The Gun Counter

In Total Reversal, Welsh Admits Air Force is On Verge of Manpower Collapse

The writing's been on the wall for years. You can't be at war for over two decades, tackle an exponentially increasing number of overall missions ("Air, Space and Cyberspace") and whittle your numbers down to 30 pilots, 2 cops, a PJ and a mechanic without there being consequences.

Of particular interest to me was this observation:

Airmen who have raised issues of manning and overstretch have been reminded that things are tough all over. Airmen who have warned that they can’t get the mission done without more people and resources have been told no help is on the way. Airmen who have warned that they’d vote with their feet have been told they’re replaceable and invited to essentially not let the door hit them on the way out. Media outlets that have written about the unfolding crisis have been mocked and marginalized, even and especially those outlets CSAF claims he doesn’t read.

Just before my last Christmas in the Air Force, the MXG CC gave a powerpoint presentation to the group about how much harder everything was going to get, and that we'd better get our shit together or we'd be out, as they were looking to fire people who'd failed a PT test years ago regardless of present performance, among other things. He then started making comparisons between himself and Curtis LeMay ("I don't mind being called tough, because in this racket, it's tough guys who lead the survivors") and quoted his own change-of-command speech from a year or two prior, and went on about how "the weak will be left behind."

It did not have the desired effect.

Now in the face of disaster, the Air Force is all "BABY COME BACK PLEEEEASE," really trying to get people to stay, get reservists to go active, and get serious about bringing prior service guys back in. That brings to mind a certain line:

"I'm not gonna drive you to the hospital because you won't learn anything if I do."

Or perhaps a certain song by Taylor Swift.

There is a hard limit to how long you can piss on someone's leg, and still convince them that it's just raining. Apparently, the zipper-suited sun gods are discovering that limit.

It almost makes the argument for a requirement that officers serve a term as enlisted personnel before they are commissioned. It might make them appreciate the people who have to get their hands dirty a little more.

But what the hell do I know? I was an intel geek, and everyone knows the we don't EVER get our hands dirty! Right, Randy?

Airmen who have warned that they’d vote with their feet have been told they’re replaceable and invited to essentially not let the door hit them on the way out.

I had figured my boss (former E-8) had to have learned that attitude from the Air Force, given that he went straight from their uniform to ours.

We'll Know they've gotten serious if they bring warrants back.

In the mean time ill leave this link here for how screwed they are
http://www.popularmechanics.com/militar ... ly-drones/

slowpoke wrote:We'll Know they've gotten serious if they bring warrants back.

In the mean time ill leave this link here for how screwed they are
http://www.popularmechanics.com/militar ... ly-drones/

Even if they didn't have enough people to fly the planes they have, they won't ever bring warrants back. After all, the Army, Navy and Marines use warrant officers, and obviously, the Air Force is better than that.

First Shirt wrote:There is a hard limit to how long you can piss on someone's leg, and still convince them that it's just raining.

Cobra Gold 1988, Utapao, Thailand. Was outside drinking a beer at the end of the 2-story barracks, where the outdoor stairwell was. Suddenly heard the 1stSgt bellowing at somebody. Turns out someone was outside taking a piss off the 2nd story, right on top of the XO and 1stSgt. There was a very light rain going, so it took a few seconds for them to realize what was happening. The three disappeared for awhile, and the dude would never speak of what happened to him.

This is one of the main reasons I cut slingload and put in my Blue to Green paperwork back in '07. We turned enlistments completely off for the entire second half of FY06 to make the endstrength numbers, all to foot the bill for the glorious F-35. And you wonder why I'm so vitriolic over in the F-35 vs ISIS thread. They mortgaged the entire manpower budget for that flying turd, and now they're reaping their just rewards. Moseley was right that we needed more F-22's, yet Gates shuffled the deck in favor of the still-not-operational shitshow.

First Shirt wrote:

slowpoke wrote:We'll Know they've gotten serious if they bring warrants back.

In the mean time ill leave this link here for how screwed they are
http://www.popularmechanics.com/militar ... ly-drones/

If they don't have enough people to fly the planes they have, they won't ever bring warrants back. After all, the Army, Navy and Marines use warrant officers, and obviously, the Air Force is better than that.

Yup. The funny thing about it is the only shortage the Air Force has been acknowledging before now was a pilot one.

My nephew was a Major flying right seat in MC-130s. He crashed on a landing where 40 of the runway was removed without anyone being notified. The bird was totaled and some special operators of very high rank were hurt. He went back in to get three injured people out. AAR put NO blame on the pilot or co-pilot but strange things happened in rapid succession. A general and some other high ranks were relieved. Shortly after the incident, he was relieved of flying duty, then given command of a drone unit in the states, then was told the Air Force didn't need his services any more after 10 years. Thinking someone, somewhere is saying, "Boy did we fuck up by the numbers on that one."

slowpoke wrote:We'll Know they've gotten serious if they bring warrants back.

In the mean time ill leave this link here for how screwed they are
http://www.popularmechanics.com/militar ... ly-drones/

When I saw the LA Times article the other day, my first comment to my friend was, "Bruce! I found our side job!" His response was, "you had me at 'critics question legality.'"