Deep Intel on the Air Force's Major Reorganization

[@JTLaser1]

Talking about”” “up or out” In the 70s, as an NCO, I recognized the FACT that people would get promoted right up to the point where they could no longer perform at their peak. They would go to the point where they could not do well, and then stay there until their lack of advancement got them booted out. What a waste of people and talent! A superior E-5 is MUCH BETTER than an overwhelmed E-6

[@88azturbo]

It's called "The Peter Principle". Promote to your highest level of incompetency.

[@hallkbrdz]

USAF in the early 90s, Vandenberg / SAC then Space Command, then Falcon SC: I struggled with picking the "best answer" on the promotion tests. Not only was the material obsolete, there was often more than one right answer but you had to somehow determine what in someones opinion was "best". I came in as an E2 (some college), went to night school on the USAF's dime, graduated and then left the service as an E3. I had witnessed what happened on the officer side when you didn't play the political game, which then maxes you out at Major, so going to OCS and onward was not a good option. Their loss.

[@ret7army]

Knew an E4 ... all he wanted to do was drive trucks. Didnot want to get promoted bc then he couldnt drive as much. Loss to the army gain to the civvie when he got out

[@k53847]

The problem is that previously you ended up with someone being promoted to a position where they were found to be incompetent or semi-competent, and then holding their position until they retired or dropped dead.

[@tango_uniform]

Especially if the E-6 is holding the slot preventing the E-5 from advancing. Up or Out forced many USAF pilots out of the service when they got to the end of their flying days. Immense amount of tactician experience walked away and wore a bus drivers cap for the airlines.

[@jnbfrancisco]

I was in the USAF from 1970 to 1980. I loved my job as an Instrument and autopilot tech on the F111D at Cannon AFB. In 1974 I was given orders to Chanute to be an instructor. If I did not accept those orders I would have had to get out. I did not want to be an instructor. In 1977 I was ordered to Mt Home to be a field training instructor. I was given orders to Upper Heyford in 1980. I did not want to be an instructor but no one cares what you want to do. No one ever inquired as to why I left after being very good at my job for ten years. I did get a Commendation medal in 1974. That was a rare award for people that did not go to a combat zone. I hope this reorganization will make the USAF a better organization for its people and the country's defense.

[@remylopez4821]

I served in the USAF from 1978-1984 as a Crew Chief on F-4s & F-16s and the reason I got out was because after promotion from A5, you no longer are a crew chief now you are a babysitter/supervisor. You no longer get to crew an airplane with your name on it that’s all I ever wanted to do so I got out, got my A&P license and worked on civilian aircraft to pay was better, but the fun and camaraderie was not the same

[@remylopez4821]

By the way, thank you Ward for an awesome channel

[@LRRPFco52]

I would love to have continued on with my job in the Army, especially instructing and supporting Sniper and DM training, so I just have been doing it in the private sector for almost 20 years.

[@lawman5511]

Pretty much all of the ANG pilots I worked with were former regular AF captains and majors who wanted to fly airplanes and had no interest in being a colonel and above. So, they left and joined the Guard. Half of them were part timers who flew airliners as their day job.

[@HEDGE1011]

Exactly. That’s why I separated from the USAF as a Captain and joined the airlines. Looking back on what the military has evolved into in the 30 years since I separated I’m convinced I made the right decision. I loved the Air Force, I loved the people I flew with, but I didn’t like the career paths available to pilots. It’s a huge retention liability. Side notes: TAC, MAC, and SAC made sense to me; renaming and reshuffling the AF structure with lots of buzzword-laden bullet pointed in-turn papers made a lot of people Generals, but accomplished little to nothing in many respects, all while mudding the waters and costing money. I was in one squadron for 3.5 years and the name of the squadron changed three times. Pointless. ORI was something to be endured; you want to crush morale, have a big inspection with lots of people who sit in offices and don’t (or hardly ever) fly come and audit you for two weeks. Paco’s competition concept is great with some evaluation of safety thrown in. Also, I’m not sure when the USAF changed command structure as it relates to deployments, but I graduated UPT in February 1988 (Willie, 88-03) and in my career the base commander and wing commander were definitely two separate people with very different job descriptions. Of the two the wing CC was the by far more prestigious role (both were generally O-6s). That they combined those positions shows how unserious the USAF is about deployment preparation. I would have never known they did something that ridiculous had Paco not mentioned it. Thank you gentlemen for the interesting conversation. NB: I have to agree with Ward; those Guardian uniforms look absolutely ludicrous.

[@Ethan-bu2zy]

Worked with a bunch of these types as a Navy Officer/NFO on loan to the 745th SoS/Air National Guard during OIF. They were all no-nonsense types who were really great at their jobs. If I wasn’t already so far along towards retirement, switching over to the ANG would have been a viable option. It’s simply everything that Aviators like about flying in the military with none of the BS that you hate. A few Navy guys from that unit did switch to the ANG and have done very well since then. Most ANG guys will make O-5 and keep flying operationally even if they never screen for command, which simply doesn’t happen in Navy squadrons.

[@lawman5511]

@@Ethan-bu2zy I would have done enough time in the Guard to retire but being a full time LEO and the Guard was just too much time from the family. The 162 Fighter Wing was a great place to work. But that was in the eighties.

