Fair winds...

Letter I sent at work recently...

-----Original Message-----

From: Witt, David

Sent: August 28, 2012

To:

Subject: Fair winds...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I recently filed for separation from active duty, I will be out next spring. 

I've been planning on writing this letter for a while, and initially I planned it as a long rant listing all of my various grievances against the service, but ultimately decided that isn't what I wanted to spend anyone's time on.

For those of you I've talked with regularly, this is probably not a surprise, and for those of you I haven't, I doubt I have anything that original to rant about, so I don't see a need to focus on the negative at this point. The short version: This service is not the service I thought it was when I first joined. We are not led and managed as I thought we would be; we treat our people badly, and then don't even reward them adequately for the work they do and the risks they take.

Looking back, I have had years in a row where I dreaded going to work rather than looking forward to it; I haven't had fun doing my job in a long time. My current assignment here at Holloman has been the best of my career; this should not necessarily be construed as high praise for Holloman or the quality of life here, but it does beat my time in the Herc and operational RPA flying. From here, I don't see any options available to me that would be better, or even on par with this assignment; all the things in the service that still interest me are either unavailable, or I would have to fight tooth and nail for years just for a chance at them, and I no longer have enough energy for that given what it would cost me.

Finally, while all of the above is true, and more than sufficient on its own, there is also this: There is more to life than effective and efficient flight operations, and I'd really like to experience some of these things, like being near my family, or having some predictability and control over my own day/week/month/year. It has become apparent to me I won't have an opportunity to do this if I stay in, and this has made the decision incredibly easy to make.

It has been an honor and a privilege serving with you all. Of all the things I disliked about my time in, I have never regretted taking on all the world's problems when I had teammates like you to do it with. I know I'm going to miss that on the outside. I miss it already. But not enough to stay.

I wish all of you the best, whatever the future holds for you. It's a small world, and we're bound to cross paths again. I've tried to send this letter to everyone I thought would care, but please feel free to forward on as you see fit. The link to my page below will continue to have current contact information after I'm out, and I've included my phone and email as well. This isn't an end, just a transition, and I look forward to talking with all of you from the other side.

Sincerely and respectfully,

Dave

(Link to my intellipedia page.)

6hrs, 0805/1730

X-ray machines; sleep and work

Traveling recently...a thought: Instead of carting the bins back through the line every time, why not have them attached to a looping conveyor belt?

Very busy this week, so let's try something new and quick: hours of sleep and work times.

2hrs, 0520/1900

comm...

No internet at work today...no email, or network drives either.

organizational challenge

The commitment for USAF pilot training is 10 years. But pilot training takes about 1.5 to 2.5 years. And of course (I mean, _OF COURSE_) every pilot has to be an officer, which generally takes 4 years of undergrad work at a commissioning source to accomplish. This means that today, the USAF is making decisions about pilot manning ~16 years in the future. That's an awfully long decision cycle. Our OODA loop is very big...no wonder we are so terrible at managing our manning.

life's reset button

Just a few days ago, I passed 12 months in the U.S., which in my AF experience usually means something is about to massively change.

I generally find it takes at least a year to get to know a new town; learn some streets, get to know the people and neighborhoods a little, get used to my work schedule, make friends with neighbors and people at work, etc. It's nice when you get to that point. There's a sense of familiarity to your home and neighborhood, you can make plans for vacation or social engagements, or find some friends if you unexpectedly get some time off. Things fit.

Before you get to this point, everything is inefficient. Everything you do, you are doing for the first time, so you make mistakes, forget what time the drug store closes and get there too late. You don't know the local slang, what places are busy or slow when, rush hour and the good streets or bad; you have to go exploring a lot and ask a lot of questions. As you can imagine, if you move often enough, you never get to the familiarity point. The town and the people remain strange to you all the time, and the phone book (whether physical or internet) remains a constant companion. Everything has to be planned carefully in advance. Deployments have the same effect.

When you have a deployment or a move coming up, it really changes your priorities. Who's going to spend time buying furniture when you are about to deploy, or move all your crap across country? (Thus my continuing lack of a kitchen / dining room table.) Why buy a new car to let it sit unused and pick up a car payment? Why bother trying to get a date with that woman you just met? You're leaving and she'll be gone when you get back.

As you may have inferred, the Air Force is moving me again. New Mexico this time, my eighth city in nine years. I don't have orders yet, but we (the squadron and I ) are pretty sure I'll have to be there in August. I am so tired of getting good at something and then abandoning it to move and start again at nothing, and of having everything to do with work be last minute, improvisational, and sloppy. I can handle this for a year, or three, but as it's going, I would imagine I could do a full 20 year career and have it be this way the whole time...which I don't want.

Anyway, here begins a series of entries on PCSing.

Holidays

Interesting upside to working on a 4 day weekend: our internet is actually fast enough to be helpful, rather than a brake on how much work I can do.

More cadet advice...

...work hard. Did you know that your order of merit from the zoo is used to calculate your line number for major?

