New Forum for Real Military Aviation Communication

More than a decade ago I created a military aviation website with an emphasis on resources for cadets wishing to be commissioned officers, and aviators.  My intent was to develop it cradle to grave, focusing on the youngsters, and I invested a great deal of money into the venture.  Not only does WantsCheck.Com ("wants check" is a military pilot mnemonic) have content, but it has great tools designed to allow the community to improve the website.  Fortunately, I designed it in such a way that those who wish to give to the community can do so directly whether it be by sharing their personal information that led them to gaining a coveted slot for military pilot training, or by sharing gouge on an interview with a particular guard unit.  This paid off.

A string of legal issues took all my time from developing the website, and I have barely visited the website over the last five years.  Still, the website continued to grow amassing nearly 17,000 registered users and a database of more than 600 individuals who shared their competitive information before attending pilot training.

I will now be using the website for an experiment on communication.  I and several others will be launching a message board, with carefully discussed rules for moderation to prevent censoring good ideas.  Many of the problems with communication found in our service, it seems to me, are mirrored on military websites.  Our attempt will be to create a forum where opinions and ideas can die or prosper on their own merit, without the insecurity of moderators or irrational worship of sacred cows trumping discussion.  In order to better study this communication, I have to refrain from joining it, and will simply study from the shadows our new creation.  For my part, the forum is not a means to empower a particular message (to include my own), but to empower real communication.

I hope to have the forum populated by a diverse group of individuals with differing opinions, free from censorship, in the hope that unfettered communication will lead to greater knowledge among those who participate.  And hopefully, to a better informed group of individuals serving in our military.

Wish us luck as we endeavor to Keep Em' Flying!

President Obama Made the Right Call on Syria

One of the tougher aspects of military service is that service means being the stick, and not the hand that wields it.  We don't have to agree with the wisdom or outright foolishness of any proposed military action in order to pack our bags and carry it out.  We simply have to be sure that our actions are legal and comport with the laws of our nation.

When it comes to law, our President was correct during his speech.  He was correct that he does have the ability to take military action without congressional approval.  While it is true that our Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, it is also true that the same section of enumerated powers to Congress also gives that branch the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution every single power granted to any portion of our federal government.  Congress exercised that power by passing federal law, known as the War Powers Resolution, which allows the President to take military action for sixty days without their authorization or approval, and imminent threat to the United States is not required.  President Obama was correct.

I believe it was a wise move for President Obama, notwithstanding his legal authority to take military action, to choose not to do so in order to let this matter be debated in Congress where it belongs.  Fortunately, our military leadership has been providing responsible advice to civilian leadership.  We can only hope that Congress gets it right this time, and does not error inexcusably as they did with their authorization for war in Iraq.  I also believe that every instance of government being restrained by our rule of law, should be applauded.

Again, we're the stick.  If Congress authorizes the war, be ready to pack your bags and go to work.

Our Constitution is on the Terror List

Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request, and received some documents where our Air Force teaches airmen that multiple Presidents of the United States, among others, were extremists unfit to serve in the U.S. military.  The training material states that:

As noted, an ideology is a set of political beliefs about the nature of people and society. People who are committed to an ideology seek not only to persuade but to recruit others to their belief. In U.S. history, there are many examples of extremist ideologies and movements. The colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule and the Confederate states who sought to secede from the Northern states are just two examples.

According to the Air Force training materials, individuals such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock were extremists who would not be fit to serve in our military today, opining that, "Individuals who hold extremist views are in conflict with the standards expected of all military members, and participation in extremism is inconsistent with the duties of military service."  The training material further states:

Furthering the objectives of extremist organizations is viewed as detrimental to the good order, discipline, or mission accomplishment of the unit and is, therefore, subject to appropriate disciplinary action. As an EOA, you should assist the unit commanders in being vigilant about the existence of such activities.