[@dutchholland6928]

Paco nails it. Focusing more on what people are passionate about instead of every officer’s only path is channel towards chief of staff. If other diversified paths emerge from this reorganization I think you’ll see retention go through the roof as well as mission expertise & capability. I can personally attest to this, if I could have stayed in the cockpit and focused on the mission and my people? There would have been zero reason to leave my Air Force. Here’s to hoping for a better Force for our current and future airman. 🍻

[@ProfTalbert]

Hey, Mooch: "Iron sharpens iron" is from Proverbs 27:17..."Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

[@user-sv4pj5jl8n]

Amen.

[@manuwilson4695]

...doesn't change the fact. It does sound a bit gay...🤭@@ruska9773

[@robd8577]

Gay. Nothing wrong with being gay to be fair but this is the gayest proverb of them all.

[@user-sv4pj5jl8n]

Retired USAF, 82-17. I'm hopeful the Air Force can reorganize to meet future challenges, however, I'm skeptical that it can be done in a timely manor. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss".

[@steveperreira5850]

The end product will probably be a long list of “preferred pronouns.”

[@moabfool]

There absolutely needs to be a way to deploy Air Force assets quickly. We just passed the second anniversary of Putin's invasion into Ukraine. I live near an Air Force base and not 24 hours after the invasion I laid in bed listening to a couple dozen F-35s roll down the runway. Listening to my neighbors leave for a seemingly imminent war seemed like an eternity, though it probably only took a few minutes to launch the 30ish pilots/planes that were being deployed. We eventually found out that they were headed to Poland to secure NATO airspace. The ability of the Air Force to deploy quickly is every bit as important as the NAVY's. The difficulty isn't necessarily getting the fighters in position, it's the maintenance crews and spare parts that are harder logistically. The next war with China or Russia or Iran or all three at once could kick off tomorrow and the best time to prepare was yesterday, with the second best time being right now. Kudos to the Air Force for being self motivated and self aware enough to make these changes now. Hopefully this will mean an easier budget process for some much needed upgrades to less flashy systems that are long in the tooth.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

Ahem ... Pentagoon Black Budget ! Russia and PRC developed hypersonic missiles because they knew the U$ has them already !

[@theblackbear211]

It's great to hear candid and open discussions like this.

[@briangulley6027]

Retired USAF E-7, aircraft maintainer here. I enlisted in 77 and retired in 99. We exercised for deploying to Germany to fight the USSR, remember the Reforger exercises back in the day. The exercise started with aircraft generation, x number of jets loaded and, on the way, to base X in X amount of time. While that was going on all the support equipment, supplies, and people were processed and deployed to base X. All the support equipment had to be loaded in bins, labeled, and stagged for loading just like we would if really going. The troops had to go through the processing line and simulated transport time to base X. Once at base X we generated sorties at max pace. I n those days we still wore MOPP gear in case of NBC attacks. My record is 12 hours in MOPP 4, good times indeed. The average exercise lasted about 7 days, of course once the exercise was completed it took a few days to return to normal ops. Just go back to that system easy enough. For ORI's either you made the mission requirements, or you didn't. If you failed, you would get a lot of practice before the re-inspection.

[@LRRPFco52]

REFORGER and Team Spirit really drove capability that had real-world significance. Desert Shield and Desert Storm were basically a REFORGER to Saudi Arabia, with highly-trained and greased logistics chains just looking for a threat to attrit.

[@tinkerscorner54]

It made me really apprehensive about what I was into when they wrapped up those exercises with a Flight of B-52s going over the base with the bomb bay doors open. My main thought was that I sure was glad that this wasn't for real.

[@briangulley6027]

@@tinkerscorner54 When I was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford in the early 80's we were "attacked" by a flight of German F-4's during our NATO TAC eval. They came in fast as hell and very low from different directions, glad it was an exercise.

[@tinkerscorner54]

@ulley6027 Yeah, things like that can really wake you up and get you to thinking about reality. I saw something similar at Spangdahlem in '88. Our hardened facility had a beautiful, serene view over the valley between Spangdahlem and Bitburg. A buddy of mine and I had just come out and were headed to the chow hall and, out of the blue, some German fighter being chased by an F-15 did a high-G bank turn right directly in front of us, it couldn't have been more than about 100-200 feet or so away (way too close for comfort) and just above eye level. The shock waves (Sonic Boom, Jet Wash or whatever it's called) almost knocked us both down and it was a few minutes before we got our Military Bearings and hearing back. They played dangerously over there. At least I think they were playing. We were only 5 or 6 minutes of flight time from (at the time) East Germany and we had no exercises going on that I was aware of. (Bitburg, with the F-15s, might have had one going.) The image of the bottom side of that F-15 sliding by was permanently burned into my memory. I can close my eyes and still see the missiles on the rails and the mist trailing off the wings and tail as it slid through that turn with full afterburners on. It was also the closest I've ever been to an aircraft in-flight that I wasn't actually on board.

[@babboon5764]

@@tinkerscorner54 They played VERY hard . Bit of a cock-up/accident once when- An RAF F-4 Phanton shot down an RAF SEPECAT Jaguar 'for practice' 🙄

[@brianfoley4328]

A quick recap...the US Navy is firing a senior officer every other week, ship yards can't meet the needs, many ships do without scheduled maintenance and there are too few sailors and too few officers qualified for Sea Duty...the Army says it isn't equipped to fight in Arctic climates, too few soldiers and it is completely unprepared for Island-hopping style warfare...the Air Force is at historic low levels of preparedness and aircraft availability...the Marines have amphib vehicles that aren't safe, no tanks and can't convince the Navy to buy more Amphibious Ships...Thank God for the Coast Guard or we'd be completely screwed.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

You forgot a SecDef nobody noticed is not there...