AFPC Promotions page

Hardest goodbye

My dad was driving me to the airport to come back to Vegas after leave this year and I had a pit in my stomach...I really didn't want to get on the airplane. It was really good break, I saw a lot of the family and had a good time. But each trip home now is just a reminder of what I am missing while I am gone. And nothing I do at work is fun any more...I had to come back to the squadron and help decide who to kick out next month, and the month after that, and the month after that. That was the hardest goodbye I've had in a long time in the AF, maybe ever.

Dear Boss, I quit.

An Air Force friend told me about this letter and I recently looked it up. We were discussing the various problems of the AF and I mentioned that our current situation would seem to parallel the state of the armed forces in the years after Vietnam, say ‘75 to ‘85…all the good people who’d been in the fight quitting because they couldn’t hack all the queep and time away from home any more, all the folks not making the sacrifices getting ahead. He mentioned this as evidence.

~~~

Link

Dear Boss,

Well, I quit. I’ve finally run out of drive or devotion or rationalizations or
whatever it was that kept me in the Air Force this long. I used to believe in, “Why
not the best,” but I can’t keep the faith any longer. I used to fervently maintain
that this was “My Air Force,” as much or more than any senior officer’s…but I
can’t believe any more; the light at the end of my tunnel went out. “Why?” you
ask. Why leave flying fighters and a promising career? Funny you should ask—
mainly I’m resigning because I’m tired. Ten years and 2,000 hours in a great
fighter, and all the time I’ve been doing more with less—and I’m tired of it.
CBPO [Central Base Personnel Office] doesn’t do more with less; they cut hours.
I can’t even entrust CBPO to have my records accurately transcribed to MPC
[Military Personnel Center]. I have to go to Randolph to make sure my records
aren’t botched. Finance doesn’t do more with less; they close at 15:00. The hospital
doesn’t do more with less. They cut hours, cut services, and are rude to my
dependents to boot. Maintenance doesn’t do more with less; they MND [maintenance
non delivery] and SUD [supply delete] and take 2.5 to turn a clean F–4.
Everybody but the fighter pilot has figured out the fundamental fact that you
can’t do more with less—you do less. (And everybody but the fighter pilot gets
away with it …when’s the last time the head of CBPO was fired because a man’s
records were a complete disaster?) But on the other hand, when was the last time
anyone in the fighter game told higher headquarters, “We can’t hack 32 DOCs
[designated operational capability] because we can’t generate the sorties?’’
Anyway—I thought I could do it just like all the rest thought they could…and we
did it for a while…but now it’s too much less to do too much more, and a lot of
us are tired. And it’s not the job. I’ve been TDY [on temporary duty] to every
dirty little outpost on democracy’s frontier that had a 6,000-foot strip. I’ve been
gone longer than most young jocks have been in—and I don’t mind the duty or
the hours. That’s what I signed up for. I’ve been downtown and seen the elephant,
and I’ve watched my buddies roll up in fireballs—I understand—it comes with
the territory. I can do it. I did it. I can still do it—but I won’t. I’m too tired, not
of the job, just the Air Force. Tired of the extremely poor leadership and motivational
ability of our senior staffers and commanders. (All those Masters and
PMEs [professional military educators] and not a leadership trait in sight!) Once
you get past your squadron CO [Commanding Officer], people can’t even
pronounce esprit de corps. Even a few squadron COs stumble over it. And let me
clue you—in the fighter business when you’re out of esprit, you’re out of corps—
to the tune of 22,000 in the next five years, if you follow the airline projections.
And why? Why not? Why hang around in an organization that rewards excellence
with no punishment? Ten years in the Air Force, and I’ve never had a DO or Wing
Commander ask me what our combat capability is, or how our exposure times are
running during ops, or what our air-to-air loss and exchange ratios are—no, a lot
of interest in boots, haircuts, scarves, and sleeves rolled down, but zero—well,
maybe a query or two on taxi spacing—on my job: not even a passing pat on the
ass semiannually. If they’re not interested, why should I be so fanatical about it?
It ought to be obvious I’m not in it for the money. I used to believe—and now
they won’t even let me do that.

And what about career? Get serious! A string of nine-fours and ones as long
as your arm, and nobody can guarantee anything. No matter that you’re the Air
Force expert in subject Y…if the computer spits up your name for slot C—you’re
gone. One man gets 37 days to report remote—really now, did someone slit his
wrists or are we that poor at managing? Another gets a face-to-face, no-changefor-
six-months-brief from MPC…two weeks later? You got it—orders in his in
basket. I’m ripe to PCS—MPC can’t hint where or when; I’ve been in too long
to take the luck of the draw—I’ve worked hard, I’ve established myself, I can do
the job better than anyone else—does that make a difference? Can I count on
progression? NO. At 12–15 hours a day on my salary at my age, I don’t need that
insecurity and aggravation. And then the big picture—the real reasons we’re
all pulling the handle—it’s the organization itself. A noncompetitive training
system that allows people in fighters that lack the aptitude or the ability to do
the job. Once they’re in, you can’t get them out…not in EFLIT, not in RTU,
and certainly not in an operational squadron. We have a fighter pilot shortfall—
didn’t you hear? So now we have lower quality people with motivation
problems, and the commander won’t allow anyone to jettison them. If you haven’t
noticed, that leaves us with a lot of people in fighters, but very few fighter pilots,
and the ranks of both are thinning; the professionals are dissatisfied and most of
the masses weren’t that motivated to begin with. MPC helps out by moving Lts
every 12–15 months or so—that way nobody can get any concentrated training
on them before they pull the plug. Result: most operational squadrons aren’t
worth a damn. They die wholesale every time the Aggressors deploy—anybody
keep score? Anybody care? Certainly not the whiz kid commander, who blew in
from 6 years in staff, picked up 100 hours in the bird, and was last seen checking
the grass in the sidewalk cracks. He told his boys, “Don’t talk to me about tactics—
my only concern is not losing an aircraft…and meanwhile, get the grass
out of the sidewalk cracks!”—and the clincher—integrity. Hide as much as you
can…particularly from the higher headquarters that could help you if only they
knew. They never will though—staff will see to that: “Don’t say that to the
general!” or “The general doesn’t like to hear that.” I didn’t know he was paid
to like things—I thought he was paid to run things…how can he when he never
hears the problems? Ah well, put it off until it becomes a crisis—maybe it will be
overcome by events. Maybe if we ignore it, it won’t be a problem. (Shh, don’t
rock the boat). Meanwhile, lie about the takeoff times, so it isn’t an ops or maintenance
late. (One more command post to mobile call to ask subtly if I gave the
right time because “ahh, that makes him two minutes late,” and I will puke!) Lie
about your DOC capability because you’re afraid to report you don’t have the
sorties to hack it. “Yes, sir, losing two airplanes won’t hurt us at all.” The party
line. I listened to a three-star general look a room full of us in the face and say
that he “Didn’t realize that pencil-whipping records was done in the Air Force.
Holloman, and dive toss was an isolated case, I’m sure.” It was embarrassing—
that general looked us in the eye and said, in effect, “Gentlemen, either I’m very
stupid or I’m lying to you.” I about threw in the towel right there—or the day
TAC fixed the experience ratio problem by lowering the number of hours needed
to be experienced. And then they insult your intelligence to boot. MPC looks
you straight in the eye and tells you how competitive a heart-of-the-envelope
three is!…and what a bad deal the airlines offer! Get a grip—I didn’t just step
off the bus from Lackland! And then the final blow, the Commander of TAC
arrives—does he ask why my outfit goes 5 for 1 against F–5s and F–15s when
most of his operational outfits run 1 for 7 on a good day? (Will anybody let us
volunteer the information?) Does he express interest in why we can do what we
do and not lose an airplane in five years? No—he’s impressed with shoe shines
and scarves and clean ashtrays. (But then we were graciously allotted only minimum
time to present anything—an indication of our own wing’s support of the
program. Party line, no issues, no controversy—yes, sir; no, sir; three bags full,
sir.)…And that’s why I’m resigning…long hours with little support, entitlements
eroded, integrity a mockery, zero visible career progression, and senior commanders
evidently totally missing the point (and everyone afraid or forbidden to
inform them.) I’ve had it—life’s too short to fight an uphill battle for commanders
and staffs who won’t listen (remember Corona Ace?) or don’t believe or
maybe don’t even care. So thanks for the memories, it’s been a real slice of
life…. But I’ve been to the mountain and looked over and I’ve seen the big picture—
and it wasn’t of the Air Force.

“This is your captain speaking…on your left you should be able to see
Denver, Colorado, the mile…”

_____________________________________________
Source: The linked site in the first post, Appendix II in the book “Sierra Hotel”, C.R. Anderegg. (That’s not where it originated.)

This letter was written by Capt Ron Keyes. Gen Wilbur Creech was the commander of TAC at the time. The letter stayed around, as common knowledge throughout the fighter community, for quite a few years. One of “the Classics” that remained relevant…maybe you had to be there at one point or another to appreciate it.

[As it was told to me, this letter was written as a reponse to a request by Creech for feedback from the troops, and was not intended to be submitted, but was accidentally. Keyes in fact did not quit, but went on to retire as a general. - drw]

Holidays

The one consistent annoyance about working on a holiday is dealing with the rest of the world , since they aren't.

Promotion rates for USAF officers

Another email I got recently. I'm not sure where the formatting comes from, but I have gotten messages in this format (all caps, spacing, date+time formats) my whole career. Perhaps it comes from the old teletype message days. I'm also not certain on all the vocabulary and acronyms used. There must be a massive dictionary of such things in the basement of the Pentagon, or somewhere.

