nsplayr

So you're for, what, a draft and a politically active military? Can't say I'm convinced that the AVF is what's wrong with the Air Force or the military in general. If you don't think the military or DOD is any more important in today's domestic politics than the BIA or Forest Service, take a look at who was furloughed, who was guaranteed pay in the ongoing government shutdown. Being mil or a affiliated civilian definitely has its perks and on top of that, active duty troops and veterans are used in a political context very frequently. Not arguing that the AVF is perfect; I'm a bigger fan of the "total volunteer force" as advocated for in Tim Kane's Bleeding Talent,but that's another discussion that's been had on the boards already.

Was sorry to read she was stationed at Hurlburt. She must truly have no idea what dudes outside the wire consistently experience and how cushy it is by comparison to be stationed at Bagram or KAF.

And in Libya. Enjoy your vacation in Cuba!

That at least makes more sense, but it just highlights how messed up things are at the Wing. There is zero reason why anyone going in-res needs to do the correspondence program yet here we all are. Also, I kinda disagree with the attitude that the only reason to attend in-res training is to check the DG box on your records. Does your CC really believe there is so little value in the training itself? Why not just look at correspondence test scores and whoever scored the highest gets "DG" and we could save a sh*t-load of money sending tons of people TDY for 8 weeks?

That doesn't make any god damn sense. Yes, the AF values SOS in-res DG, fine. PME done right has value for a professional force. But they should not and I'd argue do not value "practice bleeding" although it's basically being enforced in every Wing. There is absolutely no connection between doing SOS in correspondence and having the opportunity to get DG out of the in-res program, none. A Wing could send a guy to SOS in-res without having to complete the correspondence program TOMORROW if they wanted. If this was the "satisfactory" answer you got from your SQ/CC then whew, I'm sorry.

Awesome data. Hurlburt is at 33.3% taking the bonus if you count the handful of uncommitted folks, Cannon slightly better at 43%. Yikes! Granted small data set (41 between the two bases) but there's the state of your AFSOC force in a nutshell right there for ya. Yea, thank god they offered the bonus to the 1 guy in Bangkok...he was probably right there on the fence!

Use some google-fu and you can answer this one for yourself. Bingo...talk to the 16th and 4th SOS about how the Cannon churn is affecting their long-term manning. I'd love to hear senior leadership from any MAJCOM address their numbers directly, or better yet just release numbers by airframe, base and delineate how many takers were already school selects and we could draw some informed conclusions on our own.

Nailed it. Well said on all counts.

Damn straight I'm the best at my job and I think the community will suffer when I punch, but this isn't a priesthood and it's not unconditional faith that keeps me or anyone in uniform. There's gotta be a bright future for both the individual and the organization and career possibilities that match up well with the needs of one's family, otherwise dudes with clearances, masters degrees and combat leadership can and should be willing to "take their talents to south beach" so to speak.

I totally disagree that the use of 69 is sexist. The entire concept of 69 is mutual love and satisfaction. I'd argue in fact it's the most "equal" and respectful toward women of all the sexual references I can think of. There have been a lot of examples given of actual, no shit sexual harassment and improper work environments (making inappropriate passes at the unfairly hot female Airmen, viewing porn on GOV property, etc.) or just plain being an asshole (i.e. "who did you have to blow to get that patch?"), I think we all get it that that stuff is wrong. But what the witch hunt is really against IMHO is the sexualized nature of typical interactions between groups of predominantly young males. Good luck winning that fight! Agreed on all except honestly the bad economy of the last 5 years has probably helped retention rather than hurt it. I know my morale is higher knowing I got a raise every year I've been in the service while my buddies in the civilian job market have been getting slammed. This kinda makes me wanna puke honestly. Isn't this the same bullshit the WWII "greatest generation" gave to the Vietnam vets who were their children? It's a blame-the-accuser mentality that proposes that maybe I'm complaining about getting f*cked in the ass because I don't value service enough, and on top of that Uncle Sam really does needs some asses to f*ck so BOHICA! Excuse my french. The AF absolutely, 100% has demonstrated that I am nothing more than a number on a spread sheet and because they can only think in numbers, I'm gonna start thinking in numbers too...i.e. taking care of #1. For me that's my family and our future, and as much as I'd honestly like the Air Force to be a part of that I chose to pursue other opportunities. Does that devalue my service in some way as you seem to suggest? Do I not "value service" enough after 7 years and numerous deployments? Keeping the faith is a two way street and I feel like it took me an above-average length of time to get bitter and jaded...the AF and our leadership did not exactly meet me half way IMHO. I made all that kinda personal, but I'm betting there are plenty of other dudes who feel the same way who would be willing to speak up as well.

