Air Force is Tired

[PlanePhlyer]

https://video.foxnews.com/v/4892301647001/widespread-problems-plague-the-us-air-force/?intcmp=hpvid1#sp=show-clips

Feel free to delete this post if it duplicated somewhere else.  Another reason we're doomed.  I know it's Fox News and it shows F-18s for the first few seconds, but as a prior B-1 guy, the struggle is definitely real. 

[Clark Griswold]

Not sure we're f'd but certainly some communities have been ridden hard and put up wet, no sarcasm or smartass comments as this is about real people's lives, families, careers and their well being.  My sympathy is for those who bear the weight of piss poor head in the sand stubborn as a mule thinking a-holes who refuse to change with the times.

Years ago at my first assignment right after 9-11, everyone was deployed all the time and between trips to the desert at home station the squadron was a ghost town but the training got done, the local flights happened and you got ready for your next trip.  That was evidence enough that most non-mission day to day bs was just that bs that shoe clerks imposed for the imagined purpose of leadership development.  Along with that, I remember an OG all call where he explained how the days of the garrison AF were gone and we were now an expeditionary AF.  He may have believed that but the big shoe clerks sure as hell didn't and still don't and that is why the AF is in free fall.  

We are a force needed to be expeditionary in nature - lean, mission focused, not beholden only to the previous way of accomplishing the mission, open to new ideas and responsibilities and above all honest about what we do, how we do it and if that is working.  It amazes me the level of self-delusion, rationalization and denial that senior leadership exhibits when most of these guys started their careers as officers in the flying world that would or should never let that happen.  

If a sortie went like shit, that was not swept under the rug; if someone was not cutting it in their crew position they were pulled from it for the sake of the mission - when did these formative lessons of honesty above all, even when it was uncomfortable and the ability to recognize the need for change and character to act on it get forgotten?

Rant - Complete (P,CP).

[sqwatch]

Listening to that bubblehead's commentary while watching the navy takeoff and land was painful.

[Vito]

  And our Commander-in-Chief is spearheading the vital issue of Transgender bathrooms!

[Grouch]

B-1's are on a 6 on 12 off cycle right? I'm ignorant but that doesn't sound unsustainable to me.

[Guest]

B-1's are on a 6 on 12 off cycle right? I'm ignorant but that doesn't sound unsustainable to me.

Really? Nobody wants to spend 1/3 of their life away from their family, especially when there is no perceived necessity.

[Grouch]

15 minutes ago, ihtfp06 said:

Really? Nobody wants to spend 1/3 of their life away from their family, especially when there is no perceived necessity.

No perceived necessity? I'm pretty sure B-1s are dropping the majority of the ordinance in the fight against ISIS. Seems pretty worthy to me. Don't get me wrong, I f-ing hate deploying, but that's because I hate my job. At least these guys are doing what they joined to do. That's the point of being a bomber pilot, right... to bomb stuff? Sure you need a life at home, I'm not discounting that, but I'd take the 6:12 cycle over shift work. I know I'm coming across as an a-hole, but isn't fighting the purpose of the military?

Edited May 23, 2016 by Grouch
Apparently I can't use the c-word.

[Guest]

No perceived necessity? I'm pretty sure B-1s are dropping the majority of the ordinance in the fight against ISIS. Seems pretty worthy to me. Don't get me wrong, I ing hate deploying, but that's because I hate my job. At least these guys are doing what they joined to do. That's the point of being a bomber pilot, right... to bomb stuff? Sure you need a life at home, I'm not discounting that, but I'd take the 6:12 cycle over shift work. I know I'm coming across as a , but isn't fighting the purpose of the military?

We signed up to "fly, fight, win." In actuality we "green dot, fly pallets of pallets, and lose to pathetic rivals." Hopefully, as a newb, you'll get it someday.

[magnetfreezer]

58 minutes ago, Grouch said:

No perceived necessity? I'm pretty sure B-1s are dropping the majority of the ordinance in the fight against ISIS. Seems pretty worthy to me. Don't get me wrong, I f-ing hate deploying, but that's because I hate my job. At least these guys are doing what they joined to do. That's the point of being a bomber pilot, right... to bomb stuff? Sure you need a life at home, I'm not discounting that, but I'd take the 6:12 cycle over shift work. I know I'm coming across as an a-hole, but isn't fighting the purpose of the military?

You're correct. However the admin, inspections, and queep while you're home are not necessary. In addition, for the last 3-4 years before OIR, AFG CAS was severely hamstrung by ROE (resulting in thousands of hours of XCAS and creating a lot of wear on the jets). Neither parts nor maintainers were funded appropriately for the flying hours they were supporting. 

[Grouch]

4 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:

We signed up to "fly, fight, win." In actuality we "green dot, fly pallets of pallets, and lose to pathetic rivals." Hopefully, as a newb, you'll get it someday.

True. I guess in typical Air Force fashion, none of us are getting to do what we signed up for.

3 hours ago, magnetfreezer said:

You're correct. However the admin, inspections, and queep while you're home are not necessary. In addition, for the last 3-4 years before OIR, AFG CAS was severely hamstrung by ROE (resulting in thousands of hours of XCAS and creating a lot of wear on the jets). Neither parts nor maintainers were funded appropriately for the flying hours they were supporting. 

Pretty moronic of the Air Force to put supersonic bombers overhead only to have them loiter awaiting targets. Guess we can just add it to the list of f*ck ups.

[HuggyU2]

7 hours ago, Grouch said:

Pretty moronic of the Air Force to put supersonic bombers overhead only to have them loiter awaiting targets. 