[@brianfoley4328]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Thank you

[@JoshuaTootell]

Wait, did someone say "thanks USCG"? I've heard it all now.

[@brianfoley4328]

@@JoshuaTootell Well to be honest...I typed it on my keyboard...

[@cadennorris960]

The marines will have the ACV soon and no tanks is intentional. You may disagree with their decision to get rid of tanks but don’t portray it as something it isn’t.

[@andrewskokna9760]

I was in the Marine corps infantry but these fly boys are my heroes. God bless them everyone

[@richardstephens9647]

I was USAF '78-'84. ORIs were common. Exercises like Brim Frost were months long exercises. We transported tens of thousands of personnel on time. We achieved that readiness only through interaction with other commands and across the branches with hands on training. It's expensive, worthwhile and builds esprit de corps. When our unit found out that we had set a record we all stood just a little taller. When we were awarded a Presidential Unit Citation you coulda knocked a few of us over with a feather. Though we were E-5/6 heavy and there was some friction. One day of time in rank could decide who had leadership. Not optimal. Our Ops Chief NCO was an E-9 that had actually been in combat in 'Nam. He made mention one day at Commanders' Call that the USAF had announced that they were revising the APR(airmen performance reports) requirements to enhance Air Force professionalism. It happened in such a way that either you scored an minimum of 8 out of 9 or you would be processed for discharge at the end of your current enlistment and not allowed to re-enlist. Until then the parameters were such that rating an Amn an Avg of 7 while they were showing increased knowledge/skill and kept a good conduct status in their career field was the norm. I watched as a E8 was demoted to E7 and discharged just months shy of retirement because he was suddenly deemed too overweight. Another shop's E8 was given repeated LORs until the Major, our commander, gave him an Article 15 for not keeping his uniform up to USAF standards. E8 ran the hydraulics shop for our Sqdn and the Major would show up unannounced call a uniform inspection while they would be in the middle of working on oily equipment and dick the E8. Only the E8. Under the new guidelines that Article 15 meant he couldn't re-enlist; our Major a former C-130 pilot that had lost his pilot rating knew this but hated the guy as they had served on the same aircrew years before and they had a history. E8 demanded a court-martial. It was granted. Base Legal backed the Major as the Major was acting within the scope of the new guidelines. Having lost his case the E8 was reduced in pay grade to E7, fined $1000.00 and after serving for 18+ years discharged. I hope this time the number crunchers and uniform stylists get it right. Wouldn't want the USAF to LOOK unprofessional ya know.

[@matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

Firstly, I It was always shortsighted that the Air Force never had an official 'fly-only' career track. As Pako says, it was "up or out", modelled on reaching the very top. Good grownup discussion here, gents. Thanks

[@anthonyvallillo422]

Actually, the Air Force has always had a "fly only" track. It is called the Reserves and the Guard

[@kurtdanielson993]

Same with the Navy. If someone becomes very good at driving and fighting ships they will only do it for a short time and either promote up or get out. All those years and training, and the money spent will just be gone. Happens everyday.

[@matthewnewnham-runner-writer]

Good point,@@anthonyvallillo422. Very true.

[@bearowen5480]

@@anthonyvallillo422 Wow! Excellent point! I spent thirteen years in the Marines, and fourteen years in the Guard, both as a pilot. I'll always be a Marine, but I have to confess that in most respects, job satisfaction in the Air Guard was vastly superior. The "fly only" guys were happy, and the guys who wanted the bureaucratic and political leadership role self selected into it. The ones that were good at it and that didn't have a life outside of the Guard performed adequately. If they were lousy leaders and pissed off the troops, we found ways to jettison them. If they were decent administrators and had a little leadership talent they got eagles and sometimes stars. Meanwhile the rest of us got what we wanted and needed, perfectly maintained jets to fly, a challenging mission to accomplish, the constant honing of personal flying skills, and world class camaraderie. What could be better than that?

[@doomedwit1010]

I will say there's balance but the military needs more "do your job" jobs. In the Civil war and before what mattered were the commanding officers. If a great captain or Colonel prevented a potential great General from getting promoted through, it could be fatal. The reason for up or out is certain ranks can get locked in. If out of 100 E5 positions you have 90 filled by E5s holding rank until they hit 62 you're going to struggle to both find qualified E-6 and to let E-4s promote up. It gets top heavy potentially. That said I completely agree we need professional offers and enlisted who just get to do what they love. Like you will still see ups and outs but only if you absolutely must to promote people below. At least to hold people to their 20 years. Maybe you still up or out at 45 or 55. I don't know. The needs of the service need to be looked at every year. But a hard up or out is a failed holdover.

[@ronniehobbs6031]

Man, I am a senior level in AF and this was the best discussion I have seen on this. It laid it out in a logical meaningful discussion. We need to let mooch do a video for the masses when they roll these orgs out. He can provide the laymen version instead of the multiple CBTs we will receive.

[@CastleGraphics]

I started getting The Merge after the last episode. Pako, thanks for your work, really enjoy it! USAF vet here

[@harryshector]

I was part of the SAC “ORI era.” I think it was effective. - When they were truly NO NOTICE. Toward the end of my time in SAC, ORI’s became more about inspecting barracks than examining the ability of a wing to respond to the desperate calls. The exercises were about finding and fixing readiness problems in the 1962 -64 period. The further away we moved from the Lemay era, the more it became a blame-storming exercise. That was NOT productive. I hope they can keep it from falling down that rat hole again.

