I've got another one: AMC Rodeo. Every other year, heavy bases "compete" in a bunch of dog and pony shows, which cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in fuel, per diem, lodging, rental cars, and so on.

But the real waste and abuse is that we fly heavy jets, gas-guzzling jets to pick up participants, "judges," and bigwigs from all over the country to take them to the west coast. And then return them home at a ridiculous fuel cost.

This rodeo has absolutely nothing to do with skills required for combat operations. Those who are unfamiliar with this boondoggle would find it hard to believe how much money the AMC spends on this farce.

To see all that waste and know there are guys on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan who need that money for basic combat equipment is nauseating.

It's an utter disgrace. I think my congressman will hear about the next one.

This is why they started quotas on JP-5 and Diesel for the coast gaurd and navy ships.

What's really sad is that nobody gives a crap about any of this....not the AF leadership, and certainly not congress. The AF is just one giant turd, and it's circling the drain on it's way down as we speak.

Amen...and the best excuse..

Crews - "Why are we in the ORI? We deploy 2-3-4 times a year!!!"

Leadership - "The ORI isn't for OPS!! You guys know how to do your job....It's for the REST of the wing."

Obvious question - then why cant the crews and aircraft be NOTIONAL!?!?!?

Like every other exercise in the af, it is not for the crews. the crews get it, even if the evaluator doesn't! it is a game of chess or some other bs. if you could make a chess game into a "training scenario" and have real time "casualties" you would be a billionaire. it is all about running the leadership (ha, ha, ha, ha) into a series of difficult decisions. so do this and let the crews do their job. that is worth millions!

Military planners know that troops need more than mere training -- they must be eager to go to war. ORIs, paperwork, additional duties, and other "peacetime" harassments accomplish this nicely.

I have a buddy that recently had to go TDY somewhere at the last minute. When he went to book his flights he found the cheapest coach roundtrip ticket to be $1800 and the cheapest first class ticket to be $800, but he was forced to take the coach ticket because it was against policy to allow him to sit in first class. Ridiculous.

Brutus, gotta give you props for a spot-on take.

What I find amazing is how after years of seeing stuff like this it just seeps into your head as "that's how it's done in the AF." I truly believe that the guys at the top who think they can do no wrong, the ones who have been told how great they are after being promoted 2BPZ three times over, just come to believe that waste doesn't matter. They think it's just the cost of doing business...if your sqns have extra funds at the end of the year then by God they better spend it; if we've got extra flying hours at the end of the year we better zero it out or it'll look bad on the PRF for O-7; etc, etc.

If the CSAF bothered to get an outside analysis of how to properly cut costs, said analyst would have a field day--would have to pull in outside help to get the job done right. Unfortunately, the job would prove too difficult and the easy answer would come back as: hire contractors, reduce your AD force, raise the cost of your insurance plans, and get rid of that pension plan.

And this topic hasn't even touched on what goes on at the HQ level, Air Staff, or Joint Staffs. The insane number of TDYs that take place for staffers to attend seminars, notional war games, etc. Granted, some of these are needed, but it's a fraction of what is required. A lot of it IMHO are staffers going from place to place to get face time, or justifying their staff job that will get them promoted to the next rank. No, I'm not a bitter guy who left the AF on a sour note. Quite the opposite; had a great and enjoyable career (except for the staff part)--20 years, 18 of which were at the sqn/grp level, and the two years of staff I did were after I got promoted to my final rank. But those two were enough to show me how much waste takes place where little gets done. Like attending a UAV seminar in San Destin, FL (seminar was conveniently held at a resort hotel on the beach) where a scenario 20 years from now was analyzed about how UAVs would fare, and what type would therefore be required down the road. It was a lot of bs, with some hired company compiling data to generate a hugely expensive report at the end of it. We'd throw number up out of our ass...."well, that sub-terrain UAV would have an effectiveness level of 3 on a scale to 5 against that enemy tank in the year 2025." All I could think was what a waste of time and money this crapfest is.

Entertaining insights and tales about the oldest story in USAF...nay, military...history. Been there, done that. Saw the waste, griped and *****ed, did nothing at all. That said, once you folks roll-in on your golden years, and if you get into a position that goes beyond the concerns of seniority numbers and bid lines, you'll most likely find that, by comparison with the civilian world, the ol' Air Force was a pretty smoothly run operation. One need look no further than the airline industry, or even the guy you're sitting next to in the cockpit for the proof in the pudding. Gets even more interesting when your company is profitable...

Second oldest story, right behind: "there I was...." At least those stories start out at 10% true the first time....