I would love to see the look on General George Washington's face after reading this military guidance, "Nowadays, instead of dressing in sheets or publicly espousing hate messages, many extremists will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place."  Not only did Washington hold such "extremist" ideology, but he also organized men in pursuit of its goals to secure a greater measure of liberty.  The founding generation, extremists, successfully threw off tyranny in colonial America, and they also founded our current government through our Constitution and put in process a system that replaced the authoritarian divine right of Kings and which has, when followed, made our country better as suffrage was expanded and slavery eliminated.  If this Air Force training material is to be believed, what we are teaching our airmen is that the proper course of action in the face of tyranny and government abuse, is to simply shut up and accept an authoritarian government and to be wary of discussing "rights" and making the world a better place.  Sounds familiar.  Given that much of the training material is taken from the once-great Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), it's understandable why this training is so misguided.
 
But the problem really is much larger than these documents, and those who composed them.  There truly is an all out assault on our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our American ideals and that assault is widespread throughout our military.  Our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence have both been paid lip service to, while those who truly value those documents are painted as domestic terrorists or as some kind of threat.  I have experienced it first hand.  Once when I was ordered by an AETC squadron commander to not discuss the Constitution with my students, and years later when I was ordered to violate our Constitution in the most egregious way possible, with extreme prejudice.

I requested the first order in writing, but the commander declined to provide it, so I continued to instruct my students on the officership that was expected of them to include their oaths to support and defend the Constitution without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

The second, and much more troubling order, was provided in writing, after I refused the verbal order with a witness present.  I refused that order in writing.  My own FOIA results show that I was to be sent to either a court martial or more likely an administrative separation board and booted from the service with more than fifteen years of service (an admin separation board is a non-legal proceeding where the order would be assumed to be lawful).  For some reason leadership changed its mind on this course of action.  I figured they wouldn't court martial me and actually introduce the issue into a real legal proceeding, where they would most certainly lose, as the order would be declared illegal and unconstitutional and would provide some difficulties in the halls of power.  I'm still not sure why they changed their mind on the administrative separation board.  At any rate, they decided to give me yet another written reprimand, my first ever referral performance report, and they suspended all my security clearances on grounds that I was not "loyal."  Never in my life would I have guessed that my loyalty would ever be questioned, but it was.  I resigned my commission over the affair, but it was not accepted.  It took more than a year of being in non-operational limbo not knowing my fate, but the Air Force ultimately did the right thing, found for me, acknowledged that I was defending our Constitution and that I had submitted my signed resignation to leadership in response to the reprimand.  The Air Force reinstated my security clearances and put me back into the operational fight where I continue to use my experience to defend our nation, and our Constitution, as I swore to do; an oath I keep without letting cowardly concern for myself or my career get in the way of my duty to those who pay me to protect them.  In my case, the Air Force did the right thing.  But that matters little.  I was the only person to refuse the unlawful order, and ultimately our Constitution was violated; a violation that in my view has marked the lowest point in American history, or has ended it all together.

Something has definitely changed in a very serious way, in our service and in our country.  These Air Force training documents actually give us great insight into what has changed.  The document states:

All nations have an ideology, something in which they believe. When a political ideology falls outside the norms of a society, it is known as extremism.

This is correct.  When the American ideology that government be limited and checked and restrained, and that American citizens have rights in the face of powerful government, and that government is to be for the People rather than for ruling over the People, gets marginalized and is no longer valued, then American values become seen as extremist.  Not because they are actually extreme or dangerous, but simply because they are different and minority.  Ironically, our Constitution was created to protect the minorities and their rights to believe and speak unpopular minority views, and yet today we see the SPLC and others demonizing minority viewpoints using nonsense labels like "extremist" to describe a politically unpopular, though historically justified, point of view.

Demonizing the very foundation of America as "extremist" and incompatible with military service is no small thing.