[@CSltz]

At the base I was at the taxi and runways were in such bad shape. That they didn’t want to put a lot of unnecessary pressure on them. We were told in security that one complete circle of the tires Constituted a taxi roll. They lost a Harrier also. The engines do not like to ingest concrete during landings. Your right about the ORIs

[@bryangibson2788]

I actually enjoyed my time as a crew chief in a Composite wing (Air Expeditionary Wing) at MHAFB. Anywhere in the world in 72 hours on a moments notice, ready to fight with little to no outside help. I also preferred Ops and maintenance working under the same unit. 390th FS>390th AMU !

[@IwatchFilm]

Apologies up front for the length. Retired E-7, 1987-2010 in the Air Transportation career field (2T2) and experienced many ORI's, UCI's, etc.. before the GWOT. As an air transporter, AMC was my "home" command, although I was assigned to non-AMC bases throughout my career. AMC in particular cannot really make the "composite wing" model work. The reason is because AMC has an ongoing mission (non-combat) of moving troops and equipment each and every day via what are called "channel" (regularly scheduled) missions. Just think FedEx/UPS/Delta...AMC's assets (transporters, refuelers and medevac) are in use everyday moving people and cargo around the world. Spreading those assets (and their required support) throughout the AF's Wings makes VERY little sense. Many aircraft would sit idle, or have to constantly rotate to non-home base locations for them to logistically execute their missions. AMC is just not structured to support it. I can't imagine Travis or Dover AFB ever supporting various fighter a/c squadrons, in addition to their airlift squadrons, and actually being effective. You could make the ramp space by re-stationing the airlifters, but all the logistics and personnel required to take on the fighter support would be massive.

[@bobmartin4942]

The airlift plus fighter concept was tried back when ACC stood up. It was scrapped in the mid 90s after a F-16 collided with a C-130 at Pope AFB. The 130 landed safely, but the Viper crashed into a C-141 that was boarding army paratroopers killing and injuring many of them. The investigation determined tha the F-16 pilot never saw the C-130 and that it wasn't smart to have the two types of aircraft operating from the same airfield. This is a grossly abbreviated summary of the report.

[@Noisy_Cricket]

Pako's idea about having competitive inspections between wings is a great idea.

[@AdamKeele]

To a degree that’s existed in some places in the ANG.

[@EvLuvsMinPins]

love The Merge and you having PAKO on the broadcast. Always so informative. 30 year retired Air Force.

[@jamesdaakron4790]

Having been a F-16 ACC in the USAF's first Composite Wing (366th), all this terminology just came flooding back after 30 years being out

[@alanholck7995]

Yup. I lived through the early 90s to…

[@danielclawson2099]

I watched the "up or out" mentality push excellent people out of the AF. What remained: those who could not or would not go looking for advancement elsewhere (outside the AF), and a revolving door of upward rotating leadership. The incoming promotion-oriented leadership never knew the job, and made uninformed, unnecessary and often counter-productive changes so they could make and fill in check boxes to obtain the next advancement. Those who were striving would get advanced beyond their abilities. By far the strongest example of the "Peter principle" I've ever seen in any organization.

[@jamesburns2232]

Add to that DEI, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to promote minorities who never knew the job and made rank based on DEI advocacy vice on merit. 🪖

[@AdamKeele]

I saw some good enlisted that purposely didn’t want to promote that didn’t want to stop what they were doing. Some were at ranks you were booted due to failure to promote and others just sat at E-5, and missed out on a lot of extra money for the rest of their careers.

[@MrDlt123]

Prior to retiring from the Air Force, my command was telling us to not train our IT force because they were using the training to leave and get civilian jobs. - The message was clear; They'd rather have less qualified personnel than risk allowing them to increase competency and go shopping for a career outside. And my Airmen would leave anyway - out of frustration b/c of career stagnation. They could still make $30K more annually, and avoid long deployments. Cant tell you how many times in my 24 year Air Force career that I saw great Airmen leave the force because they could get paid far more as a civilian, or in a sister service as a Warrant Officer. This wont fix all of the ills, but I hope it means theyre finally listening. - But I remain mostly skeptical.

[@truthboomertruthbomber5125]

Surely you are not implying that the highers suffered from a lack of imagination, forethought, and various other skills required of effective leaders !! Are you ?? 😂

[@MrDlt123]

@@truthboomertruthbomber5125 Nah, never. 😆

[@TomFarrell-p9z]

I saw too many re-orgs. Skeptical is the right word!

[@KevinJDildonik]

The whole US economy is screwing the pooch on this. Tech industry worker here. Absolutely nobody ever gets promoted unless it's nepotism etc. Anyone who's been in tech for literally 3 months can get an instant 20-50% raise at another job, versus 2% per year staying put. Rinse and repeat until boomer bosses start yelling at you for having the good sense to call their bluff. Ride that income high, realize you hate the industry, quit the job to do something less stressful. See how many "Ex Google tech lead now KZbin" people are out there. Working in tech sucks. And I haven't even started on the offshoring. They're offshoring like it's 1999.

