Better funding, less politics.
Space Force
- Thread starter JBS
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Better funding, less politics.
I had just enlisted when 11th and 12th Groups were cut. There was...some bad blood I guess, guys who had busted their asses for the tab and had their units go away. I totally understand that.
Some of the Guard guys defended the decision because almost all of combat arms went to the Guard which is why the NG kept SF; plus they kept their jobs. By the late 90's when the Clinton defense budget was kicking our asses, all of the prior Reservists who were now in the Guard were pretty bitter. Their AT's were to Norway or Germany and the Guard sent us to Puerto Rico or worse, a home station AT. We struggled for money to send guys to JM at Benning.
After nearly 20 years of almost unlimited funding, most of the guys who were around back then are gone and there is little institutional memory for how bad things were in the 90's. There are guys who just haven't seen how bad things can be in the Guard. The Guard is almost worse than the mafia in some ways, but you won't see that when training budgets are high. When the money dries up the Guard will eats its own, more so than whatever is happening now.
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He isn't kidding. I recall overhearing a conversation the company commander was having with someone about budget issues. He basically said that he could pay for toilet paper or class 9 spare parts for the company, not both. This was an SF guard batt, so while we were better funded than most guard units in the state, we still didn't have close to enough money for jack. It was so bad warfighter training was generally frowned upon because, and I quote "support company will never need to use that stuff".
Brill
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Kraut783
SOF Support
Was USAR during the late 80's and through the 90's....budget was crap, even after Desert Shield/Storm, we created our own training and had to make due, used a lot of US Forests for training sites.
True story.
It was so bad by 98 or 99 the state was withholding Federal/ NGB distributed funds, one reason all of our 74C (now 25B) reclasses went to that stupid course taught by the USAR down in...Tampa? We lost 6 guys for over a year to that course. Guys couldn't get MFF or CDQC slots, I think the battalion had "a"dive and "a" MFF team, not one per company. A Co.'s dive team was something like 6 or 7 CDQC-qualed guys and had something like 12 or 13 MFF qualified guys for the entire BN, but 4 or 5 of those were not on a MFF ODA.
When mobilized for the GWOT, B Co. got the nod to deploy because of MOSQ strength. They were in the 90% range because it was one VA-based Company made of mostly former 11th Group guys. FL's two companies were sitting in the 80% range and that was after shuttering B Co. to move its colors north. Two companies absorbed one and within 2 years fell back to 80-something percent manning. The NQP program was something like a platoon-sized element, but we couldn't get school slots to meet the demand. SPT CO was above 90% (I want to say around 96%) because IET soldiers had their training funded by the FEDs; reclass training fell to the NGB budget. SOT-A's were the hardest hit in SPT CO because of funding for school and the wait for a TS clearance.
And all of this was with leadership cooking the books on training and sending unqualed guys out on JCETS...
Maybe the USAR Groups had some of these issues, but I haven't found an 18 series to confirm, they all spoke of how they had more money than the Guard.
Were you with 11th or 12th Groups?
Kraut783
SOF Support
No, just regular USAR unit, MP
Was approached to do a 6 to 12 month rotation at SDA. If only it wasnt in DC.
Florida173
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DC might suck, but I had the idea that I never wanted to move up to the NCR because of what everyone had said about it. I can say that it's not a bad gig and plenty of opportunities if you can get into the right areas. I really enjoy working between Springfield, Crystal City, and Reston. Don't think I could ever do downtown DC though
Funny how most of the people that say this aren't from here. I'm happy if they all move away. My family has lived here since the Civil War and I was born in Silver Spring. When I ask people what sucks, they always answer "95", and I tell them if they quit their job and move back to Shithole NT, there'll be that much less traffic.
We have great schools (secondary and tertiary), a booming housing market, great job market, museums, history, we're a two hour drive from the ocean and a two hour drive from the mountains, lots of culture (food, theater, etc), you can catch a flight from Dulles or BWI to anywhere in the world. One of the best places to live in the entire USA.
I've done a few rotations to DC and the surrounding areas (never beyond 5 weeks though) and my wife is from Springfield so I used to drive up every weekend from Lejeune when we were dating. If it were just the two of us, I'd jump on this opportunity, but it's not. I just cant fathom the housing cost for what we would need to make her happy.
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Trump touts 'super-duper missile' as Space Force unveils flag
What’s more maddening? The President of the United States referring to a “super duper” missile, or the fact that our flag looks like a com-badge from Star Trek?
What’s more maddening? The President of the United States referring to a “super duper” missile, or the fact that our flag looks like a com-badge from Star Trek?
Florida173
SOF Support
The flag is just an iteration from the United States Air Force Space Command logo
Kraut783
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The Federation is starting to take shape.
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Just checked my NIPR for the first time in a month and they already updated the SOCOM Leaders page with the Space Force Special Operations Command (SFSOC)- the choice in leadership is outstanding, IMO.
SFSOC CG:
Deputy CG:
And of course, the most important position, Senior enlisted advisor, who I have been proud to serve with on and off since 2002-
SFSOC CG:
Deputy CG:
And of course, the most important position, Senior enlisted advisor, who I have been proud to serve with on and off since 2002-
Florida173
SOF Support
Ripping off ARSE...
*actual ripping off is going the other way...
*actual ripping off is going the other way...
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