ARTICLE: Air Force Academy has leadership problem

[MN-Dad-2016]

As a side note, the picture from the Washington Times article was blown up from this official USAFA public anouncement (see http://www.usafa.af.mil/News/Articl...academy-cadets-march-in-inaugural-parade.aspx ). I'm willing to cut the Cadets marching some slack because it was taken before the parade started. That said, there is no excuse for a USAFA employee, Melissa Porter (U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs), to post a picture of Cadets "marching" before the parade route. They are out of step because they were in a pseudo-casual mode. Up to this point, I'm a little suspicious of what the authors beef is. A.K.A., he is stretching to make his point.

But I was interested in seeing how the Cadets looked when they crossed the President's viewing station. Google is a powerful tool. Answer: See https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4653995/usafa-inauguration-parade. Watch it, then scroll and pause to 00:27. I'm not impressed. Advise to the author L Todd Wood: First, try Googling for 3 seconds. You could have put together an even a stronger argument. Perception is reality: and the perception is, the small group of marchers lacked discipline. I'm going to call a spade a spade; guilty as charged.

Hmmm, I tried to find USMA from that same c-span video site, and found nothing.

As a side note, the picture from the Washington Times article was blown up from this official USAFA public anouncement (see http://www.usafa.af.mil/News/Articl...academy-cadets-march-in-inaugural-parade.aspx ). I'm willing to cut the Cadets marching some slack because it was taken before the parade started. That said, there is no excuse for a USAFA employee, Melissa Porter (U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs), to post a picture of Cadets "marching" before the parade route. They are out of step because they were in a pseudo-casual mode. Up to this point, I'm a little suspicious of what the authors beef is. A.K.A., he is stretching to make his point.

But I was interested in seeing how the Cadets looked when they crossed the President's viewing station. Google is a powerful tool. Answer: See https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4653995/usafa-inauguration-parade. Watch it, then scroll and pause to 00:27. I'm not impressed. Advise to the author L Todd Wood: First, try Googling for 3 seconds. You could have put together an even a stronger argument. Perception is reality: and the perception is, the small group of marchers lacked discipline. I'm going to call a spade a spade; guilty as charged.

Hmmm, I tried to find USMA from that same c-span video site, and found nothing.

A quick google search shows https://www.c-span.org/video/?422243-1/president-trump-walks-inaugural-parade . But this is the entire c-span recording. It will be beyond >>>> the 1:30 mark. All am pretty sure, all Academies are shown. Users can then customize their own clips. That was the link I gave earlier (a parent creating a small portion which google picked up. Also, see https://www.facebook.com/WestPointU...80936771231/10151256034736232/?type=3&theater showing about 18 pix. USMA marching was"crisp". In the series of pix on the FB link, there is a nice aerial view.

 

[MN-Dad-2016]

For those who are USAFA grads, maybe you can explain to others, as my DH has explained to me, just exactly why the AF Academy is called the ZOO.

My son is a plebe at USNA, but he attended USAFA SS last year. There, he was told USAFA is called "The Zoo" because visitors to the Academy stare through the fence at the cadets inside the restricted area, as if they are watching animals in a zoo. True???

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usafa "The zoo where air force academy cadets are kept on display for public display. "

 

[NavyHoops]

USNA we call that effect the fish bowl. It comes from visitors staring at us from the second floor of the pool through the glass while we drown... I mean swim.

 

[AFrpaso]

If you read the article you can clearly see that he is not "attacking" the academy. He is simply critiquing the leadership that is running it. I think Mr. Wood loves and cares about his alma mater and therefore has the courage to write an article to address the issues that face it. He wants to keep/safeguard the institution that he loves.

Thank you, I did read the article. Twice. I also read many of his other articles. I use the word "attacking" in a loose way. I can see how that statement could be interpreted differently. Note that I say "many people think" and not "he is". I simply stated what some people have conjectured are the motivations (at least partially) for writing the article.

I was at the Inauguration and I was in the marching contingent. I agree that the formation looked mediocre. I think I even said that in my last post. We practiced marching quite a few times beforehand but I couldn't tell you how good we looked since I was in the formation, but supposedly passable by the MTI's standards.

Let me talk about some of the reasons I think the formation was mediocre, not to give excuses, but to at least explain what happens when you are marching. Drill requires four components in order for the formation to maintain the correct shape: dress, cover, interval, and distance (DCID). Dress refers to staying in the same horizontal line. Cover refers to staying in the same vertical line. Interval is the space between you and the person next to you. Distance refers to the space between you and the person in front of you. There are standard lengths for each of these things. Next, cadets need to be in step, eyes straight ahead, no bouncing, appropriate arm swing, etc. For commands, a preparatory command precedes the command of execution. For example, "left" is the preparatory command and "face" in the command of execution. These are things that all services do.

So why was the marching so bad during the parade? Days before the event, a decision was made to deviate from the standard DCID lengths. I don't know who made the decision, but I suspect the change was made to spread out the cadets and effectively made the formation appear bigger (could this have been a bad leadership decision? maybe). Increasing these distances makes it a lot harder to maintain them. Remember, you're supposed to march with eyes straight ahead, so any adjustments you make to dress are based on your peripheral vision.

Now, with an expanded formation, the ranks in the rear are much further back. This makes it more difficult to hear the commands and see the guidon. Couple this with the fact that we were marching in close proximity to the Air Force Band and can barely hear commands. Next, you turn the corner on Pennsylvania Avenue and are instantly blinded by the lighting. The U.S. Air Force in near the end of the parade, so we've slid into evening and the contrast between the previous lighting is enhanced. As we approach the reviewing stand to execute the 'eyes left', everyone in the middle and rear are straining their ears to hear the preparatory command and squinting their eyes to at least see the guidon raise. We're there, eyes left, and guess what, the distance between you and the person in from of you is now maintained by your periphery. But that distance was lengthened, and too far to maintain effectively using your peripheral vision. Some of the formation attempts minor adjustments and naturally starts to revert to the standards for DCID unintentionally.

