What's wrong with the Air Force?

[Mustache Sally]

I guess I'll drink more this weekend to make up for the lack of drinking in Korea.

[brabus]

Oh there won't be a lack of drinking, maybe a slight decrease, but that's about it.

[Homestar]

I would take leave on Monday-Tuesday for my "lost" weekend.

[Jaded]

From John Q public's Facebook page: "Why treat a bunch of adults like overgrown children? Because by the power of undergoing the senior leader deification process, you can.

This will of course alienate those who behave and do nothing to stop those who won't. But it'll make a bunch of people feel better because they "did something."

[Karl Hungus]

From John Q public's Facebook page: "Why treat a bunch of adults like overgrown children? Because by the power of undergoing the senior leader deification process, you can.

This will of course alienate those who behave and do nothing to stop those who won't. But it'll make a bunch of people feel better because they "did something."

And that's what's most important. If you can't fix complicated issues that are present throughout society like DUIs, suicides, sexual assaults, and pretty much anything that involves humans being humans, then at least do something visible. Leadership is hard, it's much easier to just be a manager and claim you're a leader.

[Toro]

From John Q public's Facebook page: "Why treat a bunch of adults like overgrown children? Because by the power of undergoing the senior leader deification process, you can.

This will of course alienate those who behave and do nothing to stop those who won't. But it'll make a bunch of people feel better because they "did something."

Christ - can we make this guy CSAF when Welsh retires?

[Catbox]

"Senior Leadership" at its finest.

I worked for the current 7th AF/CC when he was the WG/CC at Eielson. I dont remember him being prone to gross over-reactions like this. I wonder what happens to the way these guys view their people as they get higher in rank.

[Majestik Møøse]

People change. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

[otsap]

Similar news out of Holloman. The new DUI policy as briefed yesterday, on CAF/Resiliency Day no less:

If a member gets a DUI, their squadron will form up in service dress outside the Wing building, while the sq/cc, shirt, guilty party, and supervisor have a meeting with the Wg/CC. Once the meeting is over, those 4 will join the rest in formation, and march to the front gate all together to change the DUI sign. They will depart for the front gate at 1610, with the stated intention of marching in formation while retreat plays at 1630.

Good times.

[Fuzz]

We still march in the AF? Great now everyone has to brush up on drill and ceremonies, only more brain nuggets and time sucked from primary duties. When's the last time a Sq/CC actually marched a flight?

[HossHarris]

Is that after being accused of DUI, or after being convicted?

[HeloDude]

Similar news out of Holloman. The new DUI policy as briefed yesterday, on CAF/Resiliency Day no less:

If a member gets a DUI, their squadron will form up in service dress outside the Wing building, while the sq/cc, shirt, guilty party, and supervisor have a meeting with the Wg/CC. Once the meeting is over, those 4 will join the rest in formation, and march to the front gate all together to change the DUI sign. They will depart for the front gate at 1610, with the stated intention of marching in formation while retreat plays at 1630.

Good times.

Does this mean if a fellow squadron member is the Wing CGO of the Year that his squadron mates can also claim on their OPR that they are also the Wing CGO of the Year? Or do we only share the bad things?

[otsap]

Is that after being accused of DUI, or after being convicted?

First duty day after the arrest/failed breathalyzer, or same day if it occurs in the morning. That's how it was stated anyway.

[nunya]

So... what if on one of these "resilience days" we had a mass breifing like in the paragraph above with a little extra highlighting the financial costs associated with it? Better than destroying morale with a clusterfuck formation. It's edutaining as well.

Nice job thinking out of the box and all. But save the Barney Fife lectures for high schools and FTAC. If I haven't figured out by now that drunk driving is dangerous and expensive, a shocking slideshow won't help.

[Jaded]

Similar news out of Holloman. The new DUI policy as briefed yesterday, on CAF/Resiliency Day no less:

If a member gets a DUI, their squadron will form up in service dress outside the Wing building, while the sq/cc, shirt, guilty party, and supervisor have a meeting with the Wg/CC. Once the meeting is over, those 4 will join the rest in formation, and march to the front gate all together to change the DUI sign. They will depart for the front gate at 1610, with the stated intention of marching in formation while retreat plays at 1630.

Good times.

That is insanity. If that is an official policy, the person who signed off on it should be fired. Today.

[Mustache Sally]

Similar news out of Holloman. The new DUI policy as briefed yesterday, on CAF/Resiliency Day no less:

If a member gets a DUI, their squadron will form up in service dress outside the Wing building, while the sq/cc, shirt, guilty party, and supervisor have a meeting with the Wg/CC. Once the meeting is over, those 4 will join the rest in formation, and march to the front gate all together to change the DUI sign. They will depart for the front gate at 1610, with the stated intention of marching in formation while retreat plays at 1630.

Good times.

Honest question: how is this even legal? I haven't been in the AF very long, and I'm trying to understand how commanders can get away with such inanity. I get it, they are "commanders"...but that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are limits. Anyone older & wiser care to chime in?

[Karl Hungus]

Honest question: how is this even legal? I haven't been in the AF very long, and I'm trying to understand how commanders can get away with such inanity. I get it, they are "commanders"...but that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are limits. Anyone older & wiser care to chime in?

The IG is set up to prevent such bullshit... but unfortunately, the IG is often as corrupt as the careerist managers who perpetrate this nonsense.