But it's not just government and private organizations that wish to operate without legal restraint that demonize America.  The Constitution is degraded and marginalized throughout the ranks of both the military and larger society, and in conversation on a day to day basis.  Meat-head military officers who think ESPN is a news source routinely disparage the document, silence any discussion of it, and irresponsibly demonize the minority of their peers who actually make good on their oaths to support and defend the Constitution by publicly expressing their value for it.  Even the highly educated and intelligent (like Tony Carr, who deleted his own blog post and its comments about his view that no rights in the Constitution are inviolate) find ways to verbally pay homage to the document, while approaching it with the caveat that it can be violated at the whim of the government or "interpreted" like play-doh for any end, making it wholly meaningless.  A great many who serve are almost eager to violate the constitutional rights of their American neighbors and express it on an online poll, while being paid by those very same neighbors to protect their constitutional rights.  We are in a very bad place.

For those of us who serve, who truly serve, we need to feel the pressure of our oaths to America.  While most of us will not be placed in a position where we are ordered to violate our supreme law and the rights of our neighbors who pay us (I fear that will change, and is changing), the rest of us can fulfill our duty to support and defend the Constitution by taking the minimal time required to read it, studying what the document says rather than what we want it to say or what we are told it says, and by mentoring our peers to do the same.  And we have to draw a line in the sand, set a moral go speed, and commit to never violating our highest law no matter the cost to ourselves personally.  At the end of the day, this isn't an intellectual exercise - it's a character exercise, and those who don't have the stones to truly defend Americans and make good on their oaths, should find some corporate company to ruin.  Once we separate or retire from the military, then and only then, can we factor ourselves and our convenience into the equation.  Until then, cowards need not apply and your justifications fall flat despite your attempts to silence those who show you a mirror.  Public service ain't no chump game.  Even when it's filled with chumps.

You can call it "extremist" to do the right thing by your nation as you swore before God to do, even at your own personal career expense, if it helps you rationalize your lack of integrity or your lack of spine.  But as for me, I'll stand with General George Washington on this one.

TERA - The Magical Shield For What is Coming?

When I read about the Air Force implementing the new Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) in late July, I had thought the window to apply was just over a month.  While reading the Air Force Times website today, however, I noticed that the application window ends on 13 August.  So I went to Google to take a look at an older Air Force Times article, and it also shows 13 August as the deadline now.  Strange.

But Stars and Stripes shows the application date ends on 19 August, stating:

The Air Force isn’t giving airmen much time to consider its offer: The deadline for applying is Aug. 19. Applications will be approved or denied, with airmen notified of the decision, by Sept. 1. Airmen approved for early retirement will have to leave the service by Nov. 1.

Not surprising given the way this program has been announced and handled so far.  I will be interested to see how many applicants are denied TERA, while the service checks the "we offered it" checkbox, only to be kicked out involuntarily months later.

I am guessing this "offer" of TERA will be used to magically shield the service from the many complaints that will be endured in 2014, when the real weeping and gnashing of teeth begins; when folks with more than 17 years of service who were, months prior, deemed too "critical" to allow to retire early, are then given pink slips, and told, "thanks for playing."  Interesting times we live in.

A Shiny Nickel on the Grass - Colonel Bud Day

A great American hero passed away today.  A really great American.  Colonel Bud Day crossed the fence for a final time early this morning in Florida.  I had always meant to meet him, but he became sick before I could do so.  I read his book, Return With Honor, and I had the privilege of reading email correspondence from him to currently serving powerful flag officers who were not doing the right thing.  As an attorney, he continued to battle on behalf of airmen and other Americans.  Colonel Day didn't leave his courage on the battlefield.  Principle was more than a box simply to be checked.

He is truly a hero of mine.  Not only did he brave combat and keep his integrity intact and provide a role model for courage on the battlefield over the skies of Vietnam, and in a POW camp for a great many years, but at home he continued to display courage by calling out those he served with who failed when truly tested.  That is a real service, and a costly one.  People in our business need to know when they are failing, and they don't typically like that feedback.

Colonel Bud Day shamed cowards he served with, even as the service rewarded and promoted them.

