BitteEinBit

Yeah, I think DoD misses the point on human trafficking. I did the CBT so I know human trafficking is more than just nice young ladies trying to sell juice at a bar. They are focused on the wrong things. I've bought plenty of juice from those places and never once did I ever get any poon for it....getting poon was a completely separate transaction!

Unfortunately, the reality is that promotion boards can't see 'leadership' on paper the way we see it in action. They can only determine 'leadership potential' based on what types of awards they see in OPRs...and we all know that even the worst douches can get those awards. The DG from my PME class wasn't the best 'leader,' but had the best test scores,. Coincidence?? Not at all. We don't select 'leaders' for promotion, but rather potential leaders. Somehow if someone is book smart, they have leadership potential. The current commander of my organization can't speak well in public to save his life. CC calls are painful. He definitely doesn't come across with any type of respectable authority...but behind the scenes he is an outstanding planner, and can ace the hell out of some written tests. He is a smart dude with no personality. It appears to be what the Air Force is looking for right now. Let me tell you about this new generation of Airman coming up through the ranks...they don't respect rank anymore, so you actually need charismatic leadership to shape this young bunch. It means using actual leadership (i know we've moved away from the traditional definition in recent years) and I mean it across the full spectrum from the Jr NCO all the way to the GO. Connect with your people, find out their strengths and weaknesses and exploit them to benefit the organization. Flashing your rank and demanding compliance isn't going to cut it anymore. Just think about who YOU consider your best commanders...did you follow them because of their rank or the way they connected with you?? Just a rhetorical question there. I've stopped compliaining about it, I have too few years left and not enough pull to make any significant changes. I will still try to influence young airmen my way while I'm still in. If GC is anything higher than an O-4 (possibly O-5 select) staffer at "the pentagon," I would be surprised. Not a personal attack on the man, but I've never heard senior leaders 'talk' like that until recently. Leaders motivate and offer solutions and rational explanations to issues...they don't just say 'suck it up.' If he is higher than an O-4, then I think I may be correct in my assumptions about the type of people the Air Force is promoting these days. They arent necessarily bad for the organization, just sometimes these types are better left behind the scenes making things happen. Personality is everything to a charismatic leader....just reference the Yeager and the 'he who shall not be named' threads.

Maybe he just didnt feel the need to be down there during the initial action. "yup, the helos are still enroute...." Who knows...maybe he solved all the world problems over a game of spades. Hold on, let me check the status of the world... (sarcasm)

You're correct...they are worried about a shortage. My first point was just trying to illustrate the relevance of the duration increase. I think what Chang was trying to say is that they aren't worried about the amount being the same because money (rather, the appearance of more money) is going to keep bubbas in service anyway (in theory). Jury is still out on that one...

This is a lazy man's force management tool...easier to manage a rated force with an (additional) 10-year ADSC than having to worry about how to keep them in at the 4th or 5th year when their ADSC is almost up/up. They bought another 4 years for more time to think about keeping you or RIFing you without your input. That and there is a potential shortage in our future ;) Insurance...

Sounds good! Looks like the Air Force has this all figured out! Close the thread and stop talking about pilot shortages that don't exist! I agree, probably no mass exodus any time soon...or even in 2017, but I will predict that the pilot exodus will be larger than the Air Force is anticipating. Regardless of what is on "the pentagon" power point slides, the airline aviation industry is hiring worldwide. Making an assumption about rated officer intentions based on everyone jumping ship to go to the "majors" (domestic) is pretty short sighted. There is a much larger hiring picture out there, and they are looking for bubbas with that worldwide flying experience the 11X glut has to offer.

FIFY I'm just playin' !! Even GC comes back periodically to take a peek at the Squadron Bar Daily Pic thread like the rest of us!

We really need more like him! Godspeed Sir! https://www.airforcet...-George-Bud-Day

Yeah, but it is at night and people might be sleeping and not see it coming! I never saw it coming...my Excel spreadsheet says manning is where it needs to be. Besides, we'll just throw money at the problem to fix it...no worries! Nothing to see here folks! Edit to add: Seriously though, I really don't see stop loss coming. But then again, I'm just a pilot and while I hear all these rumors about bubbas dropping papers, I don't know what is REALLY happening at AFPC. If only an expert from A1 would join the discussion....

Yes, did you find any vids??

Ok, how many of you fuckers clicked on that SandyBlaze.com link to see if the site was really closed....be honest you dirty f*cks!