[@MrDlt123]

@@KevinJDildonik I retired from the military in 2006 and I've been working Government IT since. Its an IT industry within an industry. The clearances are often the biggest advantage, because it can take a couple of years to obtain a Top Secret, and many can never qualify. It's said that its better to hire someone with a clearance and no experience vs someone with lots of experience who cant qualify for a clearance because you can send them to a bootcamp to get a CISSP, MCSE, etc. In far less time. The downside in that 70 percent of the work is in the Washington DC area, which is frankly, a high-cost, high stress city. Lots of young guys think theyre going to be filthy rich with $90K salary, until they see the price of homes, the taxes and the cost of commuting.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

The entire military needs to look at non traditional recruiting. I'm a 35 year old engineer, and while I have no problem starting at the bottom rank wise, I can't take a 50%+ pay cut leaving the private sector.

[@Snoop_Dugg]

similar boat

[@Snoop_Dugg]

@El_Peto if it means being a pilot, maybe it's a decent sacrifice?

[@SK-cb9yu]

Those considering today's military need to look at traditional patriotism. Your "cater to me" thought process reflects your generation's. This whole idea of "We love the American way of life, but please do NOT expect me to sacrifice anything for it" is precisely why at some point in the very near future our legislators are going to have to pass laws reinstating the draft. "I can't take an XX% pay cut", "I can't serve in a military that doesn't reinforce my gender identity", "I won't serve in the military because it won't pay me enough to live at the same standard as a KZbin influencer", are NOT the attitudes that will allow us as Americans to maintain our collective way of life...and you'd better believe it when you hear actors are massing around us hoping to take it away. My military career was fairly typical insofar as I couldn't afford my first house until I was 15 years into it because of non-competitive pay and every two- to three-year relocations. Meanwhile, my peers who went to college and took traditional jobs back home were enjoying comparatively higher salaries, home purchases, and more stability across the board. I have no regrets; I made my choices in life and apologize to no one for them. But it's grating to hear people place conditions on their patriotism, which yes, Veterans equate to your willingness to put skin in the game and SERVE. Bottom line: You either believe in this experiment called America or you don't--the question now is what are you prepared to sacrifice to keep it?

[@kodykj2112]

​@SK-cb9yu I agree with you in principle on all except for pay, in a meritocracy the people putting in more effort and more sacrifice are/should be paid more than those who are not. I think risking your life plus having to move and be gone from home and have unexpected deployments (depending on your role obviously) is plenty of sacrifice. Wanting to pay less is a money saving strategy, while at the same time the government intentionally overspends on contracts so the military-industrial complex makes money.

[@Snoop_Dugg]

Maybe the younger people are cynical/ jaded. Maybe we've seen the way veterans were used and treated in the past 20 years. Maybe the lessons of Gen. Butler has been taken to heart. And there's a very big difference between dying protecting your homeland and going to Taiwan to die defending someone else. Also as an engineer, he could already be contributing - making technology to keep troops safe.@@SK-cb9yu

[@kevinmccarthy8746]

Just want to say the free world needs you guys, either on the air or in the air. God bless.

[@mikebridges20]

Mooch, ever since your newsletter teased about having Pako on I've been looking forward to this podcast. Pako, LOVE The Merge newsletter (although I admit to being overwhelmed by some of the content), and the podcasts. Both of you, THANKS!

[@Utahdropout]

Wow....!!! Again, Mooch, I am so impressed with the depth of information and understanding of the subject you and "Pako" bring to this discussion. If I'd had this high level view of how things work in the Air Force back in the early '60's I might have stayed in. As it was I went in to fly and never did, so I got out. (That's one of those "If I'da" stories.) I'm amazed at the amount of information and understanding "Pako" has of this subject that he can access off the top of his head. It is very clear he is not reading anything. It is all right there in his brain. He must do a huge amount of research and have very high level access to those who are involved with what is happening. He is truly a great asset to your channel. Thank you again for making this available to us out here in the hinterlands.

[@AndrewH2791]

Always a pleasure to see Mr Benitez on the show.

[@k53847]

The wing commander stuff seems crazy. Army base commanders is usually Col assigned to command the base. Everyone else is a tenant, even if it's a 2 star or 3 star command. The base CO worries about the base infrastructure, which includes the ranges. So the 2 star has to coordinate range usage, but the base CO has no command authority on the tenant commands. And if the base CO knows that getting two stars angry isn't usually a good career move.

[@busaf95]

One slight quibble on the warfighting comment, SAC was a specified combatant command so it was a warfighting organization, not just a force provider.

[@suttonmatthew]

Our Headquarters Marine Corps Field Supply And Maintenance Office (FASAMO) inspections were often feared, but most regarded it as a terrific learning opportunity-better than any formal school. The attitude of the inspection team as a source of training versus a lethal gauntlet makes a difference.

[@chriskenney4377]

Finally, a warrant officer program. From an old USAF pilot, this is long overdue.

[@Icarusdecending82]

The only thing it will achieve is reduce the quality of the enlisted force.

[@Rob_F8F]

When talking about the change of command at Space Force, it was just the sickest burn when Ward said, "That's a real uniform." Harsher than saying anything actually derogatory. 😂😂😂

[@michaelinsc9724]

Paco is fantastic! Really like The Merge and read every word and often click links for additional information.

