Catholic military chaplains

[dochawk]

At the time, the Navy exclusively used officers for officer recruiting. It was too often a temporary assignment back home while waiting for a first actual billet.

The AF recruiter (enlisted), when I asked about something, snapped back at me that “The air force will find an appropriate slot for you.” At that age and understanding, I was actually OK with an assignment that meant that I could have an order to drop a nuclear weapon, as I understood that the balance of terror was keeping the peace. I was not OK with the prospect of designing a nuclear weapon (I had a physics degree) that would aggravate the situation. And that is what triggered his anger.

The CG, as I mentioned, had a single slot each year.

I don’t remember if I talked to the regular army rather than the reserve (but I was already practicing when I talked to the reserve/guard).

So I stayed a civilian, and later got drafted to teach fifth grade at my kids’ Catholic school (over my objection), and accepted it as my volunteer year . . . but that’s another story . . .

hawk

 

[Pup7]

It was too often a temporary assignment back home while waiting for a first actual billet.

Ah, casual status (that’s what we call it). The bane of every new pilot trainee.

 

[dochawk]

Ah, casual status (that’s what we call it). The bane of every new pilot trainee.

Which is exactly what the first ship steerer suckered me into . . . I showed up to be a nuclear engineer (physics degree). There was a program at the time that made you an active duty E3 whose only responsibility was to attend classes (and you could bounce around on military flights all summer . . ).

“What we really need is pilots.”

OK, what 20 year old boy is going to say “no” when the Navy tells him they want him to be a pilot?? I blew the tests out of the water (the officer there, another temp, told me not to rush though, as science majors tended to rush through and blow them, and was bothered when I handed them back to her in about half the allotted time (I was the only one taking them that day). You should have seen the look on her face when she pulled out her transparencies with answers to show me the errors of my ways, only to find that I’d maxed out every test except the position of the plane from the indicator [which I"d never seen before]).

However, I lack the coordination that God gave a chicken. By that age, I’d learned not so much how to walk without falling as to how to catch the fall early enough that no-one noticed. I’m actually lucky I can drive . . .

So after a few months of the best abuse the Marine Corps had to offer (AOCS was one of the two plumb postings for the best of the best Drill Instructors), I got an honorable discharge and a plane ticket home–and a Master Gunnery Sergeant would would give me a very strong recommendation for “any program that doesn’t involve airplanes”. (they’d never seen someone try that hard and not make it). He even wanted me to be a Marine officer. (Yeah, the flake that I had for a JAG recruiter blew this, too . . .)

hawk

 

[MonteRCMS]

Of course if you follow the news you know the USAF is hurting for pilots. Sigh. NOW they need us.

Yeah, well for decades, it was USAF policy to screw their people, pass them over for promotion repeatedly.

Cannot believe the official and unofficial things they did. And now it is coming around to bite them in the rear end.

One day when I was below an E-0, I was asked to watch the phone. So, an Army plane landed and the pilot came over. He was a Colonel. Pilot. He asked to use the phone. Called a friend of his. Then he faced me and said, “I used to be a USAF Tech Sergeant. One day my lieutenant said to me that there was no place for me in the Air Force and to switch to the Army. So, now I am an Army Colonel and my friend the Air Force lieutenant is an Air Force captain.”

One day, I was in a huge assembly of USAF lieutenants and captains and a three-star USAF general came to address the group. And he offered to answer any questions. One brave soul with a strong physique stood up and said he wanted to become an Air Force commando. The general COULD HAVE SAID, see my aide, Captain so-and-so. But instead, the general said, “If you don’t like your assignment, serve your time and GET OUT.”.

SO … guess what.

 

[MonteRCMS]

One day I got invited to a going away party.

The people going away had been repeatedly passed over for promotion.

They were nuclear capable pilots who flew the fastest single engine production airplane in the world, the F-106.

And they were passed over as a group, by seniors who publicly admitted they didn’t know how to write an OER.

 

[MonteRCMS]

I was already a pilot but my eyes weren’t quite good enough for the Air Force.

Anyway, one day they gave some written exam for pilot training. There was a beer party going on, so I showed up for the exam while sipping from a wax cup of beer. Shortly thereafter, I was notified that I would be getting an award for scoring the highest results EVER on the pilot qualifying exam.

They actually had a formation and gave me a medal.

I informed some folks and they BLASTED me … not for drinking beer at the exam, but for getting the medal … “what about the others”, I was asked.

Later on, I would observe a senior colonel preflighting a Mach 2 fighter bomber while wearing the thickest glasses I have ever seen. He did however have wingmen who were 20/20. And he was good at what he did, flew his hundred missions, and got a star out of it.

 

[MonteRCMS]

One day, I received a delegation from the USAF Bureaucracy Command.