~~~

252100Z SEP 08

FROM: HQ AFPC RANDOLPH AFB TX//DPS//

TO: AL 8106

AL ALPERSCOM

AL 10607

SUBJ: DAY 66 - CY08D COL (CHAP), CY08C LTC (CHAP/LAF-J) & MAJ (LAF/LAF-J) PRF ALLOCATION DATE

1. 26 SEP 08 IS DAY 66 FOR THE SUBJECT CENTRAL SELECTION BOARDS. THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE PROVIDES DP ALLOCATION RATES FOR ALL COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES. ALSO INCLUDED ARE THE NUMBER OF AGGREGATE AND CARRY-OVER DP RECOMMENDATIONS AVAILABLE FOR AWARD BY THE AF NON-LINE MLR, BEING HELD 21 OCT 08 AT HQ AFPC.

2. THE DP ALLOCATION RATES FOR THIS BOARD ARE AS FOLLOWS:

GRADE COMP PROM IPZ DP BPZ DP

CAT OPP RATE RATE

COL CHAP 40% 10% 10%

LT COL CHAP 75% 50% 10%

LT COL LAF-J 85% 45% 10%

MAJ LAF 95% 75% N/A

MAJ LAF-J 95% 75% N/A

NOTE: REMEMBER THAT PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MC/DC TO MAJOR AND LT COL I/APZ IS 100% AND PRFS ARE NOT REQUIRED. EXCEPTIONS: SENIOR RATERS WILL PREPARE PRFS ON ALL OFFICERS WHO RECEIVE A "DO NOT PROMOTE" (DNP) RECOMMENDATION AND ON ALL OFFICERS WHO RECEIVE A "PROMOTE" (P) RECOMMENDATION, BUT HAVE DEROGATORY INFORMATION (ARTICLE 15, COURT-MARTIAL, REFERRAL REPORT, LOR, ETC.) FILED IN THEIR OFFICER SELECTION RECORD (OSR).

3. AGGREGATE AND CARRY-OVER DP RECOMMENDATIONS AVAILABLE FOR THE AF NON-LINE MLR (21 OCT 08) ARE:

AGGREGATE CARRY-OVER

GRADE COMP CAT DPS AVAIL DPS AVAIL

COLONEL CHAP 1 N/A

LT COL CHAP 4 1

LT COL LAF-J 2 4

MAJ LAF-J 6 3

4. MANAGEMENT LEVELS (MLS) WHICH CAN AGGREGATE (I.E., DO NOT HAVE THE MINIMUM GROUP SIZE TO AWARD A DP RECOMMENDATION) OFFICERS TO THE AF NON-LINE MLR MAY SUBMIT A NUMBER OF OFFICERS EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF DPS AVAILABLE THROUGH AGGREGATION AND CARRY-OVER. EXAMPLE: THE MAJ LAF-J CATEGORY HAS 6 DPS IN AGGREGATION AND 3 DPS IN CARRY-OVER; THEREFORE, MLS THAT AGGREGATE CAN SUBMIT UP TO 9 I/APZ OFFICERS TO THE AF NON-LINE MLR.

5. MLS WHICH DO NOT AGGREGATE (THAT IS, THEY DO HAVE THE MINIMUM GROUP SIZE TO AWARD A DP RECOMMENDATION) MAY ONLY SUBMIT OFFICERS TO COMPETE FOR CARRY-OVER DPS AVAILABLE. USING THE ABOVE EXAMPLE AGAIN, SINCE THE MAJ LAF-J CATEGORY HAS 3 DPS AVAILABLE IN CARRY-OVER, THE MLS MAY SUBMIT UP TO 3 I/APZ OFFICERS TO COMPETE.

6. PLEASE REMIND SENIOR RATERS THAT AFI 36-2406, OFFICER AND ENLISTED EVALUATION SYSTEMS, PROHIBITS UNDERLINING, CAPITALIZING, ETC., TO MERELY EMPHASIZE COMMENTS (E.G., CAPITALIZING "DEFINITELY PROMOTE" ON SECTION IV). SENIOR RATERS ARE PROHIBITED FROM MENTIONING PREVIOUS PRF RATINGS, FAMILY ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER ITEMS INCLUDED IN PARA 3.7. ADDITIONALLY, COMMENTS ON SELECTION STATUS ON THE SCHOOLS LIST, SELECTION FOR, COMPLETION OF, OR ENROLLMENT IN DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION OR ADVANCE ACADEMIC EDUCATION ARE PROHIBITED (EXCEPTION: THOSE OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED TO ATTEND SCHOOL ARE AUTHORIZED TO HAVE COMMENTS "ON THE WAY TO IDE/SDE" OR "FOLLOWING SDE MAKE HIM MSG/CC" ON THE PRF/OPR THAT CLOSES OUT JUST PRIOR TO DEPARTURE PER MPFM 07-45.) FURTHERMORE MPFM 07-45 STATES NO MENTION OF SPECIFC SCHOOLS ARE AUTHORIZED ON ANY EVALUATION, ONLY "BDE, IDE OR SDE" MAY BE USED FOR DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION. PRFS NOT IN COMPLIANCE SHOULD BE RETURNED TO SENIOR RATERS FOR CORRECTION. IT REMAINS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE SENIOR RATERS YOU SUPPORT KNOW THE RULES.

