Aircrew Style Name Patches on BDUs, etc.

This one innovation was — in my opinion — a truly great idea! Made buying new BDUs a lot less work.

And what else can be said about the uniforms? When I entered active duty, my service dress uniform looked like a uniform. Now it looks like a sports coat for some puddle jumper airline!

Huh? I beg to differ on this point, Sir: In my view, the AF service dress uniform has looked like a “bus driver’s uniform” since about the 1950s. (Look at the old pics from that era.)

Don’t get me wrong: I am NOT saying that McPeak “improved” on it, but he was simply another in a long line of change-agents in a service that seems to have an identity complex when it comes to things like service dress uniforms and enlisted ranks — the latter of which have changed more times than I can keep track of in the past 40 years. Some of the now-defunct ranks include: Airman Third Class; Airman Second Class; “Buck” Sergeant; and Warrant Officer.

One last uniform innovation of McPeak’s that I am sure many have forgotten was the ALL WHITE (virtually just like the Navy’s) summer formal uniform — including white shoes! I think only officers and senior enlisted were expected to purchase them.

catmman on October 5, 2007 at 11:28 PM

I enlisted in 81 and just retired this year. McPeak was a disaster. If you want to see an old SAC warrior’s face do comic contortions just say something like “McPeak was a visionary!”

His lame ass attempt to turn a military fighting force into his idea of some kind of corporate hybrid.

How many man hours and trees did you guys kill doing metrics? I think the only reason Powerpoint survived as a program was becasue of this moron.

Quality Air Force – my ass!

True story –

I was a SrA at Goodfellow AFB, long about the time AF members had to begin attending training sessions to “acclimate” us to “QAF”. I was a Security Policeman (LE specialty thank you very much)!

Anyway, we had this civlian consultant come in to give us a class on all things QAF – wasted an entire day of our break.

This civilian was telling us about “paradigm shifts” and how we needed to change our mindset and to treat everyone as a “customer”. I tried to make the point that since I was a cop, what kind of customers do I have? I deal with crooks, offenders, victims, and complainants.

This civilian had the audacity to tell me and everyone else, “Well, why not hand out cistomer service cards?” I blurted out, “You’ve got to be f-in kidding me! Customer service cards? So when I bust some perp for rape, as part of the processing, I should ask this waste how I could better serve him? Or maybe I should hand the rape victim a card and ask her the same?”

That is the kind of isane moronic crap McPeak contributed to the AF. We didn’t have combat capability inspections anymore, we had “Qaulity AF Inspections” – this was basically a test of which base had the prettiest looking slide presentations.

And what else can be said about the uniforms? When I entered active duty, my service dress uniform looked like a uniform. Now it looks like a sports coat for some puddle jumper airline!

I’m still on active duty – don’t get me started about our damn uniforms!!!!!

McPeak was and is a frickin tool. He was tool as CSAF, he was a tool when he was a three star in charge of Twelth AF (I was also at Bergstrom when he was thre in that capacity.”, and he’s still a tool.

Oh, and the change from regulations to instructions? This was another one of those social experiments. You see, the term “Regulation” was to strick and harsh and may hurt sombodies feelings. So they changed it to “Instructions”. So instead of having a regulation governing the use of force, we had an instruction, basically a guide. I’ve actually heard this used in PME. Our AFI’s should be tools to guide airman.

Guide my ass. We are supposed to fly, fight and win! AFI’s have worked best in my experience when they have allowed me to guide my boot into some slackers ass when they were in need of a little “guidance”.

This really ramps me up – if you couldn’t already tell.

McPeak did more to unravel AF heritage, tradition, espirit de corps and just plain old ass-whoopin attitude than any enemy we ever faced from outside.

ARGHHHHHH!

PS – sorry for any typos or bad grammar. This was a rather emotional remembrance of mine! :)

Obama took the United States Flag pin OFF of himself. Its not just that he once wore it, it is that he has now refused our great flag.

The US FLAG that every child in this country pledged allegiance to for countless years. OUR flag that flies half-staff when a President or another great American dies. OUR flag that IS the very embodiment of FREEDOM and HONOR and HOPE.

Obama took it down.

For millennia, all countries have proudly carried their flag before their troops in battle, it was their leader and inspiration. Many flags were carried, but none so proudly and for the benefit of so many people ( America and other countries) as the US FLAG. Still today they’re called the HONOR GUARD for any who are so lucky to be the chosen carrier(s) for this great flag.

The most famous picture made in the history of the United States is of a U.S. FLAG above an island… named Iwo Jima.

Obama has now refused it.

Our flag stands for each and every great person and great event in America’s 230+year history as well as every person who has died for what it stands for.

