On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 17:19:21 -0600, "D. Strang"
wrote:

All I have to do is go into a squadron and look at the detail list, or watch
all the enlisted troops picking up trash with their garbage bags dragging
behind them to know that nothing has changed.


I don't know where and when you served, but clearly you've got a
wealth of experiences. I can only say that during my 23 years with the
company I seldom saw that sort of thing going on. That included
stateside TAC and ATC (plus MAJCOM), PACAF two tours in combat ops,
and USAFE (operational and Hq).

Throughout, there was mutual respect for the support troops and high
morale. Long hours and harsh working conditions occasionally, but
there was always a strong sense of mission and a keen awareness that
it was the whole team that made it happen.

My final tour on active duty was Air Liaison Officer with the 4th ID
(mech), where I got some insight into Army operations. The differences
in numbers (and hence ratios) of officer to enlisted were very
apparent. Clearly there was more room for the sort of thing you
describe on the green side of the house, but the successful units
maintained the same sort of relationships that I saw on the blue side.

The days of traditional European conscript (18th/19th Century) "rank &
file" versus officer corps--"keep a stiff upper lip" seem pretty much
over.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8