Well, yes. Yes, you do. (Rant alert!) From the Air Force Association’s Daily Report:
Brave New World: The Air Force's fledgling cyber force has developed a roadmap that proposes establishing new career fields for officer and enlisted airmen that would affect some 30,000 active and 2,000 reserve personnel currently working in the cyber realm. The head of Cyber Command (Provisional), Maj. Gen. William Lord, said the new roadmap "outlines our efforts to establish cyberspace operators, specialists, analysts, and developers who grow from a basic understanding of cyberspace doctrine to experts in their respective fields." Per the plan, operators would comprise officer and enlisted airmen who would plan, direct, and execute offensive and defensive actions; specialists would be enlisted communications and information cyber technicians; analysts would include both officer and enlisted intelligence personnel with expertise in cyberspace operations; and developers would also comprise both officers and enlisted members with advanced skills in designing and modifying software and hardware. AFCYBER's initial work focuses on operators and specialists, including two new officer air force specialty codes and 15 new enlisted AFSCs. Work is still ongoing to outline career paths for analysts and developers, expected later this year, and to define professional development for the service's civilian cyber force. "We have a lot of work ahead of us still, but we know the direction we're headed," said Maj. Timothy Franz, AFCYBER chief of force development. In the works, too, is a proposed cyberspace operator badge. Officials last month noted that the command is on track to stand up this fall, while still looking for a permanent location for the headquarters. (For details on the specific AFSC's being cut and created, see AFCYBER report by Karen Petitt.)
There have been more than a few changes in the Air Force since I traded in my gub’mint-issued Blue Suit for Brooks Bros. back in 1985. Some time a while back (five years? ten years?) USAF overhauled all of its Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs), changing the entire system into something unrecognizable to folks who’d served previously. As an example, my AFSC when I retired was 30372… which meant I was in the Communications-Electronics field (first two digits: 30), radar (third digit: 3), technician level (fourth digit: 7), aircraft control and warning (AC&W) radar (last digit: 2). This may sound and look complicated, but it’s not. The current structure for AFSCs looks like this:
EXAMPLE: 1N37 - Operations, Intelligence, Cryptologic Linguist, Craftsman
The whole explanation of AFSC numbering structure is here, if you’re curious and/or need a non-addictive sleep aid. But I digress... and mightily, at that. My whole point was going to be this: were I still on active duty I’d be qualified (by virtue of my job) to wear that spiffy new badge that accompanies this lil blurb.
Which, of course, brings up yet another change USAF has made since I retired… everyone is now authorized to wear steenkin’ badges of some sort. Back in my day only pilots, navigators, and aircrew wore badges, specifically “wings.” There were other badges, too, but they were limited to health care professionals (doctors, nurses), chaplains, lawyers, missileers (the famous “pocket rocket”), and skycops (who wore real badges, as known and understood by the civilian population). Nowadays it takes an entire page in the Air Force Almanac (BIG-ass pdf alert: jump to page 71 if ya go) to display all the various badges USAF has authorized for wear. I counted 32, and that’s not counting the various flavors of “wings” currently authorized. When you add in all the flippin’ ribbons and medals that are authorized these days (and handed out like candy, I might add) you get airmen who have more adornments on their uniforms than an Eagle Scout wearing all his merit badges.
That ain’t right. “Whatever Happened to the Plain Blue Suit?”, indeed.
It kinda takes something away from them to get them so easily.
ReplyDeleteThe rewards are now given to the losers too. It make the rewards worthless. In third grade I got a trophy for soccer but we lost. What is that telling kids? That it does not matter if they are losers they still get a trophy. It does not teach them to try harder.
ReplyDeleteBecky: Agreed, and that's my whole point.
ReplyDeleteAsh: Your comment is well-taken, too. NO ONE should get an award just for showing up. And that's what's happening these days, in the military and out.
I can attest to the decoration 'inflation' in the Navy. When I was in during the 70's and a little of the 80's I saw the award of the Navy Achievement Medal only two times in those 9 years (its pretty high up on the list, 5th I think overall). I work with the Navy a lot these days, going down to the Fleet sites and helping field new equipment onto a particular aircraft. I have seen First Class (E-6's)and Chief's (E-7's) with 4 and 5 of those things!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey say you can't get promoted without two or three these days. It strikes me that no one even asks how or why one received them in the first place, one guy couldn't tell me how he got so many!!!