I agree with everything you said. I wish I had the CCs you had growing up. My experience was about 50/50 with commanders I consider "good" in that regard. I'm not saying the SQ/CCs need to do all the work here...I know they are busy. But they need to create an environment that encourages the kind of mentorship we are talking about. Instead, the CCs are just identifying their weak swimmers and leaving them out to dry...the ole' "you're only as good as your last mistake" environment. Athletic coaches don't just take the talent they have and go with it...even the good players need some coaching to perfect their skillsets. The point I was trying to make about not having that kind of leadership is that even the FLT/CCs are too busy with their own developmental queep to do what we agree they should be doing for the up and coming officers. FLT/CCs in my squadron weren't made FLT/CCs to lead and develop...we literally shuffled them through so they would have it on their OPR/PRFs. No joke. I'd go on a TDY and come back and the flight commanders changed while I was gone. Again, we are too busy box checking these days to care about mentoring young dudes. And that is where leadership fails. I can only speak for my small corner of the world, but It is worse today than when I first joined. Edit: Erase extra quote...not sure why it did that

Meaning exactly what we are doing now, releasing them from service. I think we all agree that the bottom 5% are pretty easily identifiable, but if you're RIFing a dude for performance and he is surprised, that is a failure of leadership. All these secret codes in OPRs and PRFs do nothing to help us realize true officer potential. Who knew that "MAJCOM staff next" was a negative? All it does is give a secret code message to the board, while at the same time makes Capt Schmukatelli think he's doing such a great job that he should be going to staff next. Save everyone the time deciphering codes and just tell Schmukatelli that he's below average and he needs to do X, Y, and Z to improve. If he is truly an untrainable dirtbag, we need to let him go, but if you're going to "let someone go" or non-select them for promotion it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Be a leader, identify his strengths, and help him focus on those strengths to make the organization better. I may be way off base here, but that was always my understanding of what leaders do...they motivate people to succeed. Some won't make it...and it will be obvious.

I did a 4 month TDY enroute to my next duty station and still received BAH for that time at the previous base rate until I checked into my new duty station. I was authorized billeting at $39.00 per day at my TDY location, but I opted to use it for on-base housing (privatized) and was reimbursed the amount per month equivalent to $39.00 per day. I ended up paying some out of pocket for the house, but it wasn't much. I did have to submit receipts from the privatized housing office with my vouchers. The point is that I got BAH and housing reimbursement at my TDY location up to the authorized billeting amount. Unless something has changed since 2009, you should be entitled to both. Whether or not your family was with you (on the orders or not) shouldn't matter. You are still authorized billeting at your TDY location as well as BAH at your previous assignment until your check in to your new base. I'm anxious to see what FinanceGuy has to say. If what I said above is incorrect, then I was just joking and it never happened....

Jaded, I absolutely think it needs to be changed, but I think it is less the fact what we don't have awesome SQ/CCs and more the culture that we have created so deeply, that it covers every active year group currently in the Air Force. Our youngest officers are already thinking this way and I'm sorry, but it does not help the organization to have 90% of its people focusing mainly on doing things that will get them promoted. We need people focused on making the organization better...and in theory, the promotions should come. We are in the mess we're in now because for too long we've been making decisions with the assumption that we have unlimited money. Now we have to make tough decisions because of budget constraints, and our leadership doesn't know what the fuck to do. Their solutions to problems have been "throw money at it" instead of fixing the root causes. Now there is no more money to throw at the problems. It is time to fix them. It is going to take time to change the mindset. Upper management needs to trust their SQ/CCs to make the right calls on leadership potential and not just tie it to dudes who have AAS/PME completed. SQ/CCs are reluctant to support a sharp dude who doesn't have his/her boxes checked because they know their O-6 above them is going to not only override them, but then question their judgement. So we just do what makes the boss happy. WG/CCs are literally putting PRFs in separate piles (PME complete, AAD complete) without even looking at them. This is a sad reality. Leadership means knowing your people...and we are so strung up on e-everything, that we have resorted to e-commander's calls. Back to the basics. Maybe an E-mail For Life down day is what we needed to get MFs out of the office and down the hall for once. Fucking LEAD! Dupe, good point. I also got the impression he/she was not rated, but I didn't know how they identified their "winners." I stand corrected.. I guess in certain AFSCs the AF does care about deployments...

This is the only bullet I disagree with. I think it is actually the opposite. Seems like the ones who take these deployments/hardships because the mission dictates it are the ones most often being left behind. I've seen far too many "senior leaders" with less total flying hours after 15 years of "flying" than a some FAIPs after their first tour. I've seen deployed commanders(s..plural) (16+ years of service) who were on their first, yes FIRST deployment in the Herk since OEF/OIF. I can't even begin to think about how that could happen...but I know the answer in their cases. The secret to success in this Air Force is take care of yourself first...at least until the rules change. The AF doesn't care about how many flying hours or deployments you have under your belt...only that you check your boxes. Until that changes, these gaps will stay gaps in "the system." We keep feeding it, so that is how it will stay...for now. Ram, I agree with you here. These are issues GOs can't, and quite frankly shouldn't, worry about at their level. This is a GP/CC and below leadership issue. The problem is, our leadership is too worried about self preservation (see my comment above) to fix any of these problems. These "problems" just happen to be how one gets ahead in this Air Force...so we groom our future leaders this way...all to grow up to groom other future leaders this way. The Air Force forces us to do it...or you get sent home with nothing to show in the end. Yes, FLT/CCs and SQ/CCs should be grooming our young officers..yes, even the slugs. Instead, we just "evaluate" those young officers based on how fast they check boxes and "what projects they've done for ME lately." In an organization with good, effective leadership, you shouldn't have any "slugs" in your unit because you should have already identified them, "coached" them on how they can do better, and watch them excel along with your organization. If they don't excel, you give them honest feedback and let them go. That is what leadership should be all about. We just don't have much of that kind of leadership at those levels anymore in today's "take care of yourself" culture. That is why these "gaps" still exist.

