What's wrong with the Air Force?

[Fuzz]

Has anyone seen Gen Goldfein's letter about the squadron being the beating heart of the Air Force? I could be wrong but it looks like he plagiarized JQPs "fake speech". I'm still holding out but things might be looking up.

[pawnman]

8 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Has anyone seen Gen Goldfein's letter about the squadron being the beating heart of the Air Force? I could be wrong but it looks like he plagiarized JQPs "fake speech". I'm still holding out but things might be looking up.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if Gen Goldfein does anything to fix the squadrons.  Step one would be manning.

[Lord Ratner]

Wanna help? I'm at sos now and we're doing the "think tank" on that very letter. Think tank sounds lame, I know, but they have at least given us free reign to design the process. I set up a Reddit page for people to add ideas and vote on others. The more we get, the better. You'll need a Reddit account, but if you're like me and have been bitching about this topic for years, this is a way to be heard. Anyone here who knows me knows I won't sugar coat the feedback for staff officer consumption, and we are presenting the info to at least two generals at the end of the month.

https://www.Reddit.com/r/SquadronFocus

Please at least go and vote on all the ideas in there. Thanks,

Seth

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[Duck]

Ratner you know that Think Tank is only designed to give the O-6 a bullet point to champion to his bosses right? But at least you will walk away with a DG for your efforts (most likely).

[Lord Ratner]

I'm no stranger to Air Force programs. If you think I'm getting DG, you should have a chat with my Flt/CC here. And since my promotion board to O-4 will be completed before I finish SOS, it wouldn't do much anyways. 

I'm doing it because I raged long and hard for years about the title of this thread. Period. They scrapped the original think tank and targeted this one to the CSAF's letter, and I like most others here thought the letter was a spot-on representation of the things we've bitched about for years on BO.net.

I'm no fool. I had dreams of unicorns and magic carpet rides when the last CSAF got rid of Blues Mondays. I will not be similarly enraptured by mere letters from the new CSAF. But after being here for only a week and listening to the various levels of leadership at AU talk about the problems, I haven't found much to disagree with.

I spent all day yesterday in Destin with a beer in my hand soaking up some significant skin cancer fuel. Friday we ate crappy tacos and watched our classmates hit each other in the face with padded sticks, Thursday we went to trivia night at a bar, Wednesday we ate brats and watched a baseball game. Again, all with a beer in my hand. Classes have been almost entirely focused on leadership theory and application, which pilots often lack based on our limited CGO leadership opportunities. And the geeky "think tank" instructions were to use whatever means and methods we choose to gather unfiltered opinions from across the ranks and figure out how to begin solving (it's only four weeks, after all) the single greatest issue fueling bitch-fests in every flying squadron heritage room AF-wide. 

Maybe I'm just the luckiest pilot ever to go through SOS, but I gotta say fellas, if this is the experience we've been raging against for so long, maybe we really have lost touch. I wouldn't have turned SOS down three times if I knew it was like this. 

Anyways, /rant. Not attacking you, Duck, but I've been facing an existential crisis here because I was expecting to be the lone naysayer in an ocean of shoe-clerk Kool-Aid, and even when the SNCO Academy students came over to "cross-talk," we had a hard time finding topics to disagree over. 

Maybe things are so bad that everyone at the squadron levels, officer and enlisted, are finally aligning against the same malignancy. Or maybe they gave me a Kool-Aid enema on day one and I don't remember it. Either way, I could use the help from the one forum that has done more to articulate the problems we face than any think tank or focus group Maxwell could ever assemble. And all you have to do is click some up and down arrows in a website. 

 

[WTFAF]

Maybe I'm just the luckiest pilot ever to go through SOS, but I gotta say fellas, if this is the experience we've been raging against for so long, maybe we really have lost touch. I wouldn't have turned SOS down three times if I knew it was like this.

Sounds about 180 out from my experience in that shithole. But glad to hear things are much improved for you. Seriously. Although I'm jaded to the point that I'm not sure things will change AF-wide for the better. But I'm willing to suspend disbelief, and check out your work. Keep it up.

[hispeed7721]

Maybe I'm just the luckiest pilot ever to go through SOS, but I gotta say fellas, if this is the experience we've been raging against for so long, maybe we really have lost touch. I wouldn't have turned SOS down three times if I knew it was like this. 

 

I have to agree with WTFAF. And I think a big part of it is the course timeline being cut in half. It's awesome if the senior AU leadership really is finally starting to lean in the correct direction, but that's definitely a new development.