7. MANAGEMENT LEVELS SHOULD GIVE SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO THE "GROUP SIZE" BLOCK ON ALL PRFS TO ENSURE ACCURACY. THE GUIDELINES IN DETERMINING GROUP SIZE CAN BE FOUND IN AFI 36-2406, TABLE 8.2.

8. SINCE AFPROMS (FORMALLY PRISM) WILL BE USED TO BUILD THE FILES ON CANDIDATES MEETING THE AF NON-LINE MLR, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT MLS UPDATE THE APPROPRIATE CODES INTO AFPROMS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEIR MLRS HAVE ADJOURNED. MLS MUST ENTER A PRF RATING OF "A" FOR AGGREGATE CANDIDATES AND "C" FOR CARRY-OVER CANDIDATES IN AFPROMS. AS A REMINDER, PRFS PREPARED ON OFFICERS WHO WILL BE SUBMITTED FOR AGGREGATION OR CARRY-OVER SHOULD NOT BE MARKED IN SECTION IX, OVERALL RECOMMENDATION. FORWARD ONLY AGG/C-O PRFS TO HQ AFPC/DPSIDEB, 550 C STREET WEST, SUITE 7, RANDOLPH AFB TX 78150-4709, TO ARRIVE NLT 28 OCT 08. ALL OTHER PRFS WILL BE FORWARDED TO AFPC/PBSE NLT 2 NOV 08.

9. POC FOR THIS MESSAGE IS AFPC/DPSIDEB, DSN 665-2697/2753 (COMM 210 565-2697/2753), FAX DSN 665-2326 (COMM 210 565-2326). E-MAIL ADDRESS IS: AFPC.MLR@RANDOLPH AF.MIL