All I know is that if it really meant anything you would remember and be proud, but if they are handed out like M&M's who is going to care.
I'll keep mine locked up since it actually means something.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
You know, you have to stop and consider that "showing up and doing your job" has reached a higher degree of difficulty when you are having to show up and do it in a 120 degree sand storm under regular mortar attack. You are most certainly right when you said that things have changed, they have for sure. I wouldn't ever in a million years compare any Iragi veteran to an Eagle Scout. It's unseemly.
ReplyDeleteJimmy: It's sad to hear the Navy has succumbed to this trend, as well. My SN2 is Navy (as you probably know) and he agreed with me on this subject in the past, although we haven't talked about it recently. It seems the Air Force is leading the parade when it comes to medal proliferation. And it might be in front as far as badges are concerned, but I can't say for sure. I've seen an awful lot of badges on some of our Army guys lately... but their uniforms have always looked sorta cluttered to me.
ReplyDeleteI never received an Air Force Achievement Medal... that's one of the medals that have been struck (created) since I retired. But I know what my two AF Commendation Medals were awarded for, and I treasure them. Same thing goes for the MSM I got when I retired. The MSM might have been one of those "being there" awards, but I think I earned it! ;-)
Amy sez: You know, you have to stop and consider that "showing up and doing your job" has reached a higher degree of difficulty when you are having to show up and do it in a 120 degree sand storm under regular mortar attack. You are most certainly right when you said that things have changed, they have for sure. I wouldn't ever in a million years compare any Iragi veteran to an Eagle Scout. It's unseemly.
Disagree, Amy. It was pretty danged hard to "show up" in the heat and humidity of Vietnam, the sub-zero temps at the Chosin Reservoir, or the snow and ice at Bastogne. Wars are never fought in pleasant places or times, that much is constant and hasn't changed at all. And it never will change.
My beef is with the Air Force as an institution, not with individual airmen or a class of airmen. The institutional Air Force (and its senior leadership) is responsible for the proliferation of badges, awards, and decorations... not the individuals who receive them. There IS a difference.
The less crap on the uniform, the less I have to worry about making sure it is in order. Yeah, only an Air Farce guy would say that. Being as how I am an Eagle Scout, I think I am qualified to pass judgment on your statement, and I would say that anyone who has more than 5 or 6 years in service has, by that point, surpassed the Eagle Scout in uniform bling.
ReplyDeleteRe: "showing up" and decorations, I've made this point on my blog before (and I think you have as well), but it bears repeating. Look at the decorations and ribbons on the uniforms of men like Eisenhower, Nimitz, and Marshall. Some of the best military leaders this nation has known, and they barely had a row or two of ribbons. It's not about the decorations and it never has been...I think all true warriors know that. What that says about our senior leadership I leave unsaid.
Personally, I'm authorized to wear something like 7 or 8 (or maybe 9) AFROTC ribbons. The fact that I don't even know how many I'm authorized tells you how much I care about those. Of those I only care about three: the Expert Marksmanship ribbon, an AFROTC Achievement ribbon that was awarded for actually going beyond "my job," and the warrior flight ribbon from FT. Everything else I really could care less about.
Speaking of AFROTC ribbons (which as a whole really don't matter), there was a really good bit on chairforce about a prank some people played on a brand new butter bar. They managed to convince him that there was an "AFROTC graduate" ribbon that was authorized for wear on Active Duty if one had commissioned from AFROTC. It was basically an American flag ribbon, if I remember correctly. They had him wearing it for a couple of days before he finally figured out that joke. I couldn't find it on their site, but I'm sure it's still up somewhere.
Well said, Mike... and yeah, I have written about the dearth of ribbons on Ike's chest (and others, as well). I think there's a link within one of the links I posted (my previous rants) to a photo of him with three ribbons on his service uniform, and that was when he was a five-star.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right: it ain't about that ribbons and medals, ultimately. That's NOT why we serve(d).