When I was there several years ago the discussion in the flight room was great (over half our flight was flyers) and our flight/cc was a reservist who I wish could have been a group or wing/cc on AD. But outside the flight room was some of the worst and most disillusioned leadership I've ever seen firsthand

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[sqwatch]

Sounds about 180 out from my experience in that shithole. But glad to hear things are much improved for you. Seriously. Although I'm jaded to the point that I'm not sure things will change AF-wide for the better. But I'm willing to suspend disbelief, and check out your work. Keep it up.

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I had an experience similar to ranter's. I met some good folks, had a good flt cc, learned a thing or two and graduated with my flight ranked fifth from the bottom.

Edit: why do I need a minor in script editing to make posts

[zmoney]

4 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:

I'm no stranger to Air Force programs. If you think I'm getting DG, you should have a chat with my Flt/CC here. And since my promotion board to O-4 will be completed before I finish SOS, it wouldn't do much anyways...

 

I attended the long course a few years back. I thought the course was too long, but I enjoyed socializing with my flight and reconnecting with old friends.  I didn't think the formal course material was that great, but the classroom discussions usually made up for it.  As far as the think tank, the one during my tenure seemed to be a waste of time.  The participants from my class said the staff had already drafted a solution and used the students to research and develop support for it.

Best of luck. Hopefully your positive energy will help effect positive change.  When you get back, make sure you share your thoughts on the course with your peers.

[BashiChuni]

think tank huh? 

[Fuzz]

Ive heard that the current president of AU is a different breed. Example: https://www.thestrategybridge.com/the-bridge/2016/7/10/monday-musings-lt-gen-steven-kwast

What do you want your legacy to be?

I would like to know that during a time of profound and often unrecognized change, I did my part to nurture and protect leaders who could overcome the tyranny of today’s inbox to build the right military for the future. I hope my legacy will honor the three groups who impacted me so significantly. I hope the tribesmen of my youth can see their wisdom and humility at work in my life; I hope my Kennedy school colleagues find that our enduring relationships have been like “iron sharpening iron” for one another; and I hope that I too have been a curator-leader, taking smart risks, setting conditions, removing obstacles, and allowing those around me to flourish. 

[Duck]

I had a great time at SOS. Only 3 pilots in my flight but we had 3 think tankers too. Re-reading my post I realize I came off as passive aggressive towards Ratner, definitely not my intention. When I went through CZ was in charge and I saw him take the Think Tank work and present it to the AETC Commander as his own. I was already pretty jaded on senior management but that was the tipping point.

[panchbarnes]

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by panchbarnes

[StoleIt]

9 hours ago, panchbarnes said:

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

 

 

Yeap, that was entertaining. Gave the flight suit haters in my group a lot of ammo too.

[Guest]

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

:beer:

 

Goodfellow?

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[Prosuper]

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

[pbar]

Cel nav isn't a worthwhile skill IMO as it's been made obsolete by laser ring gyro INS.  Fielded INS in USAF aircraft have low enough drift rates that learning cel nav isn't necessary especially if you have a decent radar to update the INS with a fix.

[hispeed7721]

Agree with pbar. I know FE's who've used the port to smoke out of, but other than the ANG (maybe reserve?) Herc guys that do Antarctica stuff I don't know that anyone would even know where to start with cel nav.

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[Herk Driver]

Agree with pbar. I know FE's who've used the port to smoke out of, but other than the ANG (maybe reserve?) Herc guys that do Antarctica stuff I don't know that anyone would even know where to start with cel nav.

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I know a few guys on AD that still know how to shoot cel.

[Fuzz]

1 hour ago, Prosuper said:

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

The Navy has really taken on the CDO environment, the brought back Celestial Navigation classes back to the USNA this year. A lot of it was influenced by the book Ghost Fleet which is a pretty good read about a near future war with a Near Peer (China) and the US Mil's over-reliance on technology centralized C2.

[SurelySerious]

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

Cel nav isn't a worthwhile skill IMO as it's been made obsolete by laser ring gyro INS.  Fielded INS in USAF aircraft have low enough drift rates that learning cel nav isn't necessary especially if you have a decent radar to update the INS with a fix.

Exactly, standard practice.

[08Dawg]

21 hours ago, Prosuper said:

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

I know of one, maybe two very crusty, very senior Lt Col Buff IRs that would even begin to know how to do this.  We as a community don't have the equipment or the knowledge.  That being said...Laser ring INUs have made this more or less obsolescent.  I don't need a GPS to be accurate. 

[xaarman]

So things are looking up right?

 

https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/SECAF/160819_Fact_Sheet.pdf?ver=2016-08-19-123457-803

[Herk Driver]

More of those need to just go away

[pcola]

Its a start. Hopefully once the changes are implemented and CSSs are right sized they'll do another review and eliminate more of this queep. Unfortunately in order for a lot of this stuff to go away AFIs will have to be waived/rewritten and that also takes manpower