//SIGNED//

DIRECTOR, PERSONNEL SERVICES

~~~

published 26 oct 08

USAF demographics

I periodically get the USAF demographics mailed to me, they are an interesting look at the service.

-----Original Message-----
From: Air Force Personnel Center News Service [mailto:AFPC.News@randolph.af.mil]
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 12:22 PM
To: Witt, David
Subject: AFPC News Service Oct. 20, 2008: Service demographics offer snapshot of force

Welcome to the Air Force Personnel Center News Service



Oct. 20, 2008
Release No. 126

Service demographics offer snapshot of force

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Air Force Personnel Center officials here recently published a demographics report offering a snapshot of the service's active-duty and civilian force. This data is current as of Sept. 30 and can also be found at http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/ under Air Force Demographics.

Statistics are rounded to the nearest tenth.

Active-duty demographics:

Snapshot of the Air Force
- 322, 897 individuals are on active duty
-- 64,805 officers and 258,092 enlisted personnel
- The Air Force has 13,242 pilots, 4,213 navigators, 1,282 air battle managers and 30,047 nonrated line officers in the grades of lieutenant colonel and below

Age
- The average age of the officer force is 35; for enlisted Airmen, it's
29
- Of the force, 38.47 percent are below the age of 26
-- 44.58 percent of enlisted Airmen are below 26 versus 14.11 percent of officers

Gender
- 19.6 percent of the force are women
-- 18.31 percent of the officers are women and 19.92 percent of the enlisted corps are women
-- 59.6 percent of the female officers are line officers; 40.4 percent are nonline
- 84.86 percent of the male officers are line officers; 15.14 percent are nonline
- The population of women is 63,272
- Women first entered pilot training in 1976, navigator training in 1977 and fighter pilot training in 1993
-- Currently, there are 601 (4.21 percent) female pilots, 246 (5.41
percent) female navigators and 151 air battle managers (11.3 percent)

Race of Airmen
The following percentages, which are self-reported, cover Air Force military members' racial information.
- 0.62 percent reported their race to be American Indian or native Alaskan
- 2.48 percent reported their race to be Asian
- 14.71 percent reported their race to be black or African American
- 0.97 percent reported their race to be native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
- 73.54 percent reported their race to be white
- 1.87 percent reported their race to be more than one of the categories

- 5.79 percent declined to report their race

Ethnicity
"Hispanic or Latino" is now considered an ethnic, not a racial, category that is registered separately and in addition to the above racial categories.
- 9.7 percent of Airmen call themselves "Hispanic/Latino"
- 86.58 percent "not Hispanic/Latino"
-- 3.72 declined to respond

Marital status
- 60.2 percent of the current force is married, which is 71.66 percent of the officers and 57.33 percent of enlisted Airmen
- There are 19,287 couples in the Air Force with both spouses in the military
-- 1,395 of these are married to members of other military services

Family members
- Active-duty members support 492,002 family members
-- 387,180 family members reside in an Airman's household

Overseas
- 20.95 percent of the current force is assigned overseas (including Alaska and Hawaii)
-- 9,697 officers and 57,937 enlisted personnel

Total active federal military service
- The average total active federal military service is 11 years for officers and 8 years for enlisted Airmen

Officer academic education
- 51.85 percent of the officers have advanced or professional degrees
-- 41.13 percent have master's degrees, 9.32 percent have professional degrees and 1.39 percent have doctorate degrees
-- 25.99 percent of company grade officers have advanced degrees, 19.16 percent have master's degrees, 6.56 percent have professional degrees and 0.27 percent have doctorate degrees
-- 85.63 percent of field grade officers have advanced degrees, 69.76 percent have master's degrees, 13 percent have professional degrees and
2.87 percent have doctorate degrees

Enlisted academic education
- 71.2 percent have some semester hours towards a college degree
-- 78 percent of Airmen
-- 77 percent of NCOs
-- 26 percent of senior NCOs
- 17.91 percent have an associate's degree or equivalent semester hours
-- 1.6 percent of Airmen
-- 18 percent of NCOs
-- 51 percent of senior NCOs
- 5.22 percent have a bachelor's degree
-- 1.7 percent of Airmen
-- 3.9 percent of NCOs
-- 18 percent of senior NCOs
- 0.83 percent have a master's degree
-- .02 percent of Airmen
-- .39 percent of NCOs
-- 4.4 percent of senior NCOs
- .01 percent have a professional or doctorate degree

Component
- 99.28 percent of the officers have a regular commission
-- 99.53 percent of the line officers have a regular commission

Developmental education
- 61.83 percent of the officers have completed one or more professional military education or developmental education courses either in residence or by correspondence.
-- 9,668 have completed at least one senior service school or senior developmental education course, 12,431have completed an intermediate level course while 17,972 have completed Squadron Officer School.

Source of commission
- 20.57 percent of the officers were commissioned through the Air Force Academy, 42.88 percent through Reserve Officer Training Corps and 19.38 percent through Officer Training School.
-- The remaining 17.17 percent were commissioned through other sources (direct appointment, etc.).

Civilian employee demographics

Total civilian strength
- There are 141,937 civilian employees
-- 77.4 percent are "white collar" and 22.6 percent are "blue collar"

Citizenship
- 132,665 are U.S. citizens including U.S. nationals (10,134 are Air Force Reserve technicians)
- 9,270 are foreign national employees
- Two are other non-U.S. employees in the United States or a U.S.
territory

Age
- The average age is 46.6 years

Length of service
- The average length of service is 15.3 years

Retirement eligibility
- 25.3 percent become eligible in more than 20 years
- 29.5 percent become eligible in 11-20 years
- 17.6 percent become eligible in 6-10 years
- 17.3 percent become eligible in 1-5 years
- 8.5 percent became eligible 0-5 years ago
- 1.9 percent became eligible more than 5 years ago

Gender
- 33.4 percent are female and 66.9 percent are male

Race
The following percentages cover self-reported Air Force civilian members' racial information.
- 1.1 percent reported their race to be American Indian or native Alaskan
- 5 percent reported their race to be Asian
- 11.9 percent reported their race to be black or African American
- 0.3 percent reported their race to be native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
- 70.3 percent reported their race to be white
- 0.5 percent reported their race to be more than one of the categories
- 10.9 percent declined to report their race

Ethnicity
"Hispanic or Latino" is now considered an ethnic, not a racial, category that is registered separately and in addition to the above racial categories.
- 7 percent of airmen call themselves "Hispanic/Latino"
- 92.9 percent "not Hispanic/Latino"

Overseas
- 10.9 percent of the total civilian work force is assigned overseas
- 40.3 percent are U.S. citizens including U.S. Nationals.
- 59.7 percent are local nationals

Military service
- 3.1 percent of the civilian work force are retired officers
- 16.2 percent of the civilian work force are retired enlisted
- 29.5 percent of the civilian work force have some military service (not retired)
- 51.2 percent have no military service

Education (white collar)
- 25.3 percent have a bachelor's degree
-- 18 percent have a master's degree and 2 percent have a doctorate or professional degree
- 23 percent have an associate's degree or have accumulated hours toward a bachelor's degree
- 28.4 percent have at least a high school education
- 1.5 percent have less than a high school diploma

Education (blue collar)
- 3.9 percent have a bachelor's degree
-- 0.3 percent have a master's degree
- 26.2 percent have an associate's degree or have accumulated hours toward a bachelor's degree
- 67.9 percent have at least a high school education or equivalent
- 1.4 percent have less than a high school diploma

Developmental education
- 6,684 civilian employees have completed one or more military schools
-- 3,764 have completed Squadron Officer School
-- 3,544 have completed intermediate developmental education
-- 2,067 have completed senior developmental education

Executive-level training
- 323 employees have completed executive-level training
-- 25 Congressional fellowship programs
-- 270 executive and senior executive leadership
