Why does anyone think that if we are better than the USAF of the Carter administration, we are good enough - is that the standard?
The biggest problem with the current USAF is that our young personnel do not have the good examples of leaders to emulate. We couldn't scrounge up a Patton or Kenney or Mitchell if we tried. When we older dudes came in, we were trained well - and that ain't happening anymore. The young troops now have the likes of the current senior leaders to look up to - and as a result we have the young officers thinking that they deserve to have their views listened to, if not acted upon, just because they filled out an end-of-course critique. In the old days, when the older officers old us not to carry our bookbags over our shouder, we listened. Now, they ask why not and say they have a right to do what they want. In the old days, enlisted troops called officers sir, now.....
It is up to us to re-calibrate the pictures of our future leaders - because the current leaders aren't doing it. We need to stop making IP's of pilots who haven't earned the right or displayed the talent - TOS is not a sole factor. We need to stop acting as if AC or 2FL is an undeniable right. We need to stop giving the worst pilots in the Sq their AC or 2FL stamp and a trip to AETC just to get rid of them. No more FAIP's, if they are good instructors now, they'll be better after an operational tour. AFPC needs to stop stealing talent from the squadron before the squadron has had a chance to recoup a return on the investment. We need to stop berating officers for being short with the enlisted troop in MPF - maybe the enlisted troop was actually insubordinate. We need to remember the obligations of being a line officer and the requirements of customs and courtesies - there are reasons for these things. The gate guard (the military one) does need to salute me as I go through the gate and refer to me as sir, and no, I don't need to do a tour with them to see how hard their job is. They didn't shadow me through officer training, UPT, RTU, etc. - it's a voluntary force and they had the same opportunities as I did. I don't need to thank a crew chief, I need to tell them when they did a good job in supporting the mission (they don't support me) - and if they are unclear on the mission, their leadership needs to explain how they help get the bombs on target, etc. I don't think that they will have to charge a machine gun nest, but I should have no concerns that they would if required. Those that deploy and go into harm's way do deserve different treatment than those that don't. Support squadrons need to figure out how not to close every other Tuesday after 12:00 - answer the phone if it is ringing. Actually, answer the phone after 4:30 on any other day, also. (Are there any operational personnel out there who would consider not answering the ringing phone based only on what the clock says?). We don't need to go back to the white top staff car and we certainly don't need commanders badges - oops, too late.
We are a good air force, but we can be better. We haven't fought the big war, yet. The only problem with Fogelman's reading list is that it didn't stick. There is nothing wrong with looking in the past for a standard before you grade yourself as an individual warrior. Accounts in books such as Gen Kenney Reports or The Heart of a Man by Frank Elkins are eye-opening to say the least.
The biggest problem with the current USAF is that our young personnel do not have the good examples of leaders to emulate. We couldn't scrounge up a Patton or Kenney or Mitchell if we tried. When we older dudes came in, we were trained well - and that ain't happening anymore. The young troops now have the likes of the current senior leaders to look up to - and as a result we have the young officers thinking that they deserve to have their views listened to, if not acted upon, just because they filled out an end-of-course critique. In the old days, when the older officers old us not to carry our bookbags over our shouder, we listened. Now, they ask why not and say they have a right to do what they want. In the old days, enlisted troops called officers sir, now.....
It is up to us to re-calibrate the pictures of our future leaders - because the current leaders aren't doing it. We need to stop making IP's of pilots who haven't earned the right or displayed the talent - TOS is not a sole factor. We need to stop acting as if AC or 2FL is an undeniable right. We need to stop giving the worst pilots in the Sq their AC or 2FL stamp and a trip to AETC just to get rid of them. No more FAIP's, if they are good instructors now, they'll be better after an operational tour. AFPC needs to stop stealing talent from the squadron before the squadron has had a chance to recoup a return on the investment. We need to stop berating officers for being short with the enlisted troop in MPF - maybe the enlisted troop was actually insubordinate. We need to remember the obligations of being a line officer and the requirements of customs and courtesies - there are reasons for these things. The gate guard (the military one) does need to salute me as I go through the gate and refer to me as sir, and no, I don't need to do a tour with them to see how hard their job is. They didn't shadow me through officer training, UPT, RTU, etc. - it's a voluntary force and they had the same opportunities as I did. I don't need to thank a crew chief, I need to tell them when they did a good job in supporting the mission (they don't support me) - and if they are unclear on the mission, their leadership needs to explain how they help get the bombs on target, etc. I don't think that they will have to charge a machine gun nest, but I should have no concerns that they would if required. Those that deploy and go into harm's way do deserve different treatment than those that don't. Support squadrons need to figure out how not to close every other Tuesday after 12:00 - answer the phone if it is ringing. Actually, answer the phone after 4:30 on any other day, also. (Are there any operational personnel out there who would consider not answering the ringing phone based only on what the clock says?). We don't need to go back to the white top staff car and we certainly don't need commanders badges - oops, too late.
We are a good air force, but we can be better. We haven't fought the big war, yet. The only problem with Fogelman's reading list is that it didn't stick. There is nothing wrong with looking in the past for a standard before you grade yourself as an individual warrior. Accounts in books such as Gen Kenney Reports or The Heart of a Man by Frank Elkins are eye-opening to say the least.
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