Upon retiring from active duty after twenty-two years in the United States Air Force, I am frustrated by what I perceive to be some new idea of what leadership is as opposed to what it should be. Before continuing let me acknowledge that I am far from perfect. Some of my ideas may seem archaic, perhaps even barbaric. But they are my thoughts and beliefs - take them as such and feel free to comment, good or bad. This post is a bit different dealing with some of my pet peeves on some particular areas the military wastes money. Again, these thoughts are my opinion only.
The military wastes a lot of money. A lot. Like any area of government, the funding for military operations comes from taxpayer (citizen) money. The military is however the only department of government which will see its budgets cut depending on administrations and the "winds of politics." Even so there are many programs the military (and I'll speak of the Air Force here) where money and personnel are wasted.
I am about to commit a cardinal sin by actually naming names of programs on which the Air Force wastes millions of dollars every year. I am also committing a cardinal sin by being unabashedly un-apologetic for doing this. If you ask anyone who has known me for any length of time, they will tell you that I am not just making this up from whole-cloth - I truly wish this stuff would go the way of the dinosaur.
"Tops in Blue." Seriously? The United States Air Force actually feels the need to pay, staff and support a talent show and corresponding entertainment tour? What is even more ridiculous is that the Air Force refers to TIB as an "Expeditionary Entertainment Unit"! WTF! TIB is a song and dance troupe which tours the world doing USO style shows for troops and civilians worldwide. This isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but why do we have a USO if the service is going to have its own version of it? The job of those in the military is "to kill people and break things", not perform tacky entertainment shows on the government dole.
The Air Force Thunderbirds. Have you ever seen the Thunderbirds? They can do great things with an F-16. Personally, I feel these folks should be doing those great things onto the heads of the enemies of America. The Thunderbirds pilots are touted as "the best the Air Force has to offer." If that's true, then why are the second stringers out killing bad guys? Millions of dollars in personnel and maintenance alone are wasted on the Thunderbirds which the operational Air Force could be using to perform the mission. The mission of the Air Force isn't to entertain the public, it is to protect and defend the nation. Flying a fighter jet (which was built to shoot down enemy fighters and drop bombs on bad guy’s heads) at an air show isn't the mission. Addendum: You could probably add the airshow onto this category as well. If an air show is held irrespective of active-duty military involvement, something like the Confederate Air Force (or some such organization) then I'm all for it. If active-duty military assets are used, then it's a waste of resources, plain and simple. If you don't think it is, ask yourself the question "What is the payoff?" Some might say it's a recruiting tool. Please. In my twenty-two years in the Air Force (the last six plus years working with basic trainees), I have never heard anyone say they joined the Air Force because they saw the Thunderbirds (or went to) an air show.
Air Force "Bands." Beyond a national "Air Force Band" there is no need for them. People are recruited into the Air Force strictly to play in a band. I am not making that up. A "national" band I can see, regional or base bands specifically to do "band" stuff is a waste. If an installation wants to have a band, then recruit from your personnel pool and let people do it as an additional duty. This is the way it was done for centuries. Bringing in people specifically for "band" is ridiculous and frankly, insulting. I joined the military to serve my country. Some people joined to serve their country by playing a trombone. Re-read those last two sentences and see which one makes more sense to you.
Changing Uniforms. The Air Force has been in existence for (almost) 62 years. In that time frame, there have been over 100 "uniform boards." A uniform board looks at changing uniforms, making corrections to uniforms, updating, adding to, deleting from uniform combinations, etc. The Air Force has had three "utility" uniform combinations since I've been in - the "fatigue" or "greens", the battle dress uniform (BDU) or classic "camouflage", and now the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU). Collar brass (the collar U.S insignia worn on the collar of the service dress jacket) has changed four time: subdued (non-shiny) U.S. with a circle around it, shiny U.S. with a circle around it, shiny U.S. without a circle around it, now back to shiny U.S. with a circle around it. The Service Dress jacket has changed three times: The original coat, the current coat (most people refer to it as McPeak's Folly), and now the upcoming "Heritage" coat which is cut exactly the same as the "original" coat with the addition of a cloth belt. The addition of a PT uniform, which is being changed after only three years. What's the big deal? The Air Force has wasted millions of dollars annually convening uniform boards for things they should have taken into account from the beginning. This waste not only hits the taxpayer but will also impact the service members bottom line; if a uniform change come out after the member receives their clothing allowance, then they have to absorb the expense out of pocket. A lot of the uniform changes which have come down have been changed back and forth (as illustrated above) and it seems the Air Force is just changing things for the sake of change. It is wasteful and ridiculous. As Gunny Highway says, "Let's keep it simple. You've got your boots on, you can walk into combat."
Now, let the curses and howls of protest rain down upon me...