What's wrong with the Air Force?

[panchbarnes]

What wrong with the Air Force?  We don't focus on readiness and warfighting anymore, mainly because we are not trained or educated enough for them.  Air power projection is our core mission, and we've lost sight of that.  Army and Marines will project ground power, Navy projects naval power, at the end of the day we have to present air power to the combatant commanders or we are all out of a job (not denigrating cyber, space, JTAC, TACP).  Let's train/educate all airmen by sending all qualified Os and Es after commissioning and BMT through some kind of basic military flight training for 3-6 months (Nav, LM, FE).  Non-flight physical folks get sent to ground ops training (airfield mgmt, amxs, intel, and etc...).  Yes they won't be CMR, but they will have the fundamentals and understanding of what it takes to launch a sortie.  With the rated and amxs shortage, they can *potentially* fill-in when the balloons goes up, more importantly this will educate why the Air Force exists and why not all AFSCs are created equal.  Instead of focusing on bake sales and party planning, let's focus on readiness and the air power projection business.  Soldiers and Marines all go through infantry training regardless of MOS, the sailors get trained on sea duty operations (firefighting, navigating and etc...).  All airmen should have a basic understanding of how to support air operations regardless of AFSCs.  The acquisitions community comes close by sending some of their officers through non-rated ops exchange programs.  The 63As return back after one ops tour with a better understanding and appreciation of operational air force, as well as street cred when making decisions of a MWS acquisitions program.

Yes sex assaults are bad, lookout for each other so we don't kill ourselves (on purpose or by accident), sleep with whichever sex you want behind closed (SCIF?) doors, build a home for the poor after work if you want to, those topics are not the reasons why the taxpayers are paying for our salary.  We need to get back to combat readiness and the warfighting business.

[Guest LumberjackAxe]

Here's my take on what's wrong with the Air Force. It isn't specifically the situations below (well, maybe the one about leave) but it's the Air Force's mentality/strategy that leads to the situations below.

• DTS and LeaveWeb, by default, don't work on Air Force computers. The official way to conduct business is technically impossible without hacking your Air Force computer.
• AMC recently mandated that all assets carry a gun on non-Combat missions (feel free to correct me here--I've been out of AMC for almost two years now and I've drank a lot since then). But some assets, such as the KC-10, don't have a lock box onboard. That forces aircrew to "break the law" and either leave the gun in the KC-10's super secret compartment (it's not secret nor is it locked) or bring it to the hotel room. Essentially, AMC's order is forcing aircrew into a situation where they have to violate the very same order.
• Absurd "cover your ass" policies. I returned from a KC-10 deployment on Dec 24th, and was denied leave because we couldn't have more than 10% of any one crew position on leave at the same time, and there were presidential alert lines (they were all scheduled and filled). Why was I denied leave? "Just in case." <-- no shit quote from my DO. So I was on my post-deployment crew rest, untouchable and timed out, yet I had to sit at home just in case I had to fly a nonexistent mission which I would've been ineligible to fly.
• The good idea fairy leads to more CBTs, and the more CBTs we have, the less they mean.
• The best pilots in the eyes of the Air Force are rarely the best pilots when it comes to the aircraft and mission. To me (and I suspect most people on this forum) the reward structure isn't about getting promoted, it's about avoiding non-vols to RPAs. And the fast-burning, holiday-party-planning, spouse-of-the-month, powerpoint-warrior pilots are the favorites in the eyes of the Air Force, and as such are insulated from RPA threats, yet that typically has nothing to do with the Air Force's core mission of blowing shit up and killing bad guys.

See the general trend?

The Air Force says, "You have to do this, but we're going to make it impossible to do it."

We're going to blow shit up and kill bad guys, but we're going to make it impossible to do it.

We're going to win the war against ISIS, but we're going to make it impossible to do it.

We're going to have the most lethal aircrew on the planet, but we're going to make it impossible to do it.

