What's wrong with the Air Force?

[donkey]

Saw this gem while browsing the AF recruiting facebook. You heard the lady, I don't know what you guys are bitching about.

[Duck]

Not sure if this belongs in this thread or the WTF one... maybe both. If only...

[Swizzle]

Blissful ignorance? Or straight up lies?

[one1]

Ignorance. When I was enlisted, I would have never imagined all of the bullshit additional duties pilots and other aircrew are responsible for. Out of all of the squadrons I was assigned to while I was enlisted, I've never seen an officer higher ranking than a Lt get an additional duty they didn't volunteer for. At the first flying squadron I worked at, a Lt Col was the DTS monitor. That was the additional duty an A1C was responsible for at my last squadron.

[brabus]

From what I've gathered over the years through various conversations, the vast majority of people outside the flightline (and even some on it) truly think we only fly, and when not flying are fucking around in the bar or otherwise not really do anything important. That leads them to the idea that pilots have a super easy life and have won the lottery. Just about everyone of them I've politely informed are speechlessly shocked when I tell them a quick 1-2 min description of the average pilot's "work life." They're so shocked that some of them had a questioning look as if I was spouting hyperbole to the Nth degree. I long ago concluded most of the non-ops people will truly never get it and there's little you can do to change that.

That said, the support folks who do get it are worth a million bucks and knowing one or two of them at your base can make a massive difference in getting the job done.

Edited April 17, 2014 by brabus

[SurelySerious]

I talked to a major (non flyer) from HAF A1 who thought that our squadrons were manned so that pilots could show up, fly, and go home, no additional duties. Not quite.

[Azimuth]

A lot of additional duties will go back to the CSS's once the UMD's for each unit update to have support personnel back in the squadron. One of the dumbest moves by Air Staff was to take away CSS's.

[Herk Driver]

A lot of additional duties will go back to the CSS's once the UMD's for each unit update to have support personnel back in the squadron. One of the dumbest moves by Air Staff was to take away CSS's.

Agreed, but the devil is in the details. Some squadrons got zero people when this happened last year. Hopefully, those problems get fixed when fully implemented.

Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

[hispeed7721]

That said, the support folks who do get it are worth a million bucks and knowing one or two of them at your base can make a massive difference in getting the job done.

Bingo.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

A lot of additional duties will go back to the CSS's once the UMD's for each unit update to have support personnel back in the squadron. One of the dumbest moves by Air Staff was to take away CSS's.

When exactly is that supposed to happen again? Are they happening at other bases?

Edited April 18, 2014 by Fuzz

[Danny Noonin]

I talked to a major (non flyer) from HAF A1 who thought that our squadrons were manned so that pilots could show up, fly, and go home, no additional duties. Not quite.

Was his name Chang?

[Beaver]

From what I've gathered over the years through various conversations, the vast majority of people outside the flightline (and even some on it) truly think we only fly, and when not flying are fucking around in the bar or otherwise not really do anything important.

God, I love being a Reservist.

[guineapigfury]

Was his name Chang?

Craniumshot.

[dream big]

Agreed, but the devil is in the details. Some squadrons got zero people when this happened last year. Hopefully, those problems get fixed when fully implemented.

Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

We have a new CSS comm type airman working in our squadron, it's taken her more than a month to get people folder access. She is pretty much useless.

[brabus]

God, I love being a Reservist.

God, I hate you Beaver! Now, back to my AD TPS reports. Fuck, forgot another cover sheet.

Edited April 18, 2014 by brabus

[RTB]

A lot of additional duties will go back to the CSS's once the UMD's for each unit update to have support personnel back in the squadron. One of the dumbest moves by Air Staff was to take away CSS's.

Unfunded mandate. Someone forgot to coordinate that announcement correctly at the Air Staff to ensure the good idea was accompanied by actual personnel plus ups. CSS re start plan did not include any actual billets so essentially nothing but a good sound bite. I wish I hadn't spent 6 months in a job where I had to learn that...

Essentially, your CSS is just a repackaging of your UPC and secretary (if you have one) with new job descriptions.

[guineapigfury]

We have a new CSS comm type airman working in our squadron, it's taken her more than a month to get people folder access. She is pretty much useless.

Pics?

[Jaded]

Unfunded mandate. Someone forgot to coordinate that announcement correctly at the Air Staff to ensure the good idea was accompanied by actual personnel plus ups. CSS re start plan did not include any actual billets so essentially nothing but a good sound bite. I wish I hadn't spent 6 months in a job where I had to learn that...

Essentially, your CSS is just a repackaging of your UPC and secretary (if you have one) with new job descriptions.

Wtf.

[Karl Hungus]

Unfunded mandate. Someone forgot to coordinate that announcement correctly at the Air Staff to ensure the good idea was accompanied by actual personnel plus ups. CSS re start plan did not include any actual billets so essentially nothing but a good sound bite. I wish I hadn't spent 6 months in a job where I had to learn that...

Essentially, your CSS is just a repackaging of your UPC and secretary (if you have one) with new job descriptions.

How can we trust the Air Staff to get the big things right, if they can't even take care of the little things? Or does AF logic, like integrity, only work when it's convenient?

[LookieRookie]

Unfunded mandate. Someone forgot to coordinate that announcement correctly at the Air Staff to ensure the good idea was accompanied by actual personnel plus ups. CSS re start plan did not include any actual billets so essentially nothing but a good sound bite. I wish I hadn't spent 6 months in a job where I had to learn that...

