my life 2007

Diana,

Thanks for a much needed chuckle!

When I read the part about your department writing better than average RRFs my thought was, “They’d better!” But I prefer your response.

Dave

diana,
Maybe MSgt Piaseki and I could come up with a draft RRF and then turn it over to you for some “buffing up"!

VR,
Alan

diana,

I’m so glad you got a lift. Others have said this, but it bears repeating: the AF in general, and the Academy in particular, are lucky to have you.

I wish I’d had an English teacher like you.

K

This post just confirms what I already knew…you need to stay in and really trust in your “unique abilities and qualifications.” If the AF tried to RIF you, I would think your students, and colleagues, would rise up in protest. I certainly would if I was one of them.

Stay the course, Cuz…we all have faith in you!

Kat

Well, I’ll be. Lt Col Capalungan is lurking on my blog. What a delightful surprise! You just never know who’s watching, now do you?

Hope you’re faring better than I these days, sir. Unless I miss my guess, you’re under the gun, too. (But at least you can retire.) Great to hear from you. :)

You’re absolutely right, of course. No one buffs the bullets like the person who isn’t entirely sure what they meant in the first place. :D

I’m not sure how much hope to hang on the RRF nail at the moment. I’m afraid I may overestimate my immediate leadership’s ability to save me.

Kathy, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Kathleen, I wish a rise in protest could make a difference. Alas. It doesn’t work that way. But thank you all for the encouragement.

d

Capt.,
Look at it this way. You take the VSP, you get your Phd, you get a job teaching in some college somewhere a group of young adults who most likely will not have the drive and motivation that your current students have. I think that in the long run you would regret not holding out and at least taking the chance to keep a job that you most certainly love. IMHP :)

You’re right, Rick. If I opt for the VSP, I will most certainly lose the job I love and regret not holding out to see if I could have kept it. The question, of course, is whether the gamble is worth $78k.

But with the RRFs, I’m leaning toward the gamble.

I’ve all but decided that if my medal at Gunter got bumped to yet another achievement medal, I leave. I’ve been bilked on medals enough, and officer promotion boards look at them. At this point, I look pretty lousy if I have another achievement, particularly after being director of ops at NOD, let alone stationed at Gunter for 3.5 years. If it’s commendation, I’m pretty much where I think I am (competitively), anyway.

If it’s an MSM, I’ll faint dead away. Maj Brown said he was putting me in for one, but I don’t recall dragging an entire family from a burning car while crippled from bullet wounds or anything, so I don’t hold out hope it got through the system. ;)

d

diana,

Could you explain something to me? Your Commander in Chief has decreed that another 20,000 people will be sent to Iraq. At least some of that 20,000 will need to be educated. Wouldn’t you think the AF would need to hang onto every last active body it can? What am I missing?

K

Kathy,

That’s a good question. And I actually have an answer. :)

Right now, that Army is attempting to add thousands to its ranks in order to fight the ongoing wars while the AF is attempting to “trim the fat” in order to reallocate the saved monies into funding further development of the F-22 and such. Thus, I am cordially invited to transfer Blue to Green (AF to Army) in order to possibly be yet another of the 20,000 new targets of opportunity in Iraq.

In this difficult period, we’re systematically making the AF leaner in order to produce better conventional war machinery that does nothing to improve our edge is this very unconventional war. I leave open the possibility that we’re preparing for another threat in which the F-22 will be the decisive factor (North Korea?). However, I do not dismiss the possibility that the F-22 is assembled in enough different states that halting or limiting its production is politically inadvisable, and thus the money must come from somewhere. I have also considered the distinct possibility that development of the F-22 was commissioned several years ago, and the slow bureauocratic wheels upon which it rides are just getting started.

‘Tis one of the drawbacks of democracy, y’know. ;) All else being equal, monarchies/autocracies/regimes have the command edge in times of war. They can get inside our “OODA loop” (Observe Orient Decide and Act) because they don’t have to hash things out and get a majority opinion.

d

Diana,

The downside of the monarchy/autocracy/regime model is that there may be a real bozo at the top. Of course, such people don’t usually survive (politically or physically) long enough to engage the U.S. in hostilities.

Dave

Being a democracy doesn’t necessarily mean there can’t or won’t be a “real bozo at the top.” The monarchy/autocracy/regime models certainly don’t have a corner on that market.

I wouldn’t let the money influence your decision. What are you going to do with it anyway? (I’ll end up giving mine to some ungrateful offspring) Really.. You have what you need, and what you want is to teach bright kids, right? To not go the distance seems rather non-sequitur from your life goals, and your path so far (if you ask me, which you didn’t).

Love,
Rog

Er…I’d invest the money to try to get something close to the retirement I want from the gov’t. :)

I’ll just watch the lay of the land for a bit. If it looks like my chain of command won’t be able to save me, I’ll probably take the VSP.

They’re doing the SERB right now (that’s Selective Early Retirement Board, and it applies to Lt Cols over 20 years who have been passed over twice for promotion to Col). We have four in the faculty who just met the board. If their “1 of 8 uniformed PhDs qualified to teach at the AF Academy” bullets don’t save them, I can’t hold out much hope that a lesser bullet will save me. If their board isn’t interested in maintaining a good academic corps in its service academy, the RIF board probably will be even less interested.

But as you know, I value your opinion, Rog–even (and perhaps particularly) when I don’t ask for it. :)

d