Tell us now, B. Hussein Obama, that all the American people from the 1700’s , the 1800’s , the 1900’s, and in this new millennium, through each battle in every war including WW1 & WWll, from before and beyond, that every drop of American blood spilt for freedom and justice for all, that NOW according to you, BHO, that wearing the U.S. flag means ‘unpatriotic’ testimony.

Tell us, is this what you truly meant to say while you run for the highest office in the land?
The office in charge of all of our men and women in the armed forces who carry this flag before them?
You, as the possible COMMANDER IN CHIEF? Pray tell, what would you wear then?

As for what I would think of a SecDef McPeak? I think I’d have to give up my chance for retirement and resign two and a half years short of my twenty just so I’d never have him anywhere in my chain of command again…something I wouldn’t consider quite as seriously with a President Hillary Clinton.

Oh, and aside from the “Skeltor” tag, word around the five sided wailing wall was that the V-neck undershirt wasn’t his idea, it was his wife’s….

Wind Rider on October 5, 2007 at 5:19 PM

Yeah, I remember hearing that once, too. Wonder what motivated that.

Even after we told him exactly what it was we’d done, he still didn’t get it, but he finally paraphased a rough idea of what we’d spent 15 minutes telling him, and I got the opportunity to say “Yes, sir, that’s it exactly”.

His response?

“Wow”

I got a chance to look the man in the eye that day. He was just “not right”.

Also have to agree with the observations about the damage he caused the USAF as a service – and I’d also have to say that I don’t really give Fogleman too much credit for getting back on course. I’ve come to the conclusion, all things considered, that McPeak’s “innovations” stemmed mainly from a tremendous ignorance of what and how his branch of the service actually did its job, along with the idea that it would be just as well to have people come up with a totally new way of doing things, that he could sign off on (and, oh by the way, have explained to him in excruciating detail so he’d actually learn about some of the things he’d most likely never bothered to pay attention to during his earlier years).

The wounds are legendary for anyone that was in the service before and after his tenure – tossing overboard the system of Air Force Regulations, in favor of Air Force Instructions, while at the same time “reshaping” the force with new job titles (and responsibilities), new organizational alignments, all the while starting up a ludicrous navel gazing exercise at just about every level to have everybody “focus on quality” and learn the gospel of Demming.

Fortunately – most Air Force tasks were straightforward enough, and obvious enough, that the core competencies survived, despite his best efforts to throw everyone into such a state of confusion that they might not know where or how to go to the bathroom (but, if they could explain WHY they’d made a doodie in the middle of the hall, that probably would have gotten them an attaboy and an excellent from the “quality” inspectors)

Oh, and aside from the “Skeltor” tag, word around the five sided wailing wall was that the V-neck undershirt wasn’t his idea, it was his wife’s….

“we need a new leader…to LEFT America”

Hillary… it’s life or death, baby, and she’s got the keys.

…if he makes it to the general election. Looks like she’s betting that he will. I’m starting to think that’s a solid bet.

What? Huh? When did Giuliani go in the Allahpundit universe from “will sink like a stone” to “solid bet” to win the nom?

Suffering from a case of flabbergastritis here.

James…can you image the damage McPrick could do as SecDef?

flipflop on October 5, 2007 at 4:09 PM

Yeesh…imagine, even.

What do you think Obama is offering him?

JiangxiDad on October 5, 2007 at 4:03 PM

The possibilities would be terrifying if Obama had any chance of winning.

James…can you image the damage McPrick could do as SecDef?

flipflop on October 5, 2007 at 3:43 PM
James on October 5, 2007 at 3:37 PM

What do you think Obama is offering him?

New Service Dress…epaulets and sewn-in creases on flight suits…Aircrew Style Name Patches on BDUs, etc.

Year of Training, Quality Air Force, AFIs instead of regulations…the damage he did to us was unbelievable.

James on October 5, 2007 at 3:37 PM

Yes, his idiocy was legendary. Gen. Fogleman from MAC AMC really did try to undo some of the damage, but much of it was already too institutionalized within the system.

Year of Training, Quality Air Force, AFIs instead of regulations…the damage he did to us was unbelievable.

Check out the comments on this thread about an ad for Barack Obama by former Air Force chief of staff Merrill McPeak, and see how quickly cons are to attack a military person because he isn’t a lockstep Republican (McPeak……

One of the pointless uniform changes referred to above was the edict that all men would wear v-neck t-shirts instead of crew neck. To show off all that manly, fighter pilot chest hair, no doubt.

He was a putz then and he’s a putz now.

Exit question: Slip of the tongue on his part or poor hearing on my part?