I'm the grandson and son of non-career military men, son-in-law to a retired military man, a retired military man myself, and a father and father-in-law to people now serving. Once upon a time, I would have heartily recommended Air Force service to anyone. Be it for a single hitch or a career, responsible individuals almost always got more out of it than they should have expected. But these days, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.
Today and tomorrow the USAF will be letting 1LTs know who survived and who didn't in this round of so-called 'Force Reshaping' Reduction-in-Force (RIF) .
The 'victims' will soon figure out where their futures will lie. The 'survivors' get to continue wondering what their future will bring, in a military service that maintains a deafness to its own self-inflicted idiocy.
After retirement, I have continued working closely with the services, and have seen what has been, and is now, going on. I have this to say to the survivors:
Take a look around at the Air Force as it is today and remember it. Although the Air Force started sliding downhill under Merrill McPeak** and is but a shadow of its pre-Bottom-Up-Review self, this bonehead manpower exercise called Force Reshaping has put an Olympic luge under the AF. Sorry boys and girls, right now active duty is as good as it is going to be...for a long, long time. So from here on out, try and enjoy the ride.
What a f*&#%&$ shame.
**For you young kids who aren't aware of the McPeak legacy click here and scroll down and read the comments from those who served with/under him. Its a hoot.
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