They demanded I write a certain report. We looked it up … AND … it was optional … I was already working 15-18 hours per day, seven days per week and had been for a year. Life was difficult. But we were having one plane and pilot per day vaporized by Surface-to-Air missiles … so I felt that getting these projects done was the least I could do to help.

So, I pointed this out and invited them to leave me alone.

They reported me to the USAF Inspector General. Who investigated and ordered the complainer to be fired and shipped out the next day on the first plane out.

[I guess I developed a negative attitude.]

[Years later, I actually got to see my OERs. My boss’s boss’s boss somehow sent my last OER to some 2-star he knew I never heard of for endorsement … but he forgot to tell me. So, by then, I was long gone.]

 

[Pup7]

I get it. You were miserable the entire time you were in.

But I learned something when I was a civilian during my break in service between my enlisted and my commissioned time: the civilian world is no better than we are.

In 16 years I’ve seen my share of disasters, I’ve seen people get screwed over, I’ve seen people screw themselves over. I’ve seen idiocy at the top, the bottom, and every level in between. The worst thing I’ve heard was when the Surgeon General for the USAF - a three star - stood in the clinic at Osan and said out loud that there was no reason for the clinic to be closed on Air Force family days - when everyone else is - because access to care is more important than our time with our families. A clinic, open regular duty hours five days a week. You should’ve heard what people said after he left.

But what you’re talking about has very little to do with why there’s a current pilot shortage: the airlines are currently hiring like mad, offering six figure salaries and comparative benefits without deployments and frequent moves as their workforce ages out against FAA requirements. They’re also currently paying for all transfers of military experience to the FAA certification equivalents. The USAF cannot compete, and therefore they’re losing pilots. That’s the major reason at the moment. The shortage is actually DOD wide and isn’t confined to the USAF: every service is having this problem. But because we are the Air Force, it’s more marked for us. We’re short close to 2000 fighter pilots and about 500 heavy pilots. It’s bad.

There are other factors, but the main one is money. Oh, and the fact that Congress shot themselves in the foot when they did a dramatic drawdown at the close of the Obama administration - which Clinton had said would continue, and at the start of 2015 we had fewer people on active duty than we did at the end of WWII. We’re short about 50K across the force. That’s changing under the current POTUS, but they basically wasted millions by getting rid of trained experience.

 

[MonteRCMS]

Normally, I would agree with you … however …

I was never in the U.S. Marine Corps, but I have an award from them for design work I did for them during Gulf War One … involving the U.S. Congress.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy tried vigorously to get me to come aboard … I appreciatively turned them down.

Another organization which must remain anonymous awarded me an engraved medal for bravery with a formal presentation … [although I was never actually a member of that organization, either] … you had to be dead to get the valor award … and the bagpipers were there for that portion of the ceremony.

Meanwhile the beloved U. S. Air Force passed over a good friend of mine; I found out in time to get a letter in demonstrating how he had done the work of four people under combat conditions and he was able to retire as a Major.

Another USAF friend of mine … they didn’t know what to do with him … so they made him an admin officer and he read all the regulations and he retired as a Lt. Col.

No … sorry … but the Air Force is still reeling and suffering from the beating its 8th Air Force B-17 and B-24 crews took … highest casualties of any organization … [except for German U-Boat crews] … and is still abreacting by screwing over its members.

Only two USAF members that I served with lived past the age of 70. The rest either died from direct enemy fire or accumulated stress under combat conditions.

“When you’re gone, you’re gone.”

One “civilian” became a Major … for two weeks. Don’t know if he got an award, but he did get a DD214, so I had him join USAA. He died at age 68.

I will provide a list of books written by U.S. Air Force members who really got messed up … abuse seems to be the universal USAF response.

Unfortunately, the Air Force deserves the manpower shortages that it is getting.

Doesn’t have to be that way.

 

[Pup7]

No … sorry … but the Air Force is still reeling and suffering from the beating its 8th Air Force B-17 and B-24 crews took … highest casualties of any organization … [except for German U-Boat crews] … and is still abreacting by screwing over its members.

No, we’re not. Not hardly. We were rolling in pilots at the height of OEF and OIF. I know what the problems are, and it has nothing to do with WWII.

 

[bluerose]

For years, we attended Mass at the hospital chapel on base in El Paso, TX (Ft. Bliss, Wm Beaumont Army Medical Center) and the chaplain (still) is Fr. James Coindreau, who started as a Legionary of Christ and actually recruited Fr. Anthony Bannon. When he was exhausted from all his travels and work as a recruiter and it was recommended that he leave the Legion and join the Army. He is a retired colonel and when my father passed away nine years ago, he went out of his way to make sure my father (a retired Air Force Master Sergeant) had a proper funeral Mass and military funeral. The priest at my father’s parish was delegating the funeral service to a deacon because he didn’t have time to do a full Mass, but he said we could get someone else to do it, if we wanted to. Fr. Coindreau took over from there, contacting the funeral home and Ft. Bliss National Cemetery to make all the arrangements himself, made sure my father had a funeral Mass and graveside service with full military honors. I believe he is close to eighty now and still celebrating Mass every weekend at the hospital chapel.