-- 24 public administration graduate school
-- 10 management graduate school

For more information, go to Air Force Personnel Statistics on AFPC's "Ask" Web site.


-- 30 --


The Air Force Personnel Center -- putting the Right People in the Right Place at the Right Time.
For more AFPC news and information, log on to our Web site at http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil.
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published 26 oct 08

The official release on the new non-rated UAV pilot program. See previous entries 1 and 2.

-----Original Message-----
From: Air Force Personnel Center News Service [mailto:AFPC.News@randolph.af.mil]
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 11:34 AM
To: Witt, David
Subject: AFPC News Service Oct. 6, 2008: Officer volunteers wanted for UAS

Welcome to the Air Force Personnel Center News Service

Oct. 6, 2008

Release No. 121

Officer volunteers wanted for UAS

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Air Force officers are currently being sought to volunteer for unmanned aircraft system operators. Applications are due to Air Force Personnel Center no later than Nov. 3.

The first ten officers selected will start UAS operator training in January 2009, and another ten will begin training in April 2009.

The UAS is a big part of the future of the Air Force, said Air Force officials. First-hand knowledge of its capabilities and operations will be critical to future combat effectiveness as well as future Air Force leadership. Pilots flying operational missions or working in the Predator Operations Center get a unique perspective on world events, typically while such events are in progress.

In order to volunteer, officers must complete the test of basic aviation skills (TBAS) by Oct. 31. Testing locations that administer the TBAS can be found on the Pilot Candidate Selection Method Web site (Common Access Card is required to access this site).

In addition to the TBAS, officers must meet the following requirements:

-- Captains with 4-6 years total active federal commissioned service as of Jan. 5, 2009
-- Pilots are not eligible for this program
-- Combat System Officers, Panel Navigators, Electronic Warfare Officers, Weapons System
-- Officers, and Air Battle Managers are eligible to compete if they are not currently in training, awaiting training, or previously eliminated from UPT
-- Non-rated line officers are eligible
-- Be less than 30 years old Jan. 5, 2009
-- Air Force Officer Qualification Test minimum scores of pilot greater than twenty-five, combined pilot and navigator composites greater than fifty (if no AFOQT on file, complete the AFOQT by Oct. 31, 2008)
-- Two years time on station by July 1, 2009
-- No previous military pilot training experience

Volunteers meeting the criteria above and wanting to apply must complete the Aircrew Training Candidate Data Summery, Air Force Form 215, and electronically forward the completed form to Pipeline and Training Assignment Branch at specialflyingprogram@randolph.af.mil by 4 p.m. CST, Nov. 3, 2008. Group or squadron commanders (do not use a higher level) must provide their recommendations on the form. No other documentation will be accepted as part of the application process.

Interested officers that have questions about the application process, or the qualifications, can contact AFPC's Pipeline and Training Assignment Branch at (210) 565-2330, DSN 665-2330.

More information about this program can be found on the AFPC "Ask" site by entering "UAS" in the search engine. Individuals can also contact the 24-hour Air Force Contact Center at (800) 616-3775.


-- 30 --




The Air Force Personnel Center -- putting the Right People in the Right Place at the Right Time.
For more AFPC news and information, log on to our Web site at http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil.
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published 26 oct 08

USAFA

In retrospect, I wish I had had a blog during my years at the academy...I journaled a little, and I still have a website I created back then, but blogging is so much easier, it would have lat me capture so much more in real time. A lot of history that would have been available to people.

I am looking for blogs by cadets right now, but I can't find any.

Air Force

I heard a rumor recently that next year AMC will only be able to man 5% of required pilot staff jobs. I guess we shouldn't have been paying people to quit (the VSP program) for two years.

Robot mail

AFPC is the Air Force Personnel Center, the folks who manage manning for the whole service. They periodically send out automated emails advertising jobs they need to fill. Lately the most common ones have been 365s to Iraq or Afghanistan for various purposes. Recently I got a couple of interest.

There is a new airframe being spun up by the Air Force, the RC-12 Liberty Ship. This is a light twin engine airplane (a Beechcraft King Air if memory serves) that they are going to slap some sensor balls on and start flying all over Iraq. I wonder if this is because they are having trouble fielding enough UAVs, and/or recruiting enough pilots for them. I flew the T-44 in pilot training, which is extremely similar to the King Air (about 700#s less)...I don't know if I'd want to fly it in the desert.

The other email is a request for pilots who can no longer pass the normal flight physical who might be interested in UAVs. As the "blood from stone" post a few days back noted, the Air Force is suddenly desperate for pilots for this field. This publicity we've gotten is an interesting way to understand how big organizations work. Based on the press, you would expect that the UAV world is a big, up and coming field and it's a great place to be.

Well, it is up and coming. And in a big picture sense, it's a good place to be. I am getting to see and learn things here that not many people get to see and learn. And in the long run, the UAV world, both military and civilian, is only going to get bigger. But...at the tactical level (i.e., day to day), all this publicity and growth makes things very chaotic at my level. We just non-vol'd (sent people who didn't want to go) to Holloman AFB to help set that up. And we are now looking for some more people (volunteers or otherwise) to go to the schoolhouse/FTU squadron. But that squadron is also moving to Holloman next year, so those people will also be moving. So there is very little certainly about where many of us will be in the very near future. That type of uncertainty was the reason I took this job in the first place, but I didn't escape it here.

~
published 8oct08

Blood from a stone

We recently increased our workdays here due to the massive increase in ops tempo we (the UAV world) have gone through. I'm afraid our leadership is going to learn the wrong lesson from this, the wrong lesson being, "They're UAVs, every time we push them harder, we get more back."
This would lead them to believe that they can just keep pushing and just keep getting more back. I watched same thing happen in the desert: They asked for massive increase in ops and got it, then they asked for more, until finally we were all flying 12 hour days praying no one went DNIF or crashed one because it would mean a reduction in ops.

We already don't have any training lines, which is already bad enough. For those with no AF flying experience, most of the flying (60%? 75%?) a squadron does is training, even during a war. In the UAV world, the operational squadrons have zero dedicated training flights in a given day.

The following are a couple of articles referenced in an email from a friend who asked me about it.

Article 2, Air Force Times

-----Original Message-----
From: David Witt
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 15:43
To: X
Subject: FW: Fly opportunity


Yeah, we got a slightly early heads up on this. Big picture, I have no problem with lower level experience folks showing up here.

Small picture, what this means is that they OUGHT to get a lot more training than I got...but they probably won't, which means the already low average level of our experience will get even lower, and we will see a lot sloppier ops. This is your typical AF knee jerk reactions, all about quantity, quality goes straight out the window.

How's things?

-----Original Message-----
From: X
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 1:14 AM
To: Witt, David
Subject: FW: Fly opportunity

Interesting... not that I'd want to fly (or rather: to be responsible for that much $$ with my Murphy's law luck), but some dad's just won't let their dreams die. But it made me think - what are your thought on this, since you've seen two of the three sides first hand? Forgive me if you've addressed this in your blog, its been a few days since I've taken a peak.

-X