It's a modern Catch-22. Anyone who hasn't read the book needs to, because the insanity that happens in that fictional squadron is still happening today. And that's why, I suspect, everyone is leaving, and it doesn't have to do with the money. It's the ass-backwards philosophy the Air Force has adopted, where nothing makes sense and contradictions abound (like listed above), and I'm just kind of tired of working for a company that does this to its people.

And also the airlines don't have non-vols to Creech, I can live where I want, no deployments, I get paid three times as much, no PT tests, and a whole lot less BS.

Edited May 9, 2017 by LumberjackAxe

[HU&W]

24 minutes ago, LumberjackAxe said:

And the fast-burning, holiday-party-planning, spouse-of-the-month, powerpoint-warrior pilots are the favorites in the eyes of the Air Force, and as such are insulated from RPA threats, yet that typically has nothing to do with the Air Force's core mission of blowing shit up and killing bad guys.

Highlighted for irony.  MQ9 guys spend more of their time doing the "Air Force's core mission of blowing shit up and killing bad guys" than almost any other platform.

[matmacwc]

Lumber and Panch grabbed it straight in the Petunia.  Preach on.

Edited May 9, 2017 by matmacwc

[NKAWTG]

2 hours ago, LumberjackAxe said:

Absurd "cover your ass" policies. I returned from a KC-10 deployment on Dec 24th, and was denied leave because we couldn't have more than 10% of any one crew position on leave at the same time, and there were presidential alert lines (they were all scheduled and filled). Why was I denied leave? "Just in case." <-- no shit quote from my DO. So I was on my post-deployment crew rest, untouchable and timed out, yet I had to sit at home just in case I had to fly a nonexistent mission which I would've been ineligible to fly.

 

That 10% is usually a Sq set policy.  It should be well within the DO's ability to approve above that for Christmas, and just put people on local leave on notice that when the sh*t hits the fan, you will get recalled.  Or make the wing exec fly. Either one can work, and more likely than not, people will get their leave.

[nsplayr]

8 hours ago, HU&W said:

Highlighted for irony.  MQ9 guys spend more of their time doing the "Air Force's core mission of blowing shit up and killing bad guys" than almost any other platform.

Pretty sure he meant the party planning and ball washing, not the RPA flying, had nothing to do with the AF's core mission.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, LumberjackAxe said:

 it's about avoiding non-vols to RPAs. And the fast-burning, holiday-party-planning, spouse-of-the-month, powerpoint-warrior pilots are the favorites in the eyes of the Air Force, and as such are insulated from RPA threats

Is non-vol to RPA still a threat in your community?  I know a few guys who are trying to get back to RPAs who have been denied because the pipeline is so backed up with 18Xers.

[Day Man]

10 hours ago, LumberjackAxe said:

AMC recently mandated that all assets carry a gun on non-Combat missions (feel free to correct me here--I've been out of AMC for almost two years now and I've drank a lot since then). But some assets, such as the KC-10, don't have a lock box onboard. That forces aircrew to "break the law" and either leave the gun in the KC-10's super secret compartment (it's not secret nor is it locked) or bring it to the hotel room. Essentially, AMC's order is forcing aircrew into a situation where they have to violate the very same order.

After my FEB, the recorder (prosecutor essentially) became the DO in my (AMC) squadron. I overheard him in the mission planning room tell a new co-pilot that the reason there are so many AFIs is that you couldn't possibly learn/adhere to all of them, and the AF could hold you liable.

[Guardian]

Irony....


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[matmacwc]

3 hours ago, Day Man said:

After my >>>>>FEB<<<<, the recorder (prosecutor essentially) became the DO in my (AMC) squadron. I overheard him in the mission planning room tell a new co-pilot that the reason there are so many AFIs is that you couldn't possibly learn/adhere to all of them, and the AF could hold you liable.

Story time.

[Fuzz]

21 minutes ago, matmacwc said:

Story time.

Already covered here:

[Day Man]

there's a whole thread about it 

edit: Fuzz is on it

Edited May 9, 2017 by Day Man

[matmacwc]

3 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Already covered here:

My B, still haven't seen the video of the (rumored) combat camera crew that was in the cockpit when this happened, true it exists? You kinda answered 2 questions with one answer 4 years ago.

