20 Years Done

If you frequent this blog you'll notice there are two kinds of posts: stories of toxicity, and stories of great leaders. I've been saving this story for a bit but this weekend seems to be the right time to share it. In the summer of 2012 I was a swing shift flightline expediter in the 308th AMU. Things were not going well. We were trying to balance the training syllabus, a major avionics modification while our manpower dwindled and our experience was quickly evaporating. This was at the height of the sequestration climate and was coming off the heels of two major manning moves for aircraft maintenance: Open shred for fighter crew chiefs and the redistribution of fighter crew chiefs to heavy aircraft. Both of these actions had a devastating effect on fighter maintenance likely even being felt today. Chief Master Sergeant Brad Roberts I was working about 15 hours a night, some nights longer. Our AMU had gone through several leadership changes due to PCS, retirements

Due to the sensitive nature of this post some names have been changed. The American military has a unique and critical role in society; the protection of the people and more importantly the preservation of our freedoms. However, the fact the role is critical doesn't exempt members of the military from being treated in a humane manner. If you are questioning my use of the term humane read on... Two months ago I wrote about when my supervisor and AMU assistant superintendent SMSgt Ridgway reluctantly let exhausted maintainers go home in lieu of possibly being injured due to lack of sleep. He seemed to have an inability to understand the human experience which was perplexing because from his outward appearance he seemed to be a human. In March of 2016 I was moved from my position as a Specialist Section Chief to the coveted position of Support Section Chief. I still attended the morning production meeting however my involvement was almost entirely advisory with the ex