Nicely played! I like the way you think!

HOLY SHIT! Those bottoms are only $38?!?!? SWEET!

Racist.... Yeah, I think the AF won this round. They saved a little bit of money, they added some time to some dude/dudettes ADSC since they aren't giving the option to backdate ADSC start dates for those who graduated UPT and were eligible since 1 Oct 12. Well played AF, well played... Hey AF, you should try that next year too! Either way, you guys that got the up front option should be looking to invest that shit! Sure, some hookers here and there, but you can easily double that in about 8 years (the money, not the hookers)...even with conservative investments! I'd be looking into real estate if I got the $125k up front. Slum Lord!

That is unpossible...I was told on another thread that there was a glut of rated officers with 15-19 years of service that we don't need to stay in. Either someone doesn't know what they are talking about, or AFPC didn't look a the rated force. My source is an anonymous self-proclaimed 'senior leader' poster on the interwebs who insists he knows A1 better than us pilot weenies, so it MUST be true! On a more serious note, maybe AFPC is beginning to see the light with their rated manning and the pilot hiring boom that keeps getting put off a year every year....nah, who am I kidding, that isn't a serious note either! Don't get your hopes up on this 15-year retirement deal. If the AF was serious about using this as force reduction tool, they wouldn't have so many restrictions. The Air Force knows this would trigger the mass exodus that they know they can't afford...especially on the rated side, and especially as they just sweetened the 'retention pay' deal for so many. It would be too soon... So, "no 15-year retirement for you pilot weenies, suck it up and be thankful you're even here" as an old quiet friend of BODN might say... Edit to add another cheap shot...

This is the COMM community's way of justifying their existence during a time of frustration...I mean sequestration. They have an old saying in the COMM world "you can talk about us, but you can't talk without us."

This should make the answer to my question about people wanting to punch right at 20 mor clear. I think this might be a litmus test to either test the probability of mass exodus or a new roadmap for a retirement plan. I bet the AF will get more applications than they can approve. Lets just hope this isn't another 'show your cards' VSP fiasco...

Just imagine...we are "making more" senior leaders using questionable qualification criteria. Don't get me wrong...we are promoting a lot of smart dudes who can manage things pretty well (for the most part) but lack interpersonal skills and basic leadership. We really should be asking the question WHY qualified dudes are turning down opportunities to command and lead. We should be asking why dudes are "just trying to make it to 20" so they can get out or at least skate long enough for that bad deal comes along and THEN retire. We should be asking these questions ESPECIALLY if DoD is even considering changing our retirement system. I don't know any dudes who say "I can't wait till I get to 30 so I can finally retire!" but almost everyone I know can't wait to get to 20 and get out...to me, that is more alarming. CH, you nailed it! We can get away with it because the economy isn't so great so no one is getting out...for now. We should really be concerned about maintaining minimum manning levels at a time there is a slowly improving economy and retention rates are at a record high, because what it means is that when the economy actually does improve and retention rates return to normal, you'll have a shortage of qualified bubbas as everyone walks out the door either "when I make it to 20" or at 10 years because their talents may be better compensated on the outside. It a complicated "readiness" issue, but a risk the AF is willing to take based on current administration foreign policy, national security strategy, and fiscal policy. IMHO, we are creating the perfect storm for a personnel and readiness disaster. I'm just glad the everyone all the way up to the SECDEF himself is at least acknowledging it and speaking up. I'm just not sure anyone above that is really listening...

The take rate will be close to normal. So, the stats will show that there is no problem with manning...and nothing will change. I think the AF has this under control now...

'11Xs won't separate until the bonus comes out," (according to an unnamed source at 'the pentagon') so we're good. The Air Force will just wait until late 2014 to release the bonus for next year to keep guys in long enough to miss the spring hiring boom. We got this covered! Oh, and as a teaser, I hear the bonus is going up for all MWSs with a bigger 'up front' amount...AAAAND I heard the stripper rumor is back on the table. Don't go separating too soon or you'll miss out! (Disclaimer: None of this is true...but if I was CSAF...it would be almost 70% true...probably 69% or so)