Herk,
I read the entire thing (over 3 days). I get the basics of the "shoeclerk mentality" out there. While I was there, I worked 12 hour days (absolute minimum of 12) seven days a week. I may have been a Comm weenie at the time, but I was well aware of where the pointy end of the spear is located. While Al Udeid is a critical node, it isn't directly the point end...though it can certainly be the thrust of the spear (pun intended).
I was also intimately aware of the lack of common sense out there when it came to regulations. Hell common sense when it came to LAWS seemed to go out the window too. I was once pulled over in my commander's vehicle (an O-6) for not stopping at a stop sign. The problem was that the line for the stop sign was about 20 feet from the sign. I even saw the blue & red light party patrol across the street in the ditch watching traffic. I came to a full 3 second stop at the sign. A truck at the intersection had his wheels turned as if to turn right (towards me). Since I was turning left, I went at the same time he did, but he turned the wheel and went straight for about a second before jerking the wheel right. I started to go, but then slowed down until he turned.
The airman (straight up buck airman) pulls me over and says, "You didn't stop at that stop sign there."
"I certainly did, but the line is way behind the stop sign. From where you guys were sitting [almost eye-level with the ground], you couldn't possibly see it."
"Sir, you didn't stop. End of story. I'm giving you a ticket."
Internally, I'm thinking "You idiot. Way to give 40% on your job instead of 100%. I'm glad you're the cannon fodder if we ever get overrun"
I take the ticket back to my boss and tell him the whole story. He states that he's glad I didn't make a scene and that he'd take care of the ticket with the Wing King the next day at the staff meeting. He did and no one else got hassled for my entire tour out there. I met that airman later on my tour at the bra. He took one look at me and walked away. I kinda felt sorry for the guy. He was just doing what higher ups (some SSgt) told him to do. I found out later he got chewed out by the SSgt who told him to do it. The SSgt should have taken the brunt of this, not the Airman.
Another related story about SF (why is it always these guys?): A couple of our Captains (I was with a tenant unit at the time that didn't fall under CENTAF) was going to pick someone up at the airport in Doha.
The guy walks up to the desk to check out and the SSgt on duty says, "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't let you go. You'll be out past curfew."
"Uh...we're picking one of our guys up at the airport"
"Is that official business or R&R?"
The captain looks at him questioningly. "Official business"
"Uh huh. Well, you didn't check the box marking it as 'official business'."
A little frustrated, he says. "Ok, then." takes out a pen, grabs the paper, and checks the correct box. He then hands the form back to the Desk Sgt.
"Sir, I still can't let you go."
Flabbergasted, he says "Why not?"
"Well, you commander signed this before you checked that box, so I have no way of knowing if he knows what you're doing."
"Did you read the block where it states what we are leaving to do? It says we are going to the airport to pick up a person in our unit. He signed off on that."
"Well, I still can't let you go. You'll have to get another form and get him to sign it."
"Listen, buddy..."
Now, if there's one thing I learned from this, it is that "buddy" is apparently some sort of key word you don't use when talking to SF.
"Sir, step back from the counter and place your hands on your head."
"What?"
"Step back from the counter and place your hands on your head NOW!"
He complies and the Sgt steps around the desk and begins to cuff him. Meanwhile, the other Captain says to himself, "Whoa! I ain't getting involved in this!" and quickly steps outside. Using his cell phone, he calls our commander. The commander (an O-6), whom everyone in our unit knows has a fuse about a quarter of an inch long, goes ballistic. He grabs every officer he can find, pulls our SF personnel off their shift (except one to guard the gate), and heads out of our compound at a high rate of speed...ok, they were going 35 in a 25 zone. Apparently we were going to war with the US Air Force! He rolls in with the 5-vehicle convoy and disembarks from the vehicle with a posse of 5 Lt Colonels and a lot of majors & other officers, plus 5 SF troops and strolls into the shack. Fortunately for the desk Sgt. the Captain supervising them saw the convoy leave and beat them to the guard shack by cutting across the taxiways. She released our guys and they were halfway to the airport by the time the Colonel arrived. She explained that the Desk Sgt would no longer be working that position and would be pulling pit duty for the next month for his actions. THAT was the appropriate action for this schmuck!
I think the problem out there is that people have too much free time because there are too many people out there. If you're in a combat zone, you don't need to be working 8 hour
shifts 5 to 6 days a week. You're getting paid extra to be out there, so earn it! Bosses can allow extra time off to run errands (i.e. run to the BX during lunch, go to the Bra to relax, heck even allow time off for those poker tournaments if there is nothing to do). We did it and it made for a VERY relaxing working atmosphere with everyone going in the same direction.
Currently, I work under the American Educational Toy Company (a.k.a. AETC) and they don't have it much better, but it is still in a lot of ways better than the 'deid.
Yeah. We can't have policies where people are using directly effective prevention techniques as opposed to responsive techniques. In all fairness though, they aren't the primary line of defense, they are the poor SOBs that have to clean up after the mess.
Yeah. Wouldn't want someone in command who follows orders and speaks out against stupidity...
