An different article on a USAF leader

[milplt]

A different article on a USAF leader

This is just the beginning of the article, the full text is at http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch%202006.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=93. Among other things, it makes a small point of how USAF personnel are not allowed to distinguish themselves from each other (combat vs. non-combat, operational aircrew vs. MWR officer, etc) lest we look for special treatment - EXCEPT, when it comes to the commander or pentagon service badge or some other officially sanctioned distinction.



Hollow Core Values


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]By Nelson Kane
Integrity First... Service Before Self... Excellence in All We Do...
What happened to Fly and Fight, Fight to Win?
Oh, sorry. That was the Air Force. Not the Air and Space and Information Dominance... whatever Force.
Core Values, ever changing ‘Visions’ and Mission Statements... new uniforms... leadership failures. These are all symptomatic of one thing.
Across the board the United States Air Force lacks a coherent focus. It has no sense of itself regardless of the platitudes mouthed by its... leaders.
Most of them are definitely part of the problem anyway. The victories won in the air since 1991 were won by the flyers. Hard flying and hard working aviators, usually below the rank of lieutenant colonel, who continue to ‘make it happen.’ And they make it happen despite the trite silliness of general officers who promote themselves on their ability to reinvent the wheel and wrap it in new paper.
The emphasis placed in definitions, visions and platitudes only serves to illustrate the utter lack of realistic direction from the top. In simple terms, when you know what you’re doing you don’t need to run around telling everyone. You just do it.

http://www.sftt.org/images/moseley.jpg​

Air Force Chief of Staff

T. Michael ‘Buzz’ Moseley

(af.mil photo)​

This is precisely why, in this turbulent, unsettled and downright confusing time, Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael ‘Buzz’ Moseley is concentrating on something he truly understands.

Changing the Air Force uniform... again.
But lest you believe that’s the only item on his failing, incoherent agenda, T. Michael has also created new badges for Pentagon staff officers to wear. Not knowing what to do with critical issues like morale, over deployment and aging aircraft, he and his Yes People have chosen to concentrate on superfluous fluff.

The Pentagon Service Badge.
Can anyone think of anything less impressive and more downright ludicrous? Is there any clearer statement from this latest Polyester Pretender about what he considers important in an officer’s career - Pentagon service?
A cheap piece of enameled tin symbolizing... what? The ability to be a non thinking drone? The capability to nod your head ‘Yes’ at an amazing speed and frequency? This latest absurdity sends a clear, unequivocal message to young officers everywhere. Not to mention our current and future enemies. The American military, especially the Air Force, considers upwardly mobile staff officers more vital than combat officers.

Nice going T. Michael.
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[AlbieF15]

Well...the part about some officers bailing for the ANG is 100% right.

Also--the ANG has done a LOT of the workload since 2001. Those missing warriors are still out there--just busy at Bagram and Balad and not at Andrews or the Pentagon....and perhaps wearing a different patch.

 

[KC-10 Driver]

Amen... Just on the ground at Balad a few days ago. Those guys are working hard over there -- lots of Guard and reserve.

 

[scoreboard]

Well...the part about some officers bailing is 100% right.

and perhaps wearing a different patch.

Yep, like Southwest Airlines.

 

[Huggyu2]

I heard a guy joke that the Core Values have become:
- Situational Integrity
- The Appearance of Excellence in All We Do
- Service Yourself

 

[Andy]

I'm currently in a joint assignment as a Reservist. The best officers are Marines, #2 is Army. Air Force and Navy ... well, I'm not impressed.
I bow my head in shame while I watch my fellow Air Force officers get wrapped around the axle about a stupid performance report or PRF.

 

[Gorilla]

I'm currently in a joint assignment as a Reservist. The best officers are Marines, #2 is Army. Air Force and Navy ... well, I'm not impressed.
I bow my head in shame while I watch my fellow Air Force officers get wrapped around the axle about a stupid performance report or PRF.

