We love letters! Write to us at letters@afa.org. To be published, letters should be timely, relevant and concise. Include your name and location. Letters may be edited for space and the editors have final say on which are published.
Tell Me More
Two of Greg Hadley’s articles in the July/August edition [“World,” pgs. 19-21] have caused me to ask questions about the current subject, “re-optimization of Air Force combat power for great power competition.”
I have consulted several retired senior officers about Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s plan to reorganize the Air Force to effectively counter China’s threat, and I’ve read bits and pieces about it, including Gen. David Allvin’s words in this latest issue, but I am at a loss to understand much of it.
I understand this “re-optimization” is an ongoing effort, but it sure would help if those leading the effort provide some organizational charts to help us all understand this effort better.
Perhaps charts showing the current Air Force structure and charts to show where we are headed would help those of us in the trenches to better understand this massive reorganization.
And like writer Col. Frank Arnemann wrote about in “Letters: Educate, Develop, Train” (July/August, p. 6), I am not so sure about some of the decisions being made and how those decisions will help us defeat any greater power.
Col. Frank Alfter,
USAF (Ret.)
Beavercreek, Ohio
No Excuses
It is with dismay and disgust that I read that only half of our F-35s are mission capable and that the already dismal MC rates of the rest of the fleet continue to decline even further.
In 1981 I was pulled out of my position as Ops Officer of the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Lead-In Fighter Training) at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Col. Russ Violett said to me simply, “I need you to take over the AGS [Aircraft Generation Squadron ]; I just fired_____.” I didn’t even know what or where the AGS was. But I did know that we were having half a dozen in-flight emergencies daily, that the MC rate of our 130 AT-38s hovered in the low 60s.
I made only two changes in the realm of maintenance: I scrapped the inferior and cheaply bought foreign-made tools and replaced all with guaranteed Craftsman (I could have chosen MAATCO or other excellently produced U.S. sourced tools, but did make a hit with the local Sears store.) And, I eliminated the mostly idle third shift.
So, how by the end of my 16-month tour had we reached a MC rate of high 80s and low 90s? A week into my position I imposed my first Article 15 punishment on the installer, observer, and inspector of an improperly installed nosewheel that left a plane at liftoff. (They all later recovered and excelled.)
Other offenses were met with Article 15s—I imposed more monthly than Holloman’s three larger maintenance squadrons (F-15) and the nearly same sized sister squadron in the 479th. Usual punishment was a suspended bust and a letter of reprimand, all cleared later.
And I also discharged 50 nonperformers. The end result? The highest MC rate in Tactical Air Command and the highest reenlistment rate of all the Tactical Air Command maintenance squadrons. Maybe it’s a simple matter of leadership and discipline—and not excuses for failure.
On the $141 billion Sentinel overrun of another $45 billion: Haven’t we yet learned that industry builds better than the government? Turn it over to SpaceX and Blue Origin (not Boeing) and let them compete and succeed.
By the way, the Airman 1st class who was embarrassed and abashed at his mistake in the wheel installation, later refused to let an instructor and trainee take his plane. I got involved and interfered with the line chief and said, “Get them a spare,” and asked, “now, what’s wrong?” He responded, “This wing, sir. It should hit me here (on his waist), but, see, It’s an inch off.” I argued that it was a matter of tire inflation, strut inflation, or ramp slope. He was adamant. “I think it’s spar bolts.” We removed the thin fairing around the wing root and found two of the three huge spar bolts broken!
All T-38s and F-5s worldwide were grounded and spar bolts inspected. An entire lot was found to be defective. The Airman was commended by Gen. Wilbur Creech and promoted!
Lt. Col. John F. Piowaty,
USAF (Ret.)
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Military Education
I believe the best way to fix military recruitment and avoid a draft is to require all high school students, male and female, to serve for one year in the military [“AIMS: Advocates to Inspire Military Service,” July/August, p. 55].
This would provide us with plenty of Soldiers, get young people on the right road, and enable them to secure good jobs in the future.
It would also provide them with good pay, proper nutrition, physical fitness, and skills for future military or civilian jobs.
Staff Sgt. Norman North,
USAF (Ret.)
Springdale, Ark
TMI
As a retired U.S. Army Warrant Officer, I have been reading the Air Force magazine, now the Air & Space Forces magazine for several years, courtesy of my retired USAF neighbor. The magazine continues to publish great photos and articles, and at times, it seems like it publishes a bit too much information about USAF projects and problems.
Which leads me to the Annual Air & Space Forces Almanac. Although much of this published information is publicly accessible, each year the almanac tries to outdo itself by including more and more military information. With China currently purchasing vast areas of land near military installations and our current open border situation, with dozens of suspected terrorists already caught within the USA, why does this magazine need to publish a quick reference guide for individuals that wish to do harm to the USA?
The latest issue of the Almanac [May/June 2024 issue], includes a map of all USAF and Space installations, type and number of aircraft and weapons systems at each base, to include strategic missiles and drone development, project budgets and future plans of those systems and much more. And military personnel information is not left out. The Almanac lists unit commander’s names, the number of personnel and job type at each base, their gender, race, rank, education, and again, much more.
The Almanac also publishes in great detail the same information about our overseas commands. The only thing not published (yet) is the service member’s political affiliation and the operating hours of the security gates. When I was in the USAF many years ago, we used to read the technology magazine “Aviation Week & Space Technology.” It published so much information, we called it, “Aviation Leak & Waste Technology.”
Why can’t the Air & Space Forces Magazine downsize much of its published Almanac information and if that person needs more information, just contact the USAF Public Relations Office? I can only assume Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and even our allies smile when they get their copy each year. Why make it easy?
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Keith Davis,
USA (Ret.)
Colorado Springs, Colo.