[@paaat001]

I was a SAC weenie back in the early 70's. Some thought on this: We need focused leaders like Lemay, Powers and Ryan, again. We were led by officers that had combat ribbons and decorations. If you look at the senior Air Force leadership now, their ribbons reflect meritorious service and career checkmark actions. If you want to win a war, you need people that have been there and done that. ORIs were a constant part of the job. It kept our unit on edge yes, but that was a knife edge of near perfection. We did it right the first time, all the time because personal and organizational accountability was one unannounced KC-135 landing away. Passing an ORI wasn't tough if the standards were maintained. If your unit blew it, your commander was a "sundowner". Our civilian leadership is appalling and has been for many administrations. Secretaries of the services and their staff need to be selected by qualification , not political show or showdown appointments. I will catch flack for this in some circles but just looking at senior DoD/DAF right now it is evident that the selection process is based on putting under-represented groups in charge because of their social status, not their knowledge or abilities to do the job.

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

​@@major__kong War is a racket . Gen. Smedley Butler, a true American patriot.

[@texhaines9957]

Thanks Mooch & Poco!

[@obwan5101]

Excellent conversation. Love these episodes w/ Pako! Ward, your topics range from the tactical to the operational & sometimes into the strategic levels--love that. Thank you for speaking to *my* interests! BZ. --Retired Air Force rated officer, M.A. National Security Studies

[@Ryanboy2020]

I always enjoy and pay attention when Paco comes on the channel. His gouge is beyond insightful. I recommended everyone to subscribe to the Merge.

[@heloshark]

Great show Team Mooch. You always have great guests, and Pako is fantastic!

[@Algorerhythm]

Those Space Force uniforms do look like something straight out of Space Balls.

[@Sefert79]

It's a cool sci-fi uniform, just need some adjustments.

[@BilgePump]

yes just adjust it to look like the traditional AF blues and stop the nonsense. Get back to work.

[@wildweasel8564]

Wait until you see the new helmets!

[@Sefert79]

@@BilgePump In Space, they left the Air and their uniforms behind.

[@infocentrousmajac]

Excellent analysis from M. Paco B. of the Air Force's GPC LOEs. Definitely a watch for eveyone involved in T&E.

[@Prototheria]

Just to piggy back on that part about improving the quality of life by saying that they should also bring back most of the MWR cuts they made back in '08.

[@jwv6985]

I'm impressed that the administration is aware of our abilities, and making changes to adjust. Seems like an open and honest assessment. Let's get it done...

[@nonconsensualopinion]

Agreed. A problem isn't great, but at least they're not burying their heads in the sand and pretending there isn't one.

[@bearowen5480]

Sounds suspiciously to me like empire building and/or rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic's promenade deck. We'll see. I hope I'm wrong.

[@ThomasGriffiths-h9p]

Just reading the title I can agree with you. I left AF in 2017 as an enlisted flyer. Besides manning shortages, aircrew members are always tasked with multiple secondary duties. Very rarely does an aviator get to practice their craft. The air force is more interested in DEI training than honing the skills of their people.

[@sevenmileshome]

So you were flight crew? there are no enlisted pilots. What other jobs are you referring to? Crew chiefs and load masters have alot of jobs but they are all related to the aircraft. Never do I ever see flight crew inspecting helmets and vests or checking maintenance schedules or even briefing intelligence reports 😂. Not saying your job was easy, and I understand enlisted AF has serious issues. But flight crew is a good job.

[@malekodesouza7255]

And that means unqualified candidates in position that matter. Brilliant. Who wouldn’t want an unqualified heart surgeon? 🙄

[@ThomasGriffiths-h9p]

@@sevenmileshome was that incoherent mess a question? Your line of questioning tells me you've never served.

[@ThomasGriffiths-h9p]

@@malekodesouza7255 well, that wasn't the way I was saying DEI but you are correct as well. What I meant is the qualified aviators spend hours in briefings about diversity and inclusion instead of focusing on their craft. Now on the other side, there is DEI in recruiting initiatives as well, but the military has only ever had one standard I think they are safer from dei recruitment than the corporate world.

[@SpookyEng1]

@@sevenmileshome I was a Flight Engineer on C-5s and AC-130Us and I did all those things and much more 😂😂. I guess you don’t know much about enlisted aircrew jobs.

[@caryladd863]

Very good comments. Enjoyed watching this video

[@thezirons]

Yeah! Good to see Pako back on the channel!! Great discussion, thank you!

[@billbrockman779]

I just learned ORI’s went away in 2013, two years after I retired. For my entire 31 years in the ANG, ORE’s and ORI’s were the dreaded thing that was coming.

[@rbfishcs123]

Thanks for the interview Mooch. Very insightful and really intriguing to hear what you and WSO "Pake" Benitez have to say. I wonder how the other branches are fairing? I have always heard that the Marine Corps is in a constant state of readiness - but seem to have issues with budgetary shortcomings (maybe this is how they keep all the marines constantly pissed off so if they need to kill it's easier to do haha).

[@loueckert4970]

I learned precision measurements at Lowry AFB in Colorado, spent 8 years in USN as an ET in PMEL/Calibration. Great training. God Bless America

[@joeg5414]

I lived in an apartment on the old Lowry AFB for a few years. After it was closed - from 2014-2016. Kind of cool - you can still see where the runways were and they use a lot of the old buildings. Hangers, old barracks, stuff like that.

[@johnhoffman8203]

I WENT THROUGH PMEL at Lowry in 71/72 ish. Saw the Navy get there as an E-4 and finish as an E-5. I got there as an E-1 and finished as an E-2 a year later. When I got out of the AF I joined the Navy and made 9 in 13 years.