More than that, he continued as a lawyer to fight the good fight for America.  Colonel Day was the primary reason that service members have Tricare and any medical at all.  When the military began cutting retired medical benefits, he and his peers challenged the establishment in court and objected when promises of free health care for life were broken.  He lost in court, not because he wasn't right, but rather because a military that gave false promises wasn't legally required to keep those promises.  He turned his legal fight into a political fight, and all of us owe him a debt of gratitude for having a retiree health plan.

Colonel Day, a towering figure and the pinnacle of combat accomplishment, the most decorated military man alive, was also approachable by the lowliest cadet or lieutenant.  The Colonel was humble, loved air power, loved freedom, hated communism, and worked to strengthen America in multiple facets of his life.  He was tireless with his wife, who he affectionately called "the Viking," on his side.

He spent more than five years being tortured in a Vietnamese POW camp after multiple escape attempts, and he never broke.  Any honest man may love him or hate him, agree or disagree with his politics, share his prejudices and passions or not, but no man can deny that Colonel Day was a truly great American.

This blog post is a drunken late night tribute, and is nowhere close to touching on the greatness of this warrior.  America lost a great Air Force officer today.  His courage is legendary, both in combat abroad, and at home where our Constitution is the most threatened.  Colonel Day was the real deal, and the rest of us should ever try as best we can, to emulate his example, and to risk ourselves for our nation.  It's unlikely we will ever be tested as Colonel Day was, which is why it's so important that we not fail the easy tests.  We are in the business of courage.  Colonel Bud Day has shown us the way.

Him, him.

A Chance to Restore the Judiciary - Assassinating Americans

While the judiciary embarrassingly failed as the third branch of our government and ducked its check-and-balance responsibility during the first suit brought by Awlaki's father, the legality of the claimed right to assassinate Americans without charge or trial is front and center in federal court yet again.

The government has admitted to assassinating an American citizen.  Previously, that American's father brought suit to prevent the U.S. government from hunting down and killing his son simply because he was on an assassination list.  The court punted and did not hear the merits of the case, citing the standard nonsense excuse that seems to accompany judges who don't want to do their constitutionally required duty- ie, lack of standing.

The father's son was assassinated by the U.S. government.  Instead of being captured and tried in court for treason (as our Constitution mandates for Americans suspected of treason), he was simply terminated with extreme prejudice.  While the government invaded Panama and lost American service members to capture and try Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking (a mission that was successful, and now the non-American Noriega sits in a prison cell), the government decided not to afford the same due process to an American citizen.  Instead, one branch of government decided to act as judge, jury, and executioner.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer finds this disturbing, as should every American citizen.  She stated in response to the cliche and tired government "security" position that:

“Your argument is that the court has no role in this — none, none none...  I find that a little disconcerting. The scope of your argument concerns me. It gobbles up all the air in the room. ... The most important part of the United States is that it is a nation of laws.”

I hope Judge Collyer does the right thing and exercises the badly needed judicial check-and-balance against a clearly unconstitutional and incredibly un-American practice.  The judge's comments make it clear that she knows the all too obvious right legal answer.  Hopefully she doesn't use some manufactured legal technique, like a purported lack of standing, to avoid her own constitutional responsibility.

Time to Get Rid of Chaplains - Win for Sequestration and the Constitution

With all the talk of cutting warfighters yet again, and remarks about being creative in solving the budget issues, I find it interesting that there has been no discussion of cutting the chaplain corps in its entirety.  Here is why I think it makes sense to cut chaplains, especially these days.

First, their existence is a violation of our Constitution.  Article VI (the same article that requires military officers to swear to support the Constitution), states:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

As should be obvious, being religiously certified is required to be a chaplain.  A non-religious person cannot be a chaplain.  Not all religious people can be a chaplain either, they have to have certain certifications and pass certain tests to get into that position (ie for the "qualification").  In the military, chaplains are sworn in as executive officers and become taxpayer funded military officers with military retirements.  Their existence is quite clearly unconstitutional, as a religious test is most assuredly required for the public office of the chaplaincy.