There are lots of people at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and 60 Minutes that would love to hear these stories. If the IG doesn't work out... there are certainly other options.

[BuddhaSixFour]

Honest question: how is this even legal? I haven't been in the AF very long, and I'm trying to understand how commanders can get away with such inanity. I get it, they are "commanders"...but that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are limits. Anyone older & wiser care to chime in?

There are limits -- the law and policies issued by higher ranking commanders. Dumb as it may seem, if it's neither illegal nor in violation of directives, then yes, they can do what they want. Should they? That's a different question.

[Vice]

Nice job thinking out of the box and all. But save the Barney Fife lectures for high schools and FTAC. If I haven't figured out by now that drunk driving is dangerous and expensive, a shocking slideshow won't help.

I disagree. A shocking slideshow will get you thinking about things differently, especially with your mirror neurons firing off at the sight of massive trauma.

Never got a Barney Fife-esque (had to Google that reference) slideshow at FTAC. All we did was go through a really dumbed down Myers-Briggs exercise so the SF kids could understand.

TBH Big Blue already treats us in High School-esque ways, so a shocking slideshow isn't much of a strech.

[magnetfreezer]

Honest question: how is this even legal? I haven't been in the AF very long, and I'm trying to understand how commanders can get away with such inanity. I get it, they are "commanders"...but that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are limits. Anyone older & wiser care to chime in?

Depends on your definition of legal...one base had a DUI sign by the front gate. No drama with service dress or anything, just a "Last DUI" squadron and number of days since the last, along with the squadrons that had been DUI-free for 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. It was all taken down since it was deemed "hazing" to ID squadrons publicly.

[sqwatch]

The IG is set up to prevent such bullshit... but unfortunately, the IG is often as corrupt as the careerist managers who perpetrate this nonsense.

There are lots of people at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and 60 Minutes that would love to hear these stories. If the IG doesn't work out... there are certainly other options.

The media has always been there for the military in our time of need.

Marching in formation is a skill I hope to never have to refresh, especially for someone else's fvckup and poor policy. That said (I'm just throwing a wild-ass guess out there), I think you'll be surprised that the WSJ or any other media outlet doesn't give a sh1t about stories headlined with "military officer thinks he's marching too much".

Never talk to the media.

[panchbarnes]

1-2 months ago secdef directed each service to come up with a plan to cut down on alcohol incidents and sexual assaults. This is lining up nicely with the Sept deadline. its just like the hi-vis rxns for sexual assault prevention activities.

Duicon anyone?

Edited June 22, 2014 by PanchBarnes

[Ram]

The media has always been there for the military in our time of need.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1403397438.867754.jpg

Marching in formation is a skill I hope to never have to refresh, especially for someone else's fvckup and poor policy. That said (I'm just throwing a wild-ass guess out there), I think you'll be surprised that the WSJ or any other media outlet doesn't give a sh1t about stories headlined with "military officer thinks he's marching too much".

Never talk to the media.

Shit yes, dude - this. So much this.

Now, by NO MEANS do I think that marching an entire squadron due to one man's DUI is the best way to handle something like this, so don't get me wrong. However, what I'm about to say might piss some of you off:

People on the internet discussing if marching to the gate due to a SQ DUI is an IG or "talk to the press" kind of matter make us sound like a bunch of dumb-fuck, no-good, booger-eating SNAPs. ("HOLY SHIT - HE MADE ME MARCH. IN MY ACTUAL UNIFORM!")

The IG and the press will only answer with something like this:

When you (and most of us here) perceive something as a bad leadership decision, do anything BUT start up with the stupid comments and whining. Instead, how about we discuss some ways to reduce ARIs that actually make sense? You never know...someone in charge might read it.

[Mustache Sally]

I really don't think there is much we CAN do, unfortunately. That's the problem. I'm in favor of finding and implementing solutions to problems, and we all do it often. I get annoyed at people who bitch about life but then do nothing to improve it, so I'm on board with you. However, the bottom line is this: we can't control others' bad decision making, and we shouldn't be punished for it. Before I joined the AF, I taught high school and had high standards for my students. When the students failed to meet those standards--by not doing the work required and studying--they earned the poor grades they deserved. Guess who was blamed for the students' poor decision-making? Me. Not the students or their parents. Somehow I was supposed to control their every move despite the fact that I didn't raise them and saw them for about an hour a day. Incredibly frustrating, as is the situation at Holloman.

What can we do? Here are my thoughts, and they've worked well for me so far: be kind to others. Be trustworthy. Treat those around you like professional, intelligent adults, not errant children or retards. Keep tabs on people without getting all up in their business. If someone's going through a rough patch, take him out to lunch to talk/vent/bitch and make sure he has something fun and constructive to do after work. None of this is mind-blowing, I know...but I have to say I don't see enough of this going on. We are all familiar with the "gotcha!" culture of today's AF and it's killing us. We will never have a 100% solution, but what we can do is simple and I believe it will have a significant positive impact.

Does anyone else have ideas? I'm all ears...

If Holloman's policy ever makes its way to my wing, and it happens in my squadron, I'll be sitting in my flight suit in the mission planning room teaching my students. I'll take the paperwork that comes after that.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Mustache Sally

[chim richalds]

Is it just me or do most guys you know actually rebound from a DUI to have a decent career. I know several that it was just a speed bump along the way for.