You are correct. The answer is quite simple... The Marines and the Army tend to actually promote men who know how to fight wars and get the job done. The current incarnation of the Air Force has a bizarre system whereby true warfighters (not paper "warriors') are left as road kill in the mad scramble to the top. "Not fit for O-6" is the usual recommendation for men that know how to fly and fight. But the administrative, butt-kissing political weasel makes O-6 below the zone, and once at the top, this same guy looks for like-minded weasels to join him.

A critical mass was reached about 25 years ago. True warriors began to retire; they were replaced with weasels. The balance of power shifted.

The heros of old are no more. Billy Mitchell, Doolittle, Bong, Jabara, Olds - all would have been RIFed and flying for SWA.

 

[HoursHore]

Alot has to do IMO with the way the AF is set up. O's and E's are basically seperated, due to the seperation of Maint and operations. So you have the Support on an equal footing with the operations, which is a mistake, as well as 50 O's and 15 E's in an operational squadron, and 4 O's and 100 E's in the MAint squadron.

 

[Benhuntn]

Today's 25 yr Col has probably spent 15 yrs in schools making himself more promotable. That is why he/she is not a warrior. Most of them have troubled families or are on a second wife. I noticed a lack of integrity in the senior officers way back when I was a 2lt. It isn't a new thing, just more condoned. I remember when an officer could cash a check at the BX, commissary or the O'club, not anymore. The officers did a poor job of policing themselves and now those losers are running the shop. I doubt things will ever change for the better. Only the uniforms, ensignias and mottos will change, because the AF doesn't life traditions.

 

[CobraKai]

got to sit in on a OG staff meeting a couple of months ago, 2+ hours to give a 5 minute brief on aircrew training. Of that two hours there was the five minutes for my brief, about 10 minutes and two slides on what aircraft/crews were flying what missions and their status, and the rest of the time was spent on OPR/EPR and awards and decs.

 

[Slice121]

The AF also differs from the other services in that the enlisted send the officers off to war(for the most part) which is the opposite of the Army and Marines. I think that has an effect on the O + E relations as well.

 

[Benhuntn]

Slice that is a very narrow view. There a several positions in the AF that go to war that aren't "O". Maybe you didn't see the video of the combat controllers in Afghanistan calling in air strikes on their own position to stop the Taliban from overrunning them.

 

[milplt]

Let's not forget that it is these leaders who have created an operational environment where they literally have a JAG sitting at their side in the CAOC QC'ing operational decisions. They are literally unable to make timely/critical - and most important, correct - decisions. Leadership by committee. Could we find another Gen Patton or LeMay if we had to? These current crop are also the leaders who have taken to preferring criminal charges for mistakes made in combat - and I am not talking about raping and killing of civilians, I am talking about honest mistakes made in fog/friction of war. I spoke personally with an ETAC at the battle for Haditha Dam in Iraq that had to kick F-16's out of the battle because they would not drop on the target for fear of violating the ROE. Of course, this is while the Rangers were taking direct fire from the very target - thereby removing any ROE restrictions. Troops in contact should equal dropping the bombs - guilt by association used to apply in warfare - so don't stand next to the guys shooting guns if you don't want to be collateral damage. And it is not strictly a USAF problem, just ask Lt Pantano - although we are probably the biggest violators. It isn't even a strictly military thing - as evidenced by the two border patrol officers facing 20-yrs in prison (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51417).

There is an overall lack of leadership and integrity throughout our system. Thankfully, we still have individual soldiers who win wars despite the leadership, cops who still patrol despite the politicians, etc

 

[Slice121]

Slice that is a very narrow view. There a several positions in the AF that go to war that aren't "O". Maybe you didn't see the video of the combat controllers in Afghanistan calling in air strikes on their own position to stop the Taliban from overrunning them.

That's what (for the most part) meant. I'm not discounting PJ's, JTACS, etc. But when you look at AF percentages as compared to other services it's obvious and in my opinion negatively affects O + E relations. Too many shoe clerks on both sides of the fence these days.

 

[Mamma]

Another slap in the face....in uniform at the BX or Commissary and having to show your ID card to buy a pack of gum or can of dip. Who came up with this great idea of having an officer in uniform show an ID card at the BX???