[@tango_uniform]

If Ukraine gets F-16s without PMEL, they're screwed.

[@babagadoush1]

I cannot thank you enough for this valuable lesson. I’m taking notes to help me and my team at work.

[@JoshStrickland-n8x]

Budgets need to be completely gutted. 900 billion and "not ready"? Wow.

[@davesloat9006]

Great conversation and very good synopsis of most of these projected changes.

[@T51B1]

The major commands (the 4 stars leading them really) are already doing what they can to stop the changes. One of the things that wasn't discussed much is what major commands are going away and which commands are losing funds/influence. Most 2, 3 & 4 stars (regardless of service) are chasing the next star or higher command and don't like being told no and that their stuff is being taken.

[@georgeburns7251]

And we have so many 2,3,4 stars in the service today than we had during WW2. Less boots on the ground, more stars flying desks and checking underwater for hash marks.

[@CastleGraphics]

Some of these ideas go back to when I was in. Base commander & wing commander the same person? We never had that during the cold war. The idea of not forcing people to move up is something that the USAF has needed since 1947...it has always been that way, at least as far as I had heard. Warrant Officers for tech positions was something we argued for when I was in, and ultimately the reason I left

[@deltanine6497]

Thanks as always for the excellent briefing. 🇺🇸

[@RCAvhstape]

As a Marine air winger, watching the Air Force struggle with figuring out how to organize for deployments is really frustrating. Marines figured this out decades ago. Every Marine combat squadron is built to deploy, and the Corps task organizes into "Marine Air Ground Task Forces" or MAGTF which deploying units plug into. Seems pretty simple to me, but what do I know? Pass me another crayon...

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Perhaps we need Mike and Justin on the show at the same time; watch the algorithms explode!

[@strat1960s]

This was a fun video to watch. It brought back some great memories.

[@eversurfer]

Feedback loops are incredibly valuable. Especially in the software world. Add as many as you can and execute the plan, combine, reduce and simplify.

[@michaelchapman1662]

Pack is amazing. Deep insights and awesome communication skills. H should be running the air force some day.

[@musicbro8225]

Just what I was thinking! It's a rare thing to have someone talk about this stuff, which is usually wrapped up in jargon and acronyms, to be able to follow along with complete understanding. That was most appreciated. He looks like a nice guy to boot!

[@TheRealCFF]

If they want more money, you need to refuse it. The DOD already gets $900 billion annually. If it can’t make use of that properly, I don’t know what to tell them.

[@Payne-dk8nr]

Great video, Ward! Keep up the excellent work.

[@anthonyposton3248]

Another great episode as we have all come to expect. Well done sir’s.

[@babagadoush1]

Off topic but this is really helpful for me in my civilian field on incident response. Lots of great tips here.

[@wyohman00]

Here's a little secret that no one mentioned (or maybe I missed it), you can always tell when the AF is full of crap: they re-org. In my 26 years, I saw endless re-orgs that shuffle shit from one bucket to another. All military's fall into the trap, they are ready for the previous war. It's VERY hard to be creative, communicate effectively and build a military force able to counter tomorrows threats in the same way it's impossible to predict the future. In hindsight, there will be plenty signals that become obvious once the surprise attack is initiated OR maybe it's already started?

[@c.g.262]

Wow… and I thought the Army was messed up. Good stuff guys. I hope it all works out for the USAF.

[@anthonygray333]

I love the “of Excellence” moniker. The Army did it too. We joked that our unit was the Center of Mediocrity.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

If you don’t have incompetence you have no competence at all.

[@CastleGraphics]

That should have been a Monty Python skit...

[@Steve-dg3md]

Good thinking.... it's all about COMBAT READYNESS

[@f18tom56]

wonderful talk with Pako ! BZ

[@WaltDavidson-m9q]

The "American fighting machine," what became of it? I'm an ex-Marine, once a Marine, always a Marine and a patriot. Alarmingly, the statement; "The American nationalist is an endangered species!," may ring of truth. The small college town surrounding me boasts two ROTC detachments. Their ranks remain nearly empty. Students on the campuses hold various reasons to shun the armed forces of this great country. One common denominator it seems is; "The rubbery and somewhat humiliating American identity." Let's get on our feet!

[@stephendecatur189]

Thanks Ward. The next time it hits the fan could be quite different from anything that we've seen. It's going to be expensive to be ready.

[@jamesgunnyreed]

I imagine this will be all the talk at the Log Officers Symposium in St Louis in March. Im excited to see Gen Minihan speak again. Along with Maj Gen Jeff King, Lt Gen S.T. Hawkins, LT Gen Tom Miller, General Jacqueline Van Ovost, and LT Gen (Ret) Tim Fay. Last year the topic was much around Gen Minihan's famous MEMO. These announcements will be centerpiece to the conversation this year.

[@gregoryschmitz2131]

Great topic and discussion. It does occurs to me that "Then the Houthi Rear Their Ugly Heads". Not exactly GPC, but, the British Empire spent most of its time doing that sort of mission vs the occasional big blowup. That has to be accounted for as well. Warrant officers and a career path in place is long overdue. As noted, stupid to waste talent like that (and removes the cut throat aspects). A WO as a WSO would make huge sense. Stovepipe is not just a military thing, its as bad and vicious in the Corporate world.

