quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
Jerry Jones, here's a some pics of my son's Graduation. Share them with your son. Hope they bring back some good memories for you, too. I hope the link works.

Let your son know that when he leaves MEPS to go to Parris Island, he'll leave on a fine black party bus with comfy seats, wood grain finish, air conditioning, and pretty lighting. He'll get out of sight of all the parents, and that bus will pull over. And he'll disembark and be put on a big, white school bus with blacked out windows and crappy seats for the haul down to SC.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XRJ9WZzVacsqH3eFA

Those are awesome shots.

How proud you must be!

flashguy

I’m glad for your son micro but you are way off base. Your civilian experience is showing when you compare the military life to a civvie organization. Ummm, nope. Horrible analogy and totally irrelevant.

First rule of all enlisted personnel: Thou shalt NEVER EVER piss off an E9. Chiefs, Command Sergeant Majors, Chief Master Sergeants stand directly at the foot of God's throne; their ears hear all, their eyes see all. Their reach extends into the afterlife, and woe unto the fool who rouses their righteous and just wrath.

That should explain it.

If you are interested, I will try to summarize the role of the CMSAF. This applies to the most senior enlisted in the other services as well. The CMSAF is selected by the Chief of Staff personally, and has normally been a Command Chief with a track record. The screening process to become a command chief is rigorous. CMSAF has daily direct access to, and advises the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force on all things related to enlisted personnel such as selection and training, utilization, assignments, housing, morale, promotion and awards processes, etc. CMSAF has the boss's ear, and is an advocate for enlisted personnel-the closest thing the enlisted have to a union representative in the CEO's office. Much of the information CMSAF receives comes up from the various Command Chiefs throughout the Air Force, but much is gained through personal visits with junior enlisted and senior officers. Likewise, CMSAF communicates important doctrine and leadership issues from senior leadership to the enlisted force. There is only one enlisted rank above the CMSAF, which is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of Joint Chiefs. Senior officers understand they live in a different world than enlisted and highly value their senior enlisted leaders. If you want it to get done, you go to the Chief. As an indication of how much they are valued, when Chief of Staff General Schwartz spoke to his general officers shortly after his appointment, he told them if they disrespected his chiefs, he would crush them. The value placed on CMSAF, as well as the other services top enlisted leaders, is highlighted by the fact that the CMSAF receives protocol honors above that of a Lieutenant General. When the senior enlisted speak, the wise listen.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
First rule of all enlisted personnel: Thou shalt NEVER EVER piss off an E9.

Pretty good advice for officers as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
First rule of all enlisted personnel: Thou shalt NEVER EVER piss off an E9.

Pretty good advice for officers as well.

Well, junior officers for sure.

Getting on the Senior Chief's shitlist is not conducive to smooth sailing either. Or so I hear...

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
First rule of all enlisted personnel: Thou shalt NEVER EVER piss off an E9.

Pretty good advice for officers as well.

Well, junior officers for sure.

Getting on the Senior Chief's shitlist is not conducive to smooth sailing either. Or so I hear...

lol....I always told my sailors that I couldn't make them do anything...but I sure as H@#% could make them wish they had....
or never F#@$ with the guy who controls your liberty

As I grew in life experience in the USAF, I developed The List. This was a "List of People To Never P*ss Off," and it grew and evolved over time. My list included:

Any Chief Master Sergeant
Any First Sergeant
Any Security Forces/Law Enforcement member
Any Finance personnel
Any IT bubba
Any commander
My immediate supervisor

Any of these people could, by action or inaction, make my life extremely difficult. Even the most junior finance person could make an 'error' (oopsie ) and mess up my pay. Any IT guy could make my network go away (I don't know what happened to your network access - try turning it off and on again ). Even for the First Sergeants and Chiefs who were total dirt bags (I've known more than a few), I went out of my way to ensure my attitude and behaviour towards them was nothing but courteous and professional.

CMSgts have an incredible amount of power and influence, and only a fool (ESPECIALLY an enlisted person) would go out of their way to antagonize one. Even most officers show respect towards them, and the smart ones listen to their advice. It's an old adage - never screw with the Chief. In this case, SSgt Banks was trolling the bear, and he found out the hard way that this particular bear is best left alone. IMO, he got off really lightly. Again, we don't know how his chain of command handled this, but I'm sure he is still getting a LOT of personal attention from his supervisor, his Flight Chief, his Superintendent, his First Sergeant, and probably all the way up to his Group/Wing and maybe even Numbered Air Force Command Chiefs. NONE of these (enlisted) folks will be happy with SSgt Banks, nor the unwanted attention he brought to their unit/organization. He will spend a good year on the 'Sh*t List' until he can prove he learned his lesson.

I also have to wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that CMSAF Bass is the first female CMSAF. I typically don't subscribe to the 'sexism/misogyny under every bush' mentality, but I still wonder if SSgt Banks would have dared to be so flippant were the new CMSAF a man. . . Either way, CMSAF Bass has made it VERY clear one does not screw with the CMSAF, and others will think twice before they attempt to be disrespectful towards her.

quote:

Originally posted by navyshooter:
lol....I always told my sailors that I couldn't make them do anything...but I sure as H@#% could make them wish they had....
or never F#@$ with the guy who controls your liberty

Near the end of my first enlistment (7 years as extended for pay reasons) I was STILL a PO3 (E4) and was not planning to take the test for E5.

Two main reasons were 1)in the post-Viet Nam force reduction era they were making very few E5's in my rating and I'd gotten PNA'd 4 times previously (Passed, but Not Advanced); and 2) I was getting out anyway, so who cared?

The test was in February and my EAOS (End of Active Obligated Service) wasn't until mid-year.

My Division Chief pulled me into his office and asked me if I was studying for the test. I said "Nope, not gonna take it anyway."

He just looked at me with That Look and said "Well, I can't force you to take the test. But I CAN, and WILL make your life truly miserable if you don't."

Not being completely brain-dead, I hit the books and took the test. Before test results were announced, I made a last-minute decision to reenlist as the local job market was non-existent and I now had a family to care for.

I transferred to Japan and upon arrival got the news that I'd passed with a high enough score to make E5.

Not co-incidentally, I made E6 and E7 as soon as I was eligible to take the test. Something about a wife and 3 kids being a motivational factor, I suspect...

For the average , say, AB through TSgt, your Flight Chief is the one CMSgt that you're most likely to have any dealings with. And if you just do your job and follow the rules you may rarely see him/her.

quote:

Originally posted by Dawes:
For the average , say, AB through TSgt, your Flight Chief is the one CMSgt that you're most likely to have any dealings with. And if you just do your job and follow the rules you may rarely see him/her.

Good ones will show up enough to keep everyone on their toes, both the troops and bosses. The really good ones will stop and dispense words of wisdom/lessons learned in "informal training sessions" to the troops. Great ones will challenge and nurture young enlisted and junior officers (even mid level officers) who have potential.

Coming from the Munitions world, we always had an OIC because, well, I guess you have to. But with a Chief, one or two SMSgts, and a bunch of MSgts running the shops, everything was pretty well covered.