Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 11:33 AM Subject: Re: Where have all the pilots gone? John Fact to go along with this answer. Every F-22 pilot (24) who had to make the decision to stay or get out we're offered a $250K bonus. You know how many accepted? ZERO! Phil Sent from my iPad On Sep 24, 2013, at 9:13 PM, JOHN.net> wrote: Here's an interesting answer to the question: We used to go to the Officers Club or NCO Club Stag Bar on Friday afternoons to drink, smoke and swap lies with our comrades. Think about this when you read the rest of the letter below. What happened to our Air Force/Marines/Army/Navy/CG... (or Military)? Drinking then became frowned on. Smoking caused cancer and could "harm you." Stag bars became seen as 'sexist'. Gradually, our men quit patronizing their clubs because what happened in the club became fodder for a performance report. It was the same thing at the Airman's Club and the NCO and/or Top 3 clubs. Now we don't have separate clubs for the ranks. Instead we have something called All Ranks Clubs or community clubs. They're open to men and women of all ranks....from airman basic to general officer. Still, no one is there. Gee, I wonder why. The latest brilliant thought out of Washington is that the operators ("pilots?") flying remote aircraft in combat areas from their plush desk at duty stations in Nevada or Arizona should draw the same combat pay as those real world pilots actually on board a plane in a hostile environment. More politically correct logic? They say that remote vehicle operators are subject to the same stress levels as the combat pilot actually flying in combat. ----- REALLY...you're bull-****ting me, right !!!??? Now that I've primed you a little, read on. There are many who will agree with these sentiments, but they apply to more than just fighter pilots. Unfortunately, the ones with the guts to speak up or push for what they believe in are beaten down by the "system." "Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in the following text - supposedly, Secretary Gates had a force beating the bushes to learn who wrote this.... Where have all the fighter pilots gone? Good Question. Here is a rant from a retired fighter pilot that is worth reading: It is rumored that our current Secretary of Defense recently asked the question, "Where are all the dynamic leaders of the past?" I can only assume, if that is true, that he was referring to Robin Olds, Jimmy Doolittle, Patton, Ike, Boyington, Nimitz, etc.? Well, I've got the answer: They were fired before they made Major! Our nation doesn't want those kinds of leaders anymore. Squadron commanders don't run squadrons and wing commanders don't run wings. They are managed by higher ranking dildos with other esoteric goals in mind. Can you imagine someone today looking for a LEADER to execute that Doolittle Raid and suggesting that it be given to a dare-devil boozer - his only attributes: he had the respect of his men, an awesome ability to fly, and the organizational skills to put it all together? If someone told me there was a chance in hell of selecting that man today, I would tell them they were either a liar or dumber than ****. I find it ironic that the Air Force put Brigadier General Robin Olds on the cover of the company rag last month. While it made me extremely proud to see his face, he wouldn't make it across any base in America (or overseas) without ten enlisted folks telling him to zip up his flight suit, get rid of the cigarette, and shave his mustache off. I have a feeling that his response would be predictable and for that crime he would probably get a trip home and an Article 15. We have lost the war on rugged individualism and that, unfortunately, is what fighter pilots want to follow; not because they have to but because they respect leaders of that ilk. We've all run across that leader that made us proud to follow him because you wanted to be like him and make a difference. The individual who you would drag your testicles through glass for rather than disappoint him. We better wake the hell up! We're asking our young men and women to go to really ****ty places; some with unbearable climates, never have a drink, have little or no contact with the opposite sex, not look at magazines of a suggestive nature of any type, and adhere to ridiculous regs that require you to tuck your shirt into your PT uniform on the way to the porta-****ter at night, in a blinding dust storm, because it's a uniform. These people we're sending to combat are some of the brightest I've met but they are looking for a little sanity, which they will only find on the outside if we don't get a friggin' clue. You can't continue asking people to live for months or years at a time acting like nuns and priests. Hell, even they get to have a beer. Who are we afraid of offending? The guys that already hate us enough to strap C-4 to their own bodies and walk into a crowd of us? Think about it. I'm extremely proud of our young men and women who continue to serve. I'm also very in tune with what they are considering for the future and I've got news for whoever sits in the White House, Congress, and our so-called military leaders. Much talent has and will continue to hemorrhage from our services, because wanna-be warriors are tired of fighting on two fronts - - one with our enemies, another against our lack of common sense. Take it or leave it....that's just the way it is, no. if's, and's, or but's................... Worthy of passing on??? ......................................... REMEMBER, if you forward this, PLEASE REMOVE all email addresses before you pass it on.
A F-16 pilot that used to drop by my hanger came by dressed in a perfectly pressed flight suit. I asked him where he had flown that day. He responded that he was spending the entire day at sensitivity training. So he was being asked to risk his life dropping bombs and living with the fact that he might have to kill people for our freedom but he was supposed to sensitive about it. Just doesn't seem like what we would need to be a fighter pilot.
I would imagine the reason f22 pilots aren't resigning is a little more complicated than not being able to drink and smoke at an O club.
I imagine it is a lot of different issues. If all the pilots walked something is wrong ! Last year, I bumped into a bunch of Zoomies. I was shocked how most of them had choosen to go into support fields that do not involve direct work on the flight-line. Mark may post and give us his views on the morale of the AF. One has to question the drop of flight hours, the rise of drones, ongoing deployments, old equipment, a hollow force, and quality of leadership.
Changed my mind about the previous content of the post. Fact is the USAF is gonna be cutting people and planes and leadership at all levels is already working on the people aspect by F'ing people in the ass until they quit.
I am working on an account of the men that I knew during and after the war. At present I'm writing about a late friend who was a P-38 pilot who was the quintessential fighter pilot. He lived and flew to fight and shot down 5 FW-190's in less than 15 minutes and lamented that he was running out of fuel and had to shut down the fight or he would have gotten more. He told me of shooting up trains, tanks, and trucks or anything German that moved. Sensitivity? Not much. And we should be thankful that there were men like him when we were fighting an enemy who had less sensitivity than he did.
I agree and disagree with some of his points. The workplace has certainly changed so that aggressive warrior behavior is no longer acceptable and they all must live the lies. But there is an undertone I have seen before in a few articles where there is this animosity about enlisted, he points to it here in the closure of O clubs and the existence of all ranks clubs. That minimal nod to the changing reality of social stratification is a bitter point for some. There was a time when officers came from one social class (upper) and enlisted from a decidedly lower class. The social lines separating those classes were maintained in the military where the hierarchy was preserved. The relationship may have been benevolent or authoritarian but it was always strictly a reflection of society. Today officers and enlisted come from soccer moms and office park dads, they grow up on the same street and attend the same schools. One of them decides to go to college then serve, the other decides to serve then go to college. I know this wasn't the central point of his commentary, it was that strong headed and capable people are washed out in favor of those that will live the lies. But that subtle snipe at enlisted was there just the same as I have seen it before. Which makes me wonder why it is placed so prominently in his rant? I have seen that sort of attitude taint the enlisted retention rates as well. Often (but not always) those who will tolerate unnecessary shabby treatment for a reliable paycheck will stay in while those who decide the day to day indignities aren't worth it will go on to the private sector. Within the construct of discipline necessary to carry out military tasks I think that the current system needs allot of reform for both the officer and enlisted ranks, and I would suggest the total elimination of the distinction and have more of an open entry level to top level advancement under one rank structure. Again I know it wasn't the central point of his rant but it isn't a new one to rants. That aside, the biggest problem is the military being used as a "by decree" population group to implement liberal social goals rather than a place where a guy like Pappy Boyington could be who he was and produce the results he did.