Edited May 9, 2017 by matmacwc

[war007afa]

20 hours ago, LumberjackAxe said:

•  
• Absurd "cover your ass" policies. I returned from a KC-10 deployment on Dec 24th, and was denied leave because we couldn't have more than 10% of any one crew position on leave at the same time, and there were presidential alert lines (they were all scheduled and filled). Why was I denied leave? "Just in case." <-- no shit quote from my DO. So I was on my post-deployment crew rest, untouchable and timed out, yet I had to sit at home just in case I had to fly a nonexistent mission which I would've been ineligible to fly.

Please tell me you submitted the leave and made them deny on the official request. This stupidity needs to be highlighted. 

Regarding "Catch 22": it was my submission to the CSAF Reading List. 

Edited May 9, 2017 by war007afa
Quotes are hard

[Day Man]

1 hour ago, matmacwc said:

My B, still haven't seen the video of the (rumored) combat camera crew that was in the cockpit when this happened, true it exists? You kinda answered 2 questions with one answer 4 years ago.

True.

[Sprkt69]

18 hours ago, NKAWTG said:

That 10% is usually a Sq set policy.  It should be well within the DO's ability to approve above that for Christmas, and just put people on local leave on notice that when the sh*t hits the fan, you will get recalled.  Or make the wing exec fly. Either one can work, and more likely than not, people will get their leave.

Whoa whoa whoa. That Wing Exec has like super important things to do, like get to the senior management's constant wishes and making sure his/her golden knee pads are not being scuffed too badly instead of such trivial things like flying.

[Clark Griswold]

This is more of symptom of what's wrong with the AF rather than the cause but it reeks of shoe clerkism & process worshiping versus professional, competent, confident decision making...

 Unprecedented: US Air Force Will Let a Defense Company Pick Its Next Jamming Plane

Like the Boeing 737 Compass Call, would be a good part of a re-cap strategy for an 737 fleet for JSTARS, AWACS, RIVET, etc...

 

[Prosuper]

10 minutes ago, Clark Griswold said:

This is more of symptom of what's wrong with the AF rather than the cause but it reeks of shoe clerkism & process worshiping versus professional, competent, confident decision making...

 Unprecedented: US Air Force Will Let a Defense Company Pick Its Next Jamming Plane

Like the Boeing 737 Compass Call, would be a good part of a re-cap strategy for an 737 fleet for JSTARS, AWACS, RIVET, etc...

 

Why not? The government has screwed it up so much might as well contract it out.

[Clark Griswold]

Why not? The government has screwed it up so much might as well contract it out.

You're right - the contractor has a profit motive that will get bigger F ups done faster and for more money with less iron bought - genius!


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[17D_guy]

39 minutes ago, Clark Griswold said:

This is more of symptom of what's wrong with the AF rather than the cause but it reeks of shoe clerkism & process worshiping versus professional, competent, confident decision making...

This so much.  

Me via my Col, "Hey, there's this big new service migration coming week after next.  The 4-star promised the other 4-star we'd get it done.  The ticket's been in for a couple of weeks now with no action.  Sq/Commander X, can you look into it and make sure it moves along so we're not wrangling Amn on a Sat to get it done.  It is planned for XX May XX."  CC'd whole chain for vis.

Nothing for 4 days, so we pinged saying this was coming <a week.

Commander X, "We've got to make sure it goes through our ad hoc process, did I mention we're undermanned?"

"Right, but...you know, 4-stars, high-vis...you're a Commander.  We've made Amn jump through their ass before, and we're trying to avoid that. Can you give me a ETA of when it'll get done"

"Ops Grp" CD, "Well, you can raise the priority on it and that'll move it through the log-jam.  I'll get you a POC.  What's the due date, we aren't tracking it?"

