Right. Because instead of recruiting more Soldiers, they DOD decided it was a smart idea to start the ILO (in lieu of) tasking, sticking untrained, unskilled Airmen in the field with the Army. Of course the Airmen weren't going to keep up. The PT test didn't/doesn't change that, but it gave some General somewhere the opportunity to feel good about himself by pretending that the Air Force was capable of performing at the physical level of people who train every single day to perform at those levels. Hell, it was even called "fit to fight". Joke of all jokes.
Yeah, I was one of those who got screwed over by it. In the mean time, the shop back at the base suffers because now they are 2 guys short in an 8 man shop. It just made no sense. What it did was show everyone that got shorthanded back at main base that the job they've been preached to is so important really isn't that important at all, because now it's OK if all the work doesn't get done. It's like telling your kid "You really need to get your room cleaned up before you do anything else but, if you run out of time, meh! No biggy!"
You're right that it's about image. It's about the image the senior officers in the Air Force felt the senior officers in the Army and Marines had of Airmen.
It's almost like the guy who's offended because he thinks that others might be offended. There's only an issue because someone makes it an issue.
yet another thing that the USAF had gotten right before... and has now F'd up.........
Paul Airey on WAPS (from a 1981 interview)...
https://static.dma.mil/usaf/cmsaf50/Airey.html
" the end result was they came out with a weighted Airman promotion system [WAPS], which today is still in effect and is by far the fairest, best, most equitable promotion system of any of the armed forces for the enlisted men. It was a year or two ago, and I was over in the House, and there is a man by the name of John Ford. He is a counselor to the House Armed Forces Committee. I said, “Mr. Ford, you remember how L. Mendel Rivers was getting 15,000 to 20,000 letters a year on enlisted promotions?” He said, “I sure do, Paul.” I said, “How many are you getting now from Air Force enlisted people?” He said, “We don’t get half dozen or so a year.” Now this is success that the Airman can see. In other words, the biggest problem I faced was the promotion problem. The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force job remains the same. Problems change. This is one problem none of them have had to face."
Last edited by Rainmaker; 02-12-2019 at 02:36 AM.