~~~
Up and Away: The Air Fo rce envisions building a force of 1,100 unmanned aircraft operators-up from today's pool of about 450-by Fiscal 2012 to support 50 continuous MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper combat air patrols under two new initiatives announced Tuesday at AFA's Air & Space Conference. The initiatives will develop a new cadre of UAV operators that do not have experience operating other combat aircraft, and in some cases, have no real previous flying experience at all, service officials said. "This will certainly be a cultural change," Brig. Gen. Lyn Sherlock , director of air operations on the Air Staff, told reporters during a press briefing.
Previously, the service has drawn its UAV operators from the ranks of more experienced pilots. But with the insatiable demand for UAVs, not only for overhead surveillance, but also for strike and additional roles, the Air Force is taking this new approach. Under the first initiative, the Air Force will select about 10 percent of its next batch of graduates from undergraduate pilot training in October-about 100 airmen-for training in UAV operations at Creech AFB, Nev. The second, more radical concept entails creating a new career field for UAV operators by choosing active-duty officers from various technical and non-technical backgrounds to teach to teach them to fly the UAVs. These officers will get some introductory flight training at Pueblo, Colo, and then go straight into Predator training "to bring them up to fully qualified mission status," said Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones , director of force management policy on the Air Staff. To see if this idea has long-term legs, there will be a two-part "beta test" program, he said. An initial class of 10 officers will start training in January until next fall. A second class of 10 will start next summer and finish before the end of 2009, Sherlock said. If those two test runs prove successful, the Air Force would then start accepting larger classes, Jones said.