Second, the nation has become more secular and very few people in the service use the services of a chaplain.  While there are some people who are religious who do, and some non-religious people who use them for secular counseling sessions, very few overall use their services and many chaplains are never seen other than being asked to give an official prayer at a public event, or perhaps when the chapel hosts various diversity events.

Third, the religious services of chaplains are easily replicated at no cost to the taxpayer.  One has only to drive out the front gate of their base to find plenty of religious options, should that be their desire.  For those who wish to worship, the vast majority can have their needs met anywhere in the United States off base.  In fact, the vast majority of religious people do get their needs met off base, despite having a chapel available to them.  Some religious traditions are not so easily met in a community, and typically in that case they are not met on base at the chapel, either.  Further, most religious institutions have a missionary ethic, and it would be easy for non-military religions to supply ministers and such to deploy, for free, with the military as desired.  It doesn't make sense to spend taxpayer money on something that so many desire to provide without compensation.

Fourth, chaplains are all officers.  According to Wiki, there are nearly 3000 active duty chaplains.  Remembering those are all officer positions that come with officer retirements, it then stands to reason that there is a huge amount of money to be saved by cutting their billets (my rough calculations show a savings of at least 300 million a year, but I suspect it's closer to a billion a year in savings).  Beyond that, there is even more warfighting capability to be garnered by sending their enlisted aides to combat support and operational positions.

I have several chaplain friends, and many of them do great work.  The reality, however, is that they should not exist in their current form.  A volunteer chaplain corps could easily exist, with the same board that certifies chaplains today still continuing to certify them.  Some religious traditions would likely see working without the trappings of military benefits, and retirement, and money from Ceasar as even more meaningful.  Either way, the service the chaplaincy provides can easily be provided without cost to the taxpayer.  Of course it's a hot button political issue, and politics will likely continue to trump solutions that make sense, so instead of chaplains, I expect those cut in 2014 will be skilled warfighters not easily replaced for free by simply walking out the front gate.

Aloha Air Force PFT!

As I sit here in Hawaii, drinking some tasty beverages of choice, it's nice knowing that I just got my final PFT taken care of in the 30-39 year old bracket.  So perhaps I'll have a couple more umbrella drinks to celebrate, and I'll reminisce a little bit, and then bid aloha to that bracket.  Aloha means goodbye.

I'm proud to say that in my seventeen years (not including the four years of PFTs from college), I was only on a medical profile for one test, and it was legitimate.  I'm glad to say that I have never taken the walk test.  I noticed that many of my age peers were on walk profiles, and using profiles to game the test was not uncommon.  At one point, I was the only person in my shop who wasn't on a walk profile, to include one person who was younger than myself.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to "play the game" during my last assignment, with a healthy field elevation and poor air quality.  The run wasn't easy for me, and it was a source of stress as I watched the machine churning individuals out of the service at a time when the slides indicated how "overmanned" our branch was.  But I am very glad that I didn't give in and sacrifice integrity.  It was a standard that was set, it wasn't an indefensible standard (although I disagree with the priority it has taken given our mission-centric challenges), and it was my job to meet the standard.  I didn't have to like it, or find it stress free, but it was part of the job.

Two learning points that may be useful for others.  First, when I volunteered for an assignment in New Mexico, I did not factor in elevation or its impact on the run.  I would highly suggest that those, like myself, who workout only to meet the standard the Air Force has set, consider elevation during the assignment process.  Having just finished my latest test at essentially sea level, I was amazed to see how I could easily run two minutes faster just from the altitude decrease.

The second learning point also came from my previous assignment in New Mexico when, a couple of years ago, I was on the last lap of the run - I simply had to run it in two minutes to pass the test, and I was on pace and everything was looking good.  Instead, my back seized up and I fell out on that last lap and failed the test.  I had been having back problems from a very soft mattress.  My old lady was having them too.  I immediately purchased a firm tempurpedic, after doing some research on mattresses (something I never thought I would ever do, researching something as trivial as a mattress), and it made a very noticeable difference.  So as silly as it might seem, in my experience, getting a firm mattress really does matter and especially as you get older.