 

[phil19034]

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service website is tricky to navigate now that I look at it.

Here’s the current commissioned officer pay scale. This is basic pay for all services - it doesn’t include housing allowances (done by rank and ZIP code), basic allowance for subsistence (all commissioned ranks get $240 a month for this), or any bonuses you might receive (which are determined by the service you choose).

Most chaplains come in as an O2 or O3, but with no prior service.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

is that per month?

 

[MonteRCMS]

I’ve been everywhere, man.

[By the way, did you know that Johnny Cash was a ditty-bopper?]

 

[MonteRCMS]

No, we’re not. Not hardly. We were rolling in pilots at the height of OEF and OIF. I know what the problems are, and it has nothing to do with WWII.

Actually, existing pilots were so severely stressed because of shortages of both refueling aircraft and pilots that the Air Force never caught up.

Instead of lengthening commitment time, train many more pilots with shorter commitment times, recruiting anyone who can perform instead of insisting on the perfect physical specimen recruits.

There are many conflicting or competing Air Force jobs today … many more than before … that are more appealing than being a pilot. Such as being in remote piloting or information technology [don’t know the exact buzzword] and these occupations draw people away from flying airplanes.

 

[MonteRCMS]

Initial pilot commitment is now 12 years. I think the age is waiverable now through 28? I can’t remember. Most of my pilot friends are now of course my age, in their late 40s and early 50s, so they mostly came in under the regs you and I remember pouring over. Of course if you follow the news you know the USAF is hurting for pilots. Sigh. NOW they need us.

I think excessive pilot commitment is part of the problem. Then they overwork the few pilots that they have and they burn out. Routinely overworking pilots is an issue; it happens and there is nothing you can do about it except suck it up … one C-141 pilot said they had to stop because they had been flying for 24 hours … another said they would not leave anyone behind and we went out combat loaded. But there just are not enough pilots because of those potential pilots who get screened out early for spurious reasons (such as perfect eyesight which gets waived later on).

[I know … I know … C-141s have been melted down and converted to beer cans for many decades .]

They could have a zero commitment and train LOTS of pilots. And end up with enough pilots to fill the pipeline.

[One of my pilot friends had grown this huge handlebar mustache while in combat and was quite proud of it, but they INSISTED he get rid of it.]

[I used to think it was just me … having to eat square meals and getting harassed if wearing work attire after hours instead of dress uniform (in a combat area) … but others had the same complaint … a friend had a button unbuttoned while dancing at the club … first time dancing back in the world with a woman.]

I get the feeling that many of the same problems occur with chaplains.

One chaplain was on contract and another was National Guard. Which is a way of solving the shortage issue.

 

[MonteRCMS]

Air Force Gets Creative to Tackle Pilot Shortage

The Air Force stands potentially to lose 1,600 pilots who are eligible to separate from the service in the next four years.

www.military.com

Actually, if you read the article … it is with great reluctance that relaxation of some requirements is being discussed.

The Air Force is asking retired pilots to come back for a year to fix its ongoing pilot shortage

Under the Voluntary Rated Return to Active Duty program, retired pilots will return in order to allow active-duty pilots to continue their missions.

www.businessinsider.com

https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/heres-how-bad-the-air-forces-pilot-shortage-really-is/

One of my younger friends was “rejected” for pilot training but found a home in “alternate combat”, retired as a Lt. Col.

Air Force May Approve Enlisted Pilots for First Time in 75 Years

Facing its greatest pilot shortage in its history, the Air Force is contemplating the return of enlisted pilots.

www.military.com

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

Yeah. Keep in mind it doesn’t include housing allowance, which varies with cost of living but for an O2-O3 is typically $1500-2000 a month.

 

[MonteRCMS]

“Another group” which must remain nameless does not “recruit” … it hires into high school summer jobs … internships … part-timers … high schoolers … including dangles of full college tuition.

 

[MonteRCMS]

One day I just happened to attend an enjoyable luncheon and sitting across from me was an in uniform senior airline captain with coke-bottle glasses lenses. I asked if he had been Air Force. He said no … that he had joined the airline as a ticket collector clerk and the airline had trained him and now he was flying 747’s.

 

[Pup7]

And keep in mind - that is OFFICER pay. Not enlisted pay. We are fairly well paid, but enlisteds aren’t as much.

We also pay all state and Federal taxes, just like everyone else.

You can look up our housing allowance by ZIP code and rank here:

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm