-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 4 Technology vs. People Power Ed.: Many of the e-mails I recently received question the increasing role of blindly accepted technology. Is technology a savior or can it also jeopardize readiness and undermine the creativity of people? Ship Building: Do We Have the Right Balance Between Sailors & Technology? By Mike C. - Shipbuilder from Virginia You're right on the money - and money going into the wrong places s a lot of the problem. The leadership has also had a serious loss of big picture accident. No matter what service we talk about, they seem to be oblivious to what is happening on the deck plates or in the trenches. And you're right, if it's not in the email inbox, they don't hear it. As a shipbuilder, I have been speaking out in my circles against the tendency to over-automate ship functions so that the Navy can reduce manning. Sure manning is the biggest expense in operating a ship, but it is also the most critical. You have to design a warship for the worst-case scenario. Having enough sailors in the spaces to perform damage control, and enough manual backups in the machinery, has always been critical. I lived through enough fires and flooding casualties in my years as an engineering officer to know that first hand. Now they are talking about automated damage control functions (yep, I'm not making that up), when anyone who has had to do any real damage control (yours truly included) knows that after "hit alpha", one of the things you can count on is serious power losses. I have befriended several Cole survivors and families of the kids we lost, and they had many damage control problems that were exacerbated by over-automation - to the point that electrically operated drainage valves could not be manually operated. But the lesson seems to be lost - all I hear from the ivory tower is reduce manning. We have a long way to go! Only The Ones With the Right Buzz Words Need Apply By Mike Marthaller About 10 years ago while attempting to get positions in my USAFR (Air Force Reserve) shop upgraded, I had a conversation with the chief of AFRES Personnel. He was an E9/ GM 15. I asked him why E9 when most ART (Air Reserve Tech) GM 15's were 05-06. "He felt he could accomplish more for the EM if he stayed one", He did admit to a bit of perverse satisfaction of being the ONLY NCO at many high level meetings where his Civilian (ART) job outranked many of the officers attending. By civil service rules his civilian position accorded him the same privileges as an officer of 05-06 rank when visiting military bases or traveling. During the discussion, he told me how they were working to eliminate personnel at headquarters who made manning decisions. It would now be done by computer and totally objective. Looks like they are there or at least close. On the subject of surveys, about 8 years ago AFRES came out with a DETAILED survey that was mailed to our homes. Another was sent to the wife. It did not request name, or social security number but many of us in the unit not only added that info, we took time to point out in detail, the problems and issues the survey did not address. These were both officers and NCOs. NONE of us ever received any sort of reply, nor was there any follow up EXCEPT -- ANOTHER survey that still did not address the issues we raised. For years I knew that for DOD Civilian jobs when you submitted a "resume," you were graded line by line on the BUZZ WORDS. Not actual qualifications, but just buzz words. Recently a friend (she had been told verbally that she was HIGHLY qualified, please apply) put in an application for the State Department. She did not make the cut. During the process she found out the applications were graded by a COMPUTER, Yep it looks for "BUZZ words." ARTICLE 5 Quality of Recruits: A Mixed Bag But a Major Problem with Non-Deployable Females Ed.: A highly realistic assessment by a former CSS Commander in a cavalry regiment. Assigning anyone who isn’t constantly deployable to a rapid deployment outfit is more than just a bad practice – it jeopardizes combat readiness and the lives of others. By a former Combat Service Support Commander With regards to the issue of the quality of soldiers coming from Basic Training/Advanced Individual Training, I would sum it up by saying that it is a mixed bag. As the former commander of a CSS troop in a cavalry regiment, I can say that one of the biggest problems was with the number of newly-assigned females just out of AIT who would either become pregnant, or who arrived from AIT already pregnant. Although the latter did not happen frequently, it did happen. This issue is a peculiar one with me, particularly since we served in a cavalry regiment. Doctrinally, the cavalry regiment operates in front of the infantry – where females cannot even serve! Whenever a female soldier became or arrived pregnant, my feeling was that they should have been immediately reassigned/diverted to the installation's area support group. Then we could receive a non-pregnant soldier in return. I never could understand the logic behind assigning pregnant soldiers to, or maintaining pregnant soldiers in units that are supposed to be in front of units that do not have females! Pregnancies completely undermined my ability to focus my organization upon its combat mission. I had similar experiences in the 2d Infantry Division in Korea as well. The bottom line is that the Army is more concerned about manning positions with warm bodies - pregnant or not. Why we put "non-deployable" (the Army's definition - not mine!) soldiers in these forward-deployed or potentially forward-deployed assignments is beyond me. These acts defeat the principles behind combat-readiness and dilute the force's ability to defend this nation's interests at home and abroad. ARTICLE 6 Officer Shortages: Mustangs Might Be An Answer Ed.: Commissioning from the ranks can produce outstanding small unit leaders. By Van P. Although not currently in the military or a retired career military person, I seem to remember that in the mid 1960's the Marine Corps solved their officer shortage by commissioning large groups of staff NCOs. I worked for several of these Mustangs and they were without question some of the best officers I had the pleasure to know. As a young troop I knew better than to try games or provide less than accurate information to these folks. They had been there, done that and didn't need no stinking t-shirt. As Mustangs, they knew the trials and tribulations of enlisted life and could elicit our best efforts through leadership and the sort of tough-love a good NCO knows. I don't believe this would be a long-term solution, but it couldn't hurt in the short-run. ARTICLE 7 Thinking We’re a Business is Putting Us Out of Business Ed.: More on the deterioration of the warrior culture. By SFC William B. Our military culture problem is a direct result of the 'business management leadership style." The Army is overrun with Senior Officers who think they should run the Army like an investment banking firm. We have 'vision statements', 'mission statements', goals, plans, etc. all based on the corporate model. What we don’t have is a warrior culture. We are squandering the best officers in the world because instead of preparing them for Command, we are preparing them to work at IBM. Until there is a top down overhaul that brings the highest levels into line with the "Army Values" we are in deep, deep trouble. ARTICLE 8 Bad Military Leaders – You Can’t Vote Them Out! Ed.: One of the reasons why many junior officers are still leaving early: Bad leaders who you can’t get rid of. Roy A., Captain, USAF, Retired I noticed the reports on lack of retention of O-3's throughout the services. When I was nearing the end of my Air Farce career, 1992, we were in a down economy and the airlines certainly were not hiring pilots. I was talking about the future to one of our fast-burner lieutenants, 1 Lt Kanukchan. I mentioned he had a bright future ahead of him in the military. He told me he was getting out. I asked where the hell he was going since the economy wasn't good and the airlines weren't hiring pilots. I said, "You must have something good lined up". He replied, "I have nothing lined up...it's the leadership I see in the ranks of the crooked colonels and generals who are leading us...too much corruption." He went on, "You know, people constantly complain about Congressmen and other elected officials but you can always vote those a…holes out of office. You can't vote these colonels and generals out of the military. I've had it, I'm getting out!" *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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