I'm not seeing your point.  Could you elaborate?

 

[hispeed7721]

True. I guess in typical Air Force fashion, none of us are getting to do what we signed up for.

Just to offer a view from the other side of the spectrum...I'm getting to do exactly what I signed up for. The queep absolutely sucks, but the amount I fly makes it at least somewhat tolerable

[Grouch]

23 hours ago, HuggyU2 said:

I'm not seeing your point.  Could you elaborate?

Just seems like a lot of effort wearing out aircrews and planes for not a lot of effects, based on what magnetfreezer was saying.

On 5/23/2016 at 7:20 AM, magnetfreezer said:

[...] last 3-4 years before OIR, AFG CAS was severely hamstrung by ROE (resulting in thousands of hours of XCAS and creating a lot of wear on the jets)

 

22 hours ago, hispeed7721 said:

Just to offer a view from the other side of the spectrum...I'm getting to do exactly what I signed up for. The queep absolutely sucks, but the amount I fly makes it at least somewhat tolerable

Happy to hear that bud. I share that sentiment that the flying is what makes all the queep worthwhile, but I don't get to fly anymore. I realize I'm a grouchy, cynical asshole.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Grouch
Words.

[Majestik Møøse]

On May 24, 2016 at 6:01 AM, Grouch said:

Happy to hear that bud. I share that sentiment that the flying is what makes all the queep worthwhile, but I don't get to fly anymore. I realize I'm a grouchy, cynical asshole.

At the risk of making you grouchier, is it the Air Force's fault you're not flying anymore?

[pawnman]

On 5/23/2016 at 8:29 PM, Grouch said:

B-1's are on a 6 on 12 off cycle right? I'm ignorant but that doesn't sound unsustainable to me.

They were.  Global Strike is now sending us all over the world on all kinds of exercises that don't count as deployments.  And the 9th did six months deployed, six months home, six months deployed not long ago...and it destroyed the people and the aircraft.  We spend over a year getting back to decent fleet health following that.

I'm not looking forward to parking B-1s at Guam to do training missions for six months at a time.  If I'm going to be away from home for six months, then let me kill some bad guys.

[Grouch]

On 5/27/2016 at 7:09 PM, Majestik Møøse said:

At the risk of making you grouchier, is it the Air Force's fault you're not flying anymore?

Yes, non-vol'd to RPAs as a young copilot when unit was "deactivated". Had not been in the squadron a year yet.

14 hours ago, pawnman said:

They were.  Global Strike is now sending us all over the world on all kinds of exercises that don't count as deployments.  And the 9th did six months deployed, six months home, six months deployed not long ago...and it destroyed the people and the aircraft.  We spend over a year getting back to decent fleet health following that.

I'm not looking forward to parking B-1s at Guam to do training missions for six months at a time.  If I'm going to be away from home for six months, then let me kill some bad guys.

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a good plan to me. I mean you guys are going from the fight on ISIS to patrols and training in the Pacific - sucks.

[brabus]

I'm with Pawnman - don't care where you're at for 6 months, if you're gone that long, you better be accomplishing something real.  Gone 6 months for "training" makes the separation from family/home extra lame.  I hope the B-1 bros don't have to do what the B-52 dudes did...which is "deploy" to Guam consistently for 6 months at a time.  Guam is awesome in TDY doses, not for spending your third 6 month rotation at away from family.

[tac airlifter]

Can families come to Guam?  

[HuggyU2]

7 hours ago, tac airlifter said:

Can families come to Guam?  

Kind of like asking "can my family go to Florida while I'm TDY to MacDill?"

It's part of America.  Though I'm a bit surprised that a passport is usually required for Americans. 

Edited May 29, 2016 by HuggyU2

[Lord Ratner]

Kind of like asking "can my family go to Florida while I'm TDY to MacDill?"

It's part of America.  Though I'm a bit surprised that a passport is usually required for Americans. 

Except that the last time you were TDY to MacDill, the Spanish still owned Florida.

[tac airlifter]

3 hours ago, HuggyU2 said:

Kind of like asking "can my family go to Florida while I'm TDY to MacDill?"

Valid.  Too bad they can't just station folks there instead of doing 6 month deployments to train.  

 

[pawnman]

On 5/29/2016 at 5:11 AM, tac airlifter said:

Can families come to Guam?  

Probably, assuming you can make that work with the budget, your kid's school schedule, and you're actually on the island when they show up and not doing a 20 hour training mission to deter some Asian dictator.

[tac airlifter]

10 minutes ago, pawnman said:

Probably, assuming you can make that work with the budget, your kid's school schedule, and you're actually on the island when they show up and not doing a 20 hour training mission to deter some Asian dictator.

Would that location be a practical one to convert into a PCS assignment?

I recall that discussion regarding the deid, but I would never want to PCS my family there.

[pawnman]

22 minutes ago, tac airlifter said:

Would that location be a practical one to convert into a PCS assignment?

I recall that discussion regarding the deid, but I would never want to PCS my family there.

Never been to Guam, so I'm not sure what the infrastructure looks like.  The Deid has been converted for certain positions...I know a guy who took the CAT director gig out there.  Two-year accompanied tour, but he gets to live downtown in the walled compound with townhomes instead of in the mold-infested trailers or BPC rooms.

[magnetfreezer]

1 hour ago, tac airlifter said:

Would that location be a practical one to convert into a PCS assignment?

I recall that discussion regarding the deid, but I would never want to PCS my family there.

Yes, there is a host wing with folks PCSed there for the normal wing/group type jobs.