~
published 8oct08

Operation Golden Flow

I stayed late after work today to take care of some paperwork and try to get my deployment travel voucher paid (still no luck), and because I was there, I got tagged for random (semi-random?) urinalysis.

I was in the seat for 5 1/2 hours today, so the first thing I did when I got out of the seat was pee. They handed me the letter about 45 mins later...the Air Force has a knack for this kind of timing. Same sort of thing happened at the Academy once. So I started drinking.

I was trying to think of the last time I had to do a test...it's been 4 or 5 years at least.

AF notes updated

A comment from someone in the know on my previous post, reposted here so it gets as much attention.

Dirndl said...

Sorry to say you have some incorrect information.

DTs meet at least twice a year, and they give guidance (i.e. vectors) to the assignment teams--or in the case of school, to the Developmental Education Designation Board (see http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/docs/dpa/developed/6025_2008DRAFTIDESDECONOPS.doc). In each case, the DT makes a recommendation based on the officer's record, timing, and applicable endorsements; they do not get involved in the nitty-gritty of matching the officer's desires to the needs of the AF.

The 2008 summer DTs and later the 08 DEDB will send members to school in AY 09/10 from year groups 96-98 (who met boards in 04-06 and have DOR 1 Mar 06 to present) (see http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/docs/dpa/developed/6025_Eligibility.xls).

Your promotion board (Maj LAF (P0408C)) meets in Dec 08 (see http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/main_content.asp?prods1=1&prods2=2&prods3=10&prods4=475&prods5=480). Assuming you are selected for promotion, you will first be considered for IDE in 2010 for AY11/12.

But yes, always keep your ADP up to date, because the assignment teams may use those for out-of-cycle or oddball jobs that still have to be filled.

Aug 23, 2008 5:41:00 AM

My original post
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