That's good to hear at least. Can't wait for this last part to be ops tested...my personal favs are sock color and tucking in your PT t-shirt while running. A) my socks are exactly as visible as my underwear while in uniform...IMHO out of the purview of regulation by "The Man." B) tucking in your shirt while running is the stupidest thing on earth and especially when our mandatory PT shirts somehow trap heat like a greenhouse. I look forward to my leadership having my back when I continue to disregard those stupid regulations and advocate for them to be changed in the AFIs. It's not that any of that specific behavior is specifically necessary or defensible, it's not. My point is that war fighters are not robots and they are not Ward Cleaver. Threatening paperwork on an officer is basically telling him, "Your career will end if you do XX" and I don't think a 69 joke or saying "so to speak" warrants that level of action. If leadership is so hard up to get rid of this stuff, so to speak, then LEAD and counsel your people in person about why their specific behavior isn't cutting it; leave the emailed threats of paperwork to the manager-shoe clerks we all rightfully deride. Those are all reasonable things, but just be aware that when High Command even hints that there is a potential witch hunt in the works, shoe clerks at lower levels often take it upon themselves to "be more restrictive than the parent regulation" in a manner of speaking. If you're the Boss at HQ and you're not losing sleep over morale patches, rest assured some E-9 or MSG (or Shoe-Pilot) O-5 is and will be kicking your war fighters in the balls for something you're not particularly concerned with because their perception is that "the hunt is on." As for suggestions as to how to improve morale, I offer up the following: 1. Don't blow smoke or BS people when you're the Commander - tell them straight up every time, even when it's bad news. Let lower-level leaders and bros polish the turd, just serve it straight up when you're the CC. Not rosy predictions either, expectations management is key. 2. Let flyers fly and think about flying - reduce BS to the lowest possible level needed to maintain operations. 3. Let men and women be men and women - drinking is allowed if you're over 21, and honestly there can be less risk of stupidity when people drink in the O Club or the squadron bar than when they go out on the town. As someone else mentioned, people used to go to the O Club because a certain level of debauchery was allowed. I've love to party in the squadron bar but it's pretty clear that, in the wise words of Admiral Ackbar, "It's a trap!" 4. Keep traditions alive - AFSOC example here, but the Commando Hat is specifically allowed in the AFI, let's wear them on Fridays because why the hell not. Same goes for morale shirts, patches on ABUs for our MXG/MSG/MDG brethren, etc. What is the harm? 5. Actually follow through with the CSAF's direction that line troops often know what is up and to empower them to make decisions. De-centralized execution and trust are key. Just spitballin' here but that's what I came up off the top with from the O-3 crew dawg perspective.

The slides are trending green boys, all is well and we're moving in the right direction! Seriously...if there is less sexual assault, great, but you're missing the point that the professionalism crusade is yet another reason your line flyers are less happy with what should be an awesome job than they once were. Doubt it will make a difference since we're all numbers on a spreadsheet and there are plenty of young bucks hoping and praying to be among those numbers one day. But hey, I'm assuming you come here to hear the real deal of what the typical O-2 to O-5 line flyer thinks so hopefully at least some of it is getting through loud and clear...morale is not high and it's things like this that continue to keep it down.

The point is there seems to be a lot of attention being paid to a very small part of what is causing actual problems. Is my using "69" in a sentence causing Congressional-level problems? Certainly not. What's causing the big problems, and what is unacceptable, is actual, no-shit sexual assault and harassment. I know you know the difference. Let's focus our limited amount of fire and brimstone on dudes who are actually hurting their fellow airmen and save the "counseling" for those inappropriately using 69 for the squadron-level leaders if they find it to be a problem in their squadrons. Threatening paperwork in an emailed memo is weak dick leadership and reeks of a witch hunt waiting to happen. Are "69," "so to speak," etc. somewhat unprofessional, probably, but then again I never was one harping on that professionalism should be the highest priority we pursue. Way too often those advocating that we act "professionally" in all circumstances are "funges" (fun-sponges) who are worried about CYA, their next promotion, and catering to the most easily-offended person imaginable. Can we start judging professionalism based on how we perform the mission and take care of our people rather than how often we use 69 and go out and drink on the weekend? I thought we were supposed to be professional mission-hackers and leaders of war fighters, not professional golden-boy Ward Cleavers.

I'll give that 6-9 days before someone slips up (sts).

Not the same person, the downrange story is from approx. 1 month ago and the new CVS Wing King was safely back stateside. Must be a new trend item in AFSOC though, I should send that up to OGV...

"Health and welfare inspection." My "health and welfare" certainly was improved by being loudly woken up about 2 hours after going to sleep!

It's still relatively dark even with the hallway lights on...those B-huts are fairly well buttoned up.

"Surprise cockbags!" I love it. Mirrors something similar that happened downrange...Wing-level Commander (AFSOC) busts into our B-huts while the Command Chief announces "Commander on deck!" Lights turn on, flashlights pointed at faces. Ya know, during crew rest and 24-hour combat ops...thanks Boss...

Also look into state-run 529s, many of them have lower fees than the ones run by financial institutions. You can sign up for any state's plan and use it at whatever college your kid goes to, regardless of it it's in that state or not. Since (I think) every state runs their own independent 529, they compete against each other as well as against plans run by banks and etc. so you get the benefit as a consumer of choosing. Some states also let you deduct whatever you contribute from your state taxes if you use your own state's plan, so if you live somewhere with state income tax consider using that state's plan if it makes sense and you like their investment options. I personally invest in Virginia's 529 for this reason...I'll be living there in the near future and with over 5% state income tax it will be nice to be able to deduct my 529 contributions. Comparison between all the states with some general 529 investing advice here. Nevada and Utah in particular are popular year after year, but various organizations issue rankings each year. Examples here, here and here.

I think it's more in comparison to Libya in particular and generally compared to other past conflicts that have gone on without Cngressional mandate ahead of time.

Shows $5.99 for me. All three volumes have always been free to borrow for Amazon Prime members.

Yes, new guts...meant to replace the PC-12 based U-28s. TBD on timeframe and final decision being made/money available to go through with it is the latest intel I have. Lots of moving parts associated with the future of manned tactical ISR both in AFSOC and the Air Force more broadly. Also TBD on CVS vs HRT for the first MC-12s if we end up getting and moding them.

Nope, not yet at least.

Combat Platypus was suggested to LtGen Fiel...just sayin'...

Truth.