I am pleased to say that I found the test administrators, both civilian and military, to have been universally fair when giving the test, and to always be willing to give the benefit of the doubt when it came to the very subjective, and imprecise, abdominal tape measuring.  Unfortunately I did see this abused on one occasion.  I witnessed a fat O-6 getting taped right in front of me by an airman, and I saw that the maximum 39" mark was nowhere even close to where it needed to be for him to pass; it was practically on his back.  The airman made the right call and recorded it correctly.  The O-6 shook his head incredulously and asked for a re-tape by somebody else.  He got it from an NCO, but in a more private location.  He passed.  I'm sure that airmen will forever remember the lesson from that day.

I'm very happy to be joining the forty year old bracket for my next test.  I blogged already about how the 30-39 year old bracket is the most difficult bracket in the test, and how that age group is targeted beyond the other groups.  The forty year old bracket makes getting 90s on the test very easy.  In college I used to run the mile and a half in 9:30 while jogging, and I ran it in 8:34 during field training.  These days as more of a thinker, and much less a physical specimen, I prefer to prioritize the PFT standard more appropriately in my life.  Intellectual and character development challenges are the two largest centers of gravity risking the United States Air Force today, with sequestration a distant third.  Our service and our mission have a great many real problems that require our time and attention.  Running six laps around a track isn't one of those challenges.

So, it's time to grab yet another drink, kick back, and say aloha to the forty year old bracket that demands the appropriate amount of my time and attention.  Aloha means hello.

Celebrating the 4th of July Today is Like Throwing a Baby Shower for a Miscarriage

At best it's awkward.  At worst it's dishonest.  It's sad to make such a statement, but it's true.  We are no longer the land of the free or the home of the brave.  We just aren't.  We should stop papering over the reality, and instead start trying to fix it.  Accepting it and proclaiming the truth, is a necessary first step.

Enjoy your weekend.

Integrity First - Glenn Greenwald

"This country is worth dying for..." - Edward Snowden

Glenn Greenwald recently gave an incredible speech, after an outstanding introduction, during an event hosted by an organization that I am unfamiliar with and doubt I would support.  Be that as it may, the speech was stunning in that it captured the essence of what it means to be a great American in my mind - principle, courage, character and a real serious respect for the truth.  I recommend the video be started at the 03:20 point.

THE TRUTH.

It reminds me of the first of our core values.  Integrity First.  Sometimes integrity comes with extremely serious risks to our own convenience.  Who would demonstrate integrity when it might risk their promotion, or their next assignment, not to mention their liberty or even their life?  Who would have the character to go beyond the recruiting posters and actually put such skin in the game?  The answer is those who can appreciate General Fogleman's third core value.  Service Before Self.  This ain't no chump game and bar talk is cheap.

I am an enormous fan of Glenn Greenwald.  I very much appreciated his latest book, With Liberty and Justice for Some.  The frau and I flew half way across the country, not too terribly long ago, to meet him over the weekend and to listen to him speak at an ACLU function.  He gave a wonderful speech during that event.  He's one powerful and principled orator, and he is razor sharp.  The speech embedded above is far better than the one he gave that weekend.

Courage.  Our oath.  America.  Doing the right thing when those above you demand that you do wrong, when they threaten and intimidate you and make it clear that your SELF will be in serious jeopardy should you choose SERVICE.  These are some of the themes that Glenn's speech touches on, and as ironic as it might seem, these themes are those of great American servicemen.  There is a reason for our Air Force Core Values, and I think Glenn touches on it in his speech above.  The truth.  Integrity.  Courage.  Above all, integrity.

Integrity First.  Why integrity first?  Because if you have that, everything else will follow accordingly.