[@nycj3ahudson341]

Perhaps if the PENTAGON concentrated a bit more on "procurement" and "READINESS" instead of "certain POLICIES", we would be more "ready" than we actually are... (Which is WOEFULLY INADEQUATE...)

[@brianfoley4328]

a quick Post Script to my recent comment....Ward Carroll for President 2024 (or at least Secretary of Defense).

[@stupidburp]

I think one important part that is missing is putting the economic part of strategic conflicts into the center of the conversations and planning. Too much focus on maximum capability without regard to costs. Also too much sacrifice in capabilities in the bulk of the force to make budgetary room for the fancy pet projects. The entire force as a whole should have good capabilities at sustainable costs for a major power competition that has depth of deterrence value and kinetic potential in all components.

[@harrycraviotto2375]

Pako needs to be secretary of defense, he sees the big picture and has common sense, and not political appointee. We can have a great military if we have the right management. Great interview mooch. We need a culture that promotes the best man or woman for the job, qualifications wise. We need only US citizens in our military. No trojan horses. What are we missing that we have so many qualified personnel leaving when the have so much to give? Thanks Mooch.

[@h.h.6171]

AETC- "Aint Even Thinking Combat".

[@alanholck9845]

Allergic Eternally To Combat

[@charlesbever4179]

Good stuff . Paco gives timely information. Also like the merge.

[@edjarrett3164]

I think the composite wing is really the to way to package combat forces. I flew out of Mountain Home as a staff tanker pilot. The team integration was pretty amazing. The communication, sharing and understanding of all pilots across platforms and the mxs integration really made a difference. Placing capabilities into a single bucket is huge. If you own your tankers, transports and fighter/bombers, then you have a mobility footprint that is yours to own and execute.

[@craigdillon3974]

Good to see Paco, hope we can get him a Moochie, this year!

[@douglasbuck8986]

We didn't need to exercise as MUCH because we were REAL WORLD deploying ALL THE TIME. On top of that, squadrons were supporting endless worldwide manning TASKINGS. Whack-a-Mole tends to shred regularly scheduled maintenance programs.

[@joshuaharlow4241]

Pako! Thank you, very much on-point on so many levels! The following will not make much sense to most, but, the USAF has been a pioneer on so many different fronts that is has been a victim of it's own success. (many years ago I was part of AFSC and very proud of it, we did some really cool _-_... USSF deserves it's status and it is sad that politicians have attempted to make the success of AF Space Command, into their own 'accomplishments'.

[@ThomasDrehfal]

Great video Mooch. Your statement: " You have to be ready across the board". How did we lose that so many years ago? I can remember the great "peace dividend" after the breakup of the Soviet Union, when we started to shut down bases across the world and started offering enlisted personnel retirement after 15 years etc... Somehow, we always think that the worst is over and then we figure out many, many years later that the worst is always still, just beyond the horizon. I am thinking pre-WW2, pre-Korea and pre-Vietnam etc...

[@spikestubbs210]

Always thought the problem with the Air Force is too many commissioned officers and not enough slots. Too many field grade rated guys going into non-rated slots so they don't leave, hurting retention of critical skills personnel on the non-rated side. Army fixed the same problem by making career pilots warrant officers.

[@manuwilson4695]

For the sake of the free world I hope America keeps encouraging clever men in their military like this dude.👍

[@patrickgreen2361]

Once again, awesome analysis.

[@boblynch2802]

While on board an SSBN (early 80s)we were subjected, Nuclear Technical Proficiency Inspections (NTPI) and Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination (ORSE). Our CO and XO took the concept of "Train Like You Fight" and "Fight Like You Train" very seriously. There was really big spin-up of "getting ready for Inspection", because we consistently did business the same way every day. Inspections started to become non-events.

[@emmettjones5165]

Ward, your MLQ (Mooch Learning Quotient) doubles when you have Benitez aboard.

[@dougpendleton1266]

Excellent video, very encouraging!

[@steveperreira5850]

Excellent yes, he seems both wise and intelligent

[@kidcasco1966]

not only to be read voraciously, these guys are just the coolest and funniest.

[@bearowen5480]

I'm amazed that it has taken the Air Force so long to seriously look at the warrant officer concept. Particularly when it has been so successful in the Army over the past six decades. If adopted by the USAF, it will solve a lot of personnel problems for the Service, especially in the pilot and WSO ranks.

[@SpookyEng1]

The AF will never have warrant officer pilots or WSOs in manned aircraft.

[@bearowen5480]

@@SpookyEng1 Hope you're wrong!

[@jonniez62]

We have a lot work to get this going. This comes down to the details and we don't know lot at this time.

[@willwozniak2826]

Thanks for the scoop Ward.....👉🏻👉🏻

[@EricaCalman]

A natural requirement after twenty years of optimizing for asymmetric warfare I'm afraid. That's what the policy makers wanted so the air force did what was required of them but there is now quite a back log of things that need to be done to pivot to dealing with peer adversaries in Europe (Russia) and the Pacific (China).

[@bstives58]

Shout out to AFMC and AFLCMC at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH! Can't forget about AFIT!

[@rusnsc7622]

Thanks Mooch and Paco, great discussion!🇺🇸

[@craigkowald3055]

I was deployed at Shaikh Isa with the tankers in 2002. I was the only one from my unit and was the base comm officer. We called it an organ donor deployment concept. The only unit integrity was in the flying and maintenance squadrons. All command and support was individual deployment.

[@jonwarren101]

Thanks. Great discussion on this topic.