Essentially, your CSS is just a repackaging of your UPC and secretary (if you have one) with new job descriptions.

Exactly what happened with our squadron. They became "the CSS" but still have to go through the MPF to update personnel information because they "can't" have access to it.

Edited April 18, 2014 by LookieRookie

[17D_guy]

We have a new CSS comm type airman working in our squadron, it's taken her more than a month to get people folder access. She is pretty much useless.

Prob not her fault. As of last month the ESD had a backlog of 10K+ tickets for that sort of thing... on purpose. The CC decided that was where they would take the cut to work other tickets instead. Who knows what it's at now.

We've got folks where I'm at going through aircrew upgrade training that never have access to the folders in the training Sq's. Good luck mission planning. Hell, I don't have access to some folders.

Additionally, they're switching the AFSCs of those Amn.. AGAIN. From 3A, to 3D and, back to 3A. Now, word came down that the billets would be assigned to Sq's, but in reality you'll probably see them sucked up to the groups to work their stuff. So.. yea.

Oh, did you know you can submit your own ticket to the ESD now? Have fun with that.

[Guest]

Oh, did you know you can submit your own ticket to the ESD now? Have fun with that.

ESD Phone Numbers (All three numbers connect to the same main line)

DSN: 945-2900 or DSN: 510-435-7337 or Comm: 210-925-2900

ESD Phone Tree

1: Unclassified Request

1: User, Organizational, and, Group accounts

2: Software/Workstation/Printer problems

3: Mobile devices (Government Blackberry/Laptop)

4: Network and Sharepoint access

5: E-mail problems

6: Everything else

2: Classified Request

3: Installation Comm Personnel Only

4: Medical Systems (MESD)

9: Commanders ONLY (Tier 1 & 2 users)

The MDG gets a separate team for "medical" systems problems, but it includes support for normal shit like printers, network access, e-mail, etc., so stuff it gets routed and fixed pretty fast.

[ThreeHoler]

Prob not her fault. As of last month the ESD had a backlog of 10K+ tickets for that sort of thing... on purpose. The CC decided that was where they would take the cut to work other tickets instead. Who knows what it's at now.

We've got folks where I'm at going through aircrew upgrade training that never have access to the folders in the training Sq's. Good luck mission planning. Hell, I don't have access to some folders.

Additionally, they're switching the AFSCs of those Amn.. AGAIN. From 3A, to 3D and, back to 3A. Now, word came down that the billets would be assigned to Sq's, but in reality you'll probably see them sucked up to the groups to work their stuff. So.. yea.

Oh, did you know you can submit your own ticket to the ESD now? Have fun with that.

So, why do we not use MS Security Groups? Then you can add a person to the group that already has folder access, email org account access, and proper SharePoint permissions...

Why are we still doing it the old and very hard way?

Yes, setting up security groups properly is an as slain, but once they're set up, you can actually share your SharePoint site with other organizations with about three mouse clicks and a few keystrokes.

[17D_guy]

ESD Phone Numbers (All three numbers connect to the same main line)

DSN: 945-2900 or DSN: 510-435-7337 or Comm: 210-925-2900

Stuff

My fault; I wasn't clear. You can fill out your own tickets online through the ESD portal. Go ahead and let me know which option is to allow access to an org box that a normal user would understand. I've been doing this job for over a decade and I was still confused given the myriad of options.

So, why do we not use MS Security Groups? Why are we still doing it the old and very hard way? Yes, setting up security groups properly is an as slain, but once they're set up, you can actually share your SharePoint site with other organizations with about three mouse clicks and a few keystrokes.

Why would you assume we wouldn't? We're getting ready to slay this beast where I'm at. However, the tools (WebDRA) that AFSPC/ESD/Whomever have left us require about 10 min to change permissions on a single folder doing security groups the right way. Lag, lag, lag.. timeout. Gotta restart the app, wait for it to register, rinse/repeat. We've started a swing shift to see if the lag improves during off hours.

Then we get into the possible foul ups since we've had (local) admin's for years assign personnel directly to folders that the local CS has to clean up..and then implement security groups, with the aforementioned crap tools. Make sure all the security groups are built correctly (hello IAOs), rip the individual users off the folders, and then add security groups. All the while hoping the tools located at another base don't lag/die, or the Domain Controllers don't lag/die.

How hard is that to do? We're still attempting to do it in just the test Sq (Comm) months later.

We've called around and most bases either are just letting the tickets stack up for their users, or are assigning the permissions to individuals...the old/hard way, which is now easier since the tools are crap. Oh.. and the other option is some bases (ex. Beale) are using other bases (ex. Edwards) admin tools since their lag is lower.

Why? Who knows, certainly not the ESD or higher level admins.

You guys want to talk about leaders having no idea what's going on at base level? Talk to your Comm. Sq CC or his/her Ops Flt CC and the challenges they're attempting to overcome. We're getting hammered for "poor metrics"...which the ESD can't/won't explain to us.

Last grenade - AFSPC is starting to ask that all IAO's be DoD 8570 certified (Sec+, Net+, etc) to hold that additional duty. I have Lt Col's that are IAOs due to manning/flying schedules. This is the same training my Amn are required to graduate tech school and be awarded their 3 level.

Edited April 19, 2014 by 17D_guy

[Breckey]

Now, word came down that the billets would be assigned to Sq's, but in reality you'll probably see them sucked up to the groups to work their stuff.

Already happened here. We have two 3Ds assigned to our sq but the group owns them. We even write their EPRs but they don't do any work for us.