Posted on 06/09/2008 10:24:06 AM PDT by jazusamo
WASHINGTON -- In a sign of how urgently he wants to shake up the Air Force, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced today he was appointing the first non-fighter pilot to become the service's chief of staff in more than 25 years.
The nomination of Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, who is currently head of the Pentagon's transportation command and rose through the ranks as a pilot of military cargo planes, marks a significant break for the Air Force, which has been led by fighter and bomber pilots almost since its inception after World War II.
In his announcement naming Schwartz, Gates not only emphasized the general's role in transportation aircraft, but also noted his long list of assignments in so-called joint commands -- positions where senior officials work in units made up of officers from all four military services.
Gates also named Michael Donley, a veteran Pentagon bureaucrat who currently is the administrative and management chief of the department, to be Air Force secretary, the department's top civilian.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That right there is a pretty clear signal. The Nuke incident may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but a lot of anger has been building toward’s the USAF senior leadership for the past few years, due to their unwillingness to shift more focus and funds towards programs directly supporting the WOT - UAVs and transports. The ‘fighter mafia’ has been put down, at least for now.
Fantastic choice. We were O-5’s together in Pentagon. He and I were the staff officers that created the Army-Air Force Center for Low Intensity Conflict at Langley AFB in 1986. He went back to flying and I went to the Center where we developed a multi-service manual for Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) called FM 100-20/AFP3-20. He has substantial special ops experience too.
Gates is definitely sending a message and I think it’s past due. I’d love to hear what Merrill McPeak has to say about this.
Thanks for your post and the info, I’m glad to hear he’s a good man. Also thanks for your service.
Having worked under fighter, bomber and cargo commanders throughout my career...it was the cargo commanders who generally set up and running in one fashion, without numerous reorganizations or constant tinkering. Once they figure the proper method of loading a cargo plane or planning a mission...they wrote the manual on it and that was gospel. After those guys came the bomber commanders who always viewed things in a long-term vision and wanted everything to work right the first time around without screw-ups or failures. Then came the fighter pilots...who would change the change to the change of the change...a hundred times. They actually got to the point in the past ten years of giving out medals and decorations....based on how successful your change was and how well you accomplished it.
Training-wise...its not the same world as in 1985. You get a new guy today...spend six to eight months getting up to speed...then he gets his deployment notice...spends a month preparing for it...then deploys for four to six months...gets his two weeks off...then he takes 30 days of leave...and then you spend another three months getting him back up to speed again. They’ve cut so many manpower slots....that a guy in certain job areas knows that for the remaining ten years....he will deploy at least seven times. And the units are all half-capable...but don’t care because no one will perform old-fashioned ORIs to test them. So then you have all of these half-trained guys rotating around the Air Force....especially to nuclear operations & bases...and they can barely do their job although they’ve been in the Air Force ten to fifteen years. None of this makes any sense....unless you are fighter pilot.
Thanks for the link.
Interesting, he was part of the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon as a 1st Lt.
Bump for that!
He’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. That’s not a good sign.
I can already see the poison posts on Obama’s website: “Zionist Bush Government Appoints Jew to Run Air Force!”
The unofficial motto of SAC used to be: Measure with a micrometer, mark with a greasepencil, and cut with a fire axe.
Then came the fighter pilots...who would change the change to the change of the change...a hundred times.
They get that from being taught at a very early age, that flexibility is the key to airpower and that the fighters can range over vast distances and react to where they are needed.
Thank you for your service.
Yes. His bio linked above says, “He is an alumnus of the National War College, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 1994 Fellow of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI.”
How usual is it for military officers to be members of the CFR? It’s not NECESSARILY a bad thing, but it’s one red flag, as against all the positive notes.
I’d be curious if he joined because he supports it and believes in it, or because he was invited and thought it would be useful to him, and also give him a forum where he could be useful to his country by offering a little counter advice?
Well, non-fighter pilots have better attention spans, duh.
LOL! I hope so, it’s just another reason for the moonbats to howl in the night sky.
Obama’s military advisors are basicly all Ex-Air Force ... The shock and awe types ... no need for ground forces types ... Lets just bomb the heck out of them from 30,000 ft. and go home for dinner.
Haven’t seen him in ages, but appreciate your observation about a few years ago. He’s an old USAFA class mate of mine; seemed like a pretty straight shooter at the time.
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