The top two U.S. Air Force leaders have been fired.
It's unfortunate it had to come to this but besides what the media says, there are other reasons to get rid of General Moseley and Secretary of the USAF Wynne for cause.
Having said that, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mr. Gates stating that the F-22 isn't for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and is therefore low value is beyond stupid. All the happy-face Team America: WORLD POLICE actions don't happen without air domination, or the threat of air domination. A look at the Pac Rim (PDF 7.4 Meg.) for the next 10-20 years, flush with cash from a new world economy will show that poo-pooing the F-22 is whistling past the grave yard. I'll cheer the day that Gates and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) Mr. England leave. They are empty suits that don't bring anything to the fight.
After a long string of things, the failure of the USAF to control it's nuclear weapons programs certainly gave a good cause and just based on that Gen Moseley and Mr. Wynne should go. With rank comes responsibility.
There are however some additional serious reasons to fire the top two USAF leaders.
1. Bleeding USAF aircraft maintenance personnel down to dangerous levels to where aircraft aren't available. One of the big weapons the USAF has is the USAF maintainer and all of the tribal knowledge and ways of doing things learned over the years. The recently fired leaders along with previous leaders have let PowerPoint warriors run amok. Continuous reorganization of the maintenance community over the years was for the most part, trying to fix something that wasn't broken.
2. Not funding enough spares for aircraft. Can you say "can-bird"?
3. Not just maintenance but personnel levels in general. A few years ago lots and lots of company grade officers were let go because some idiots in USAF manpower couldn't do their job and balance the scales. This is a hugely expensive way to run the show. The USAF has 6-7000 airmen doing Army-like duties in the war all while cutting people in core-USAF-mission skills. Looney Tunes. This is one of many causes for the poor showing in control of nuclear weapons.
4. Getting into other business while letting the core USAF missions go to seed. Specifically getting into procurement of the C-27 which should be an Army-only resource and wasting time with the V-22 for USAF service. All while other core missions are starving.
5. Failing to buy new build F-16s. The F-16 is a cheap aircraft to operate. It can do most AEF's. And USAF for a long time is starting a slow motion train wreck that is seeing the fighter force geriatric. Stop gap buys of the F-16 would help keep the USAF healthy, until/if the F-35 JSF proves itself.
6. C-17 budget games. And the flip-side: Failing to upgrade the C-5 in a timely manner. The C-17 can't do jobs the C-5 can and vice-versa. The C-5 when upgraded with new engines and avionics would have great mission capability (MC) rates. The C-5 is a national resource when going to war.
7. Failure to punish all ranks when there is as Patton says, a good opportunity to do so for the purpose of discipline. A serious opportunity was missed with the Jill Metzger fiasco. This kills morale and shows the rank and file that some get special treatment and others eat the UCMJ in full portion.
8. Not being aggressive enough with Congress. Either make the serious points that the USAF needs recapitalization, or turn in your stars on the Senate floor to set an example to the American public how serious it is.
9. Wasting money on yet another stupid uniform change. Yes a small item. But it points toward a lack of priorities by top leadership, all while there are more serious issues to spend time on.
10. Other reasons known by some like myself that have seen the USAF close up and personal.
Only two services provide real deterrence for the Defense of the U.S. Those are: The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. The USAF besides what the media says, has some incredibly great people at all ranks and the nation should be proud of them. Letting the USAF go to seed is criminal.
5 comments:
To pile on to reason #1--For the last three years, the Air Force has been "Force Shaping" and cutting jobs across the board. Not the senior ranks mind you, but low level Lt's and Capts who should be the future leaders of the Air Force. Of personal impact, the Comm career field was cut by over 50% in my year and now Squadron Commanders across the AF are now over tasked and under manned at the flight level.
Heh...yeah, yet another uniform change. As you said, in the grand scheme it might seem small -- but it sure pisses off PLENTY of people at the lower levels. Not necessarily the cost or the hassle or changing "styles" -- just knowing that there are Air Force people who spend their time even THINKING about new uniforms when there are so, so many other things to focus on. You know -- stuff like fighting the war and such.
Good insight. Thanks.
I could make a thousand comments on this...retired at 22 years and worked the past ten as a contractor supporting the AF.
Across the board...from senior NCOs to commanders...they simply don't know their jobs. They can't lead. They are working on the next reorg, the next manpower grab, the next change-the-change-to-the-change episode. There are senior NCOs running around and haven't a grasp of anything their airman are really doing. Contractors have to be brought in to supplement the knowledge base that the leadership should have provided.
Exercises are so scripted today that they are merely a cake-walk. On any given day...fifteen percent of an organization simply isn't there (TDY, 120-day rotations, details, etc). I sat and watched one organization that had ordered accountable equipment...which actually came in in half the time you'd expect, but then the three guys on the account were all deployed...so no one could sign for the gear...and they waited 45 days before they could get the equipment.
Airman don't clean their job sites after completing a job. Airman question large projects and half-the-time need constant observation or otherwise, they'd cut every single corner.
Leadership spends more time on "moral lessons" rather than operational training. Everyone seems to be concerned about their DWI rates, the Playboy magazines in the BX, the tattos that guys have, and late-to-appointment numbers that get briefed to the commander.
There used to be businesses that asked to come on base and see how a well-designed and through operation really works. That hasn't happened in at least ten years. The military is constantly sending guys to view commercial companies and develop business related operations. We used to be original...but now we are copy-cats.
The uniform parade? It is our dear friend...Gen McPeak...that started this trend...and it'll take someone from the glory days of SAC to stop this thing.
I spent three years in SAC and regard that as the defining moment when you leaned a process and you perfected it. We had reg's in 1989 that were from 1963...still current...and not a single change annotated to them. They were simple and straight to the point. That says something.
From a family member's POV - The AF is an utter failure. The only thing the squadron support command offered me when my service member deployed for the fifth time last year was an iron-on photo on a pillow case. I asked - well, should my airman be awake or asleep in the photo? Or, can I submit two photos - one awake and one asleep - so I can flip the pillowcase over the morning? The very serious airman - not realizing I was joking - informed me I was authorized one pillowcase per deployment. The AF is broken - possibly beyond repair. I am ashamed. I'm more ashamed no one from my service member's senior leadership called me during a six month deployment last year. I suppose they were too busy reorganizing. Only a few more years until retirement! Yippee!
As an Army guy reading this I just shake me head about #3 and #8. Sorry guys but the ones doing the heavy lifting is the Army and then the Marines plus SOC communities. Too bad if AF was tasked for a few people to work outside their comfort zone. Why should any taxpayer provide the USAF more money to piss away on expensive toys for the fighter/bomber mafias? You've demonstrated no fiscal responsibility. Christ, you still don't even have the tanker buy set yet.
Gates was right to send a round to AF head and now maybe resourcing to the current fight can be reallocated. Big Army has used your technology to reduce its reliance on AF for intel and CAS since you've been too focused on your toys. For the COIN fight you've become a problem.
The AF leadership issues have been apparent to the any of us who have worked in a Joint billet. I was shocked by how my assigned AF personnel were just thrown into billets in Iraq with utterly no training.
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