Our list of stressed career fields is remarkably low, and we have a plan to retain our critical RPA officers by offering more money. Trust me, we are the envy of the other three services. Have some pride in your AF leadership, particularly in A1, because we've made remarkable strides shaping the force for the 2020s.

Very well. If you leave, I wish you well. If you stay, I hope you become an asset, not a hindrance, to your leaders who are doing their best to shape the future of the most lethal force on earth.

Affirmative. Commanders use this as a "tool in the kit," which will probably upset some people on this forum. However, you can have confidence in a system where commanders at the lowest levels are able to either "push" or "hold back" guys, depending on the situation, that they feel have future leadership potential. The "big hand in the sky" doesn't control your fate, your squadron commander does. Which means...ultimately, you control your own fate.

Champ, I normally don't quote from your posts because your thoughts are bitter and unhelpful. Today is no exception. Gentlemen, I truly believe you are not the heinous, bitter officers in real life that you appear to be on this blog, as you hide behind your avatars. If you are, then I ask that you really consider what comes out of your mouths as you "counsel" the next generation. The AF personnel system is not/has not ever been out to disadvantage rated officers (as is evidenced by the overwhelming number of rated Colonels who become Generals), nor are the tough personnel decisions over the last few years taken lightly or without a good deal of research. If the system and the leaders of that system bother you to the point of losing sleep, then get off of your computers and do something about it. Work your tails off and become senior leaders yourselves. Yes, it takes hard work and sacrifice, but if you feel so strongly that things are horrible, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I would welcome your fresh, positive ideas in the puzzle palace. When you complain every waking moment, you are of little value to your family, your unit, or the Air Force at large.

To each his own. Unlike you, I do not begrudge flyboys who take that career path. However, for the sake of any unfortunate souls that you lead, I hope that you do not present your anti-careerist thoughts to them (if you're even a flight commander, which I know, from an "opportunity for true leadership" perspective, doesn't mean as much in the rated community as it does the non-rated). Your hatred for those of us who were selected to "fill the leadership squares" is unbecoming and disturbing. If you have subordinates, do them a favor and "hide" your...brand...of leadership.

Thank you.

Thank you. I was beginning to think the only people who post on BODN are idiots who think a guy with experience only at the squadron-level should be the next CSAF, but am relieved to see voices of sanity like Ho are still posting. Exec, school, command, staff...they're ALL important to round-out our future GOs. Proficiency in the primary job is assumed once senior leaders push you for the "box-checking" opportunities. It's never going to change, because it never should. Thank heavens most of you on this forum aren't in KLPs. I thank my lucky stars. Go ahead and bash me. Deep down, you know I'm right.

Seriously??? Guys, keep your head down, do your absolute best where you're planted, and multiple exec jobs will seek you out. Keep doing well, and you'll continue on to higher-level exec and aide jobs over multiple years. And yes, schools and promotions will follow. The AF only sends their best to these jobs; hence, the rewards at the end of the rainbow.

Guys, I have clearly failed to properly communicate here, and for that, I apologize. I do not, in any way, begrudge Vetter or anyone else who leaves the service; on the contrary, I salute them. My frustration is with the asinine posts on BODN that Vetter makes...it's enough to make a young guy question volunteering. Nothing Vetter has posted here in the last few days can be used to move the conversation forward. That's the kind of officer our young guys shouldn't emulate. Sorry for not being clear. GC Agree. di1630's post is ridiculous and bitter. THIS is what I was referring to...not leaving the Air Force.

Young guys reading these posts: this is the exact type of officer you do not want to be like. For every Vetter, there's 10 officers putting others ahead of themselves. Seek out those guys/gals for mentorship and avoid the "Vetters" of the Air Force like the plague.

Chip has my seal of approval: 2 thumbs-up!!

The 2014 program worked as it was supposed to, hence no need for the programs in 2015. Personnelist brothers on this forum: I know you don't get a lot of love here, but thank you for what you do every day- this announcement validates your efforts. And for everyone else...Gen Welsh's vision of quick cuts has paid off, as the spectre of cuts no longer remains as the elephant in the room. Enjoy your careers--it's a good time to serve our country.

Not sure 53% will end up the final number...TBD... Certainly, we dilute the diversity pool when we transfer more and more -11X/-12X billets to -16G...however, at the O-4 and O-5 levels, the majority of those individuals are mere action officers (very few branch chiefs, no div chiefs), so from a strategic perspective, the damage to the staff resulting from a lack of action officer diversity is very, very minimal. This will push more rated guys back into the cockpits, which is what most of you want anyway, if this BODN sample is representative of the whole.

Well...the good news is that he's going to school, which fewer folks are these days. The bad news is that he's essentially going 3rd look, which will likely damage opportunities for BPZ to O-5. My take...he's got no control over it...be the best doggone SOS instructor that school has seen, work his tail off & pick-up DG at ACSC in three years, and start mentally preparing for the awesome leadership opportunity that is Squadron Command...it will be here before he knows it.

I admit it's not the most elegant solution, but if the determination is made this FY to drastically cut back on 11Ms in staff positions (and all other flyers, to boot) in order to avoid cutting back on readiness for the required missions, then yes, it's a workable solution. Not all flyers will lose opportunities...the cream will still rise to the top.

"Bureaucratic"

DON'T DO IT!! Biggest scam in the world used by personnelists...trust me on this one...I would know. You will NEVER regret NOT taking the money. Herk/3-Hole/Lear/39 all correct. Officers should not only be convicted of this truth and never doubt, but they should be counseling their NCOs/SNCOs as well.

This is a huge opportunity for this individual that I'm betting 95% of the smack-talking pilots on this forum wished they had the record to compete for. My hat's off to your friend, Skitzo. Good work.

Tnkr, Reserving judgment until final bonus take rates are posted. There are several ways to tackle the aviator staff issue, to include using a much greater percentage of non-rated officers in rated staff billets. This would be particularly effective at the higher staff levels (HAF, CCMD, JCS), where rated positions are "over coded" as such. As a result, flyers with HHQ/Joint staff positions will have it made come board time...it will become an even bigger distinguisher.

TT, Without delving too deeply into "how we mix the batter," you'll find the take-rate numbers in October to be generally similar to last year's numbers. As for the "why," I ask you, "why not?" The ACP is a rounding error for the Air Force...a (nearly) free way to lock-down people's lives for 5-9 years. Nobody truly knows what would happen if we killed it (although I see a lot of "smart guys" on this thread that think they know exactly what would happen, when they really don't). Think of it this way: The AF is creating a "known" out of an "unknown" for a relatively cheap price. And wouldn't you know, for all of the banter on this site...we're still seeing plenty of takers. And we are grateful to those takers, because it helps our out-year programming in immeasurable ways (especially hard-to-fills).

General Condition, Just. Stop. Typing.

The coolest part of this thread is Champ offering thoughts on the same topic nine years later