Call "Ops Group" 5 hours later since we've had no comms.  CC, CD, Sq/CC all gone TDY/Leave.  Talk to the civ "deputy" who "Doesn't work the ops side of the house."  Goes on and on about how the new contract is going to take care of all these tickets in the future, and we need to plan them better, etc.

Sq DO shoots me an email telling me we need to prioritize their work for them, that they've had this ticket for a week, but weren't doing anything because it's a "project" and they don't work those unless tasked.  Once it's tasked, then they'll start planning, but won't start planning now.  Also, they guy they need to do it won't be in for the rest of the week, so we have to figure something else out.  Accused my Col of Bro-netting the tickets to get done.

I will not be taking the bonus, because I will not serve under these monkeys.  

[panchbarnes]

5 minutes ago, 17D_guy said:

This so much.  

Me via my Col, "Hey, there's this big new service migration coming week after next.  The 4-star promised the other 4-star we'd get it done.  The ticket's been in for a couple of weeks now with no action.  Sq/Commander X, can you look into it and make sure it moves along so we're not wrangling Amn on a Sat to get it done.  It is planned for XX May XX."  CC'd whole chain for vis.

Nothing for 4 days, so we pinged saying this was coming <a week.

Commander X, "We've got to make sure it goes through our ad hoc process, did I mention we're undermanned?"

"Right, but...you know, 4-stars, high-vis...you're a Commander.  We've made Amn jump through their ass before, and we're trying to avoid that. Can you give me a ETA of when it'll get done"

"Ops Grp" CD, "Well, you can raise the priority on it and that'll move it through the log-jam.  I'll get you a POC.  What's the due date, we aren't tracking it?"

Call "Ops Group" 5 hours later since we've had no comms.  CC, CD, Sq/CC all gone TDY/Leave.  Talk to the civ "deputy" who "Doesn't work the ops side of the house."  Goes on and on about how the new contract is going to take care of all these tickets in the future, and we need to plan them better, etc.

Sq DO shoots me an email telling me we need to prioritize their work for them, that they've had this ticket for a week, but weren't doing anything because it's a "project" and they don't work those unless tasked.  Once it's tasked, then they'll start planning, but won't start planning now.  Also, they guy they need to do it won't be in for the rest of the week, so we have to figure something else out.  Accused my Col of Bro-netting the tickets to get done.

I will not be taking the bonus, because I will not serve under these monkeys.  

Don't worry, things aren't that much better for the rest of the DoD. 

IT trouble tickets are backed up 7-8 months out because of a new (cheaper) contracting company that came onboard last year.  Many machines and VTCs don't work, the only way to get something fixed in a timely fashion is via the bro-network.

[Clark Griswold]

20 minutes ago, 17D_guy said:

I will not be taking the bonus, because I will not serve under these monkeys.  

Vote with your feet if you have to, I wish I could say I see a turning point but it just gets to be more of a jobs program all the time with some Air, Space and Cyberspace power projection done for good measure.

Pains me to say that without offering some kind of solution to the problem but maybe it (the AF) is just in need of a massive reset vs "fix the glitch".  How to reset is the 64 billion dollar question.

[VMFA187]

13 hours ago, Day Man said:

After my FEB, the recorder (prosecutor essentially) became the DO in my (AMC) squadron. I overheard him in the mission planning room tell a new co-pilot that the reason there are so many AFIs is that you couldn't possibly learn/adhere to all of them, and the AF could hold you liable.

I was recently asked by a Guard fighter squadron what I feel would be the biggest culture shock going from a Marine fighter squadron to an Air Force squadron would be and that was essentially it.

I don't have first hand experience as an AF fighter pilot but have heard the standard spiel about only being allowed to do what the pubs say you are allowed to vice the Navy/USMC of being able to do everything with the exception of what the pubs say you cannot do.

 

[SurelySerious]

I thought the approved 3-1.CS section on trouble tickets said to just delete said ticket, then when queried by the requestor blame it on a "new ticket system" and have them re-submit.

[Boomer6]

Anyone here attend the meeting with HAF A3 at Randolph this week?