You know the results.

Now, check the pictures of the other services. The formations are much much tighter, or earlier in the day, or not flanked by a band, or some combination of the three.

Marching is something VMI is very good at. Here's a picture from President Trump's inaugural parade. Rah Va Mil!

View attachment 926

Here they are marching shoulder to shoulder and with short distance.

Both USNA and USMA looked sharp in the parade. USNA is cycling in a new Dant who I hope they have chosen well because the outgoing one has been simply outstanding.

Again, the formation is very condensed and smartly so. This picture is also not taken while executing the 'eyes left', which is where most problems start happening.

I hope I'm able to shed some light on what happened.

 

[USMCGrunt]

4 pages and 64 posts into this thread - so I hope I have been respectful enough to give people space to weigh in. Seriously? People are looking for video evidence of good close order drill from the AFA? The Marine Corps "academies" (Paris Island, San Diego and Quantico) don't have such issues.

The OP posted the work of a graduate who has written several times on his assessment of the current AFA vs the "old corps" (or whatever it was called when he was there). After reading his works, the author has an agenda but uses weak arguments. He contributes the fact that he flew combat missions that were successful to the rigors of his AFA experience. He makes a leap to assume that today's cadets couldn't fly those same missions because their undergraduate discipline wasn't forged the way his was. I don't know, but it seems to me the Air Force is no less successful today than when he was flying. Where is the proof? The author may be on to something but I don't think he makes his case. It's too easy to say that things were tougher in the old corps therefore the new corps is less competent.

I delight in telling my DS (current 2LT USMC) how easy he has it compared to the old Corps. Handheld GPS units are easy compared to a lensatic compass and a map but deliver more accurate calls-for-fire and medevacs. Sighting systems on rifles may make it "easier" to hit the enemy in low light, long shots or even to mark a target but ensure more deadly fire. Boots that don't need shining and uniforms that don't need ironing rob Marines of "quality time" ensuring they look sharp but don't make them less of a Marine. (just don't tell my DS I said that!)

I leave the debate on whether the AFA needs to tighten up to those that have a vested interest. But I, for one, feel the author who is a graduate of the institution could do a better job articulating his case.

 

[MN-Dad-2016]

I hope I'm able to shed some light on what happened.

Thanks for the post. Being in marching band for 6 years, I hear what you are saying. It goes a long way to describe the troubles of keeping in alignment.

That all said, the picture didn't do your fine institution any favors. It's too bad that it was your own Communication Director that threw you under the bus which allowed the author to get in his digs. Unfortunately, thousands of people came away thinking less of a great institution. It goes to show you the importance of perception when you are in the public eye (especially in the age of cameras on every person and the far reaching arm of social media).

Getting to USMCGrunt's point, I am not convinced that the "old way" in all cases are necessarily a better way. As we all know, the USA spends more $'s than the next 8 nations combined. I think we can take care of ourselves pretty well. For whatever reason, the author thought he somehow got a better education because they badgered him more at the Academy. Furthermore, and statistically speaking, he shouldn't be convinced he would have gotten in today.

This ^^ reminds me of an argument I hear by many who think that K-12 school was better back in the "old days". IMHO, it's not even close! Some think for instance that houses were also built better generations ago. As a whole, again, I call B.S. The author needs to read this https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/why-we-think-life-was-better-in-the-good-old-days/
The 1st two sentences sum it up. "Things aren’t what they used to be’ because we are suffering from psychological biases, according to scientists.

Professor Nick Chater reveals in the first part of The Human Zoo on BBC Radio 4 that our belief things were better in the past is because of loss aversion and our ‘rose-tinted’ memory." Amen!

Forgetting all of this for a moment, I personally think USAFA leadership is stellar. I've had the privilege to meet the Sup and her staff a dozen times and in some in depth conversations. In short, I'm very impressed with her critical thinking management style. She's smart, disciplined, and a good leader.

 

[brovol]

The author essentially made a single point; that USAFA has allowed it's standards on what seem to be small things to slip, and that can be a costly mistake in the larger scheme of things. He used as an obvious and seemingly irrefutable example the manner in which it's Cadets march, and offered photographic evidence to support his conclusion. Feelings got hurt, but whether you like the authors style or not, it is healthy to assess criticism like this more objectively, and examine the arguments and evidence in order to correct things that might need correcting.

This is not about a particular march, but is a question as to whether usafa, or any of the academies, are slipping to a degree, in light of, be it political correctness, or just softer discipline for some other reason.

My suspicion is that if the author wrote an article about how excellent the Air Force Academy's academics are, and that they might be stronger now than ever, we would not be condemning the guy for trying to sell books. Instead, we would be praising him for his insight, observation, and wisdom.

 

[Capri120]

AFrpaso, thank you for some of the background.

Also, unlike past inaugural parades in which USAFA participated, my understanding is that the cadets selected this year were from various squadrons.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

In previous inaugural parades, and this may have been many years ago such as when DH was a cadet, the Academy was represented by cadets from a single squadron as a "reward" for excelling in some aspect of their training. And, hence, these cadets had several months of training and marching together before the January parade versus "quite a few times" as a new group.

Again, not necessarily a good excuse, but may have also been a contributing factor. Even the high school bands that the author said looked better have had months, if not years, to practice and march together.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[MN-Dad-2016]

The author essentially made a single point; that USAFA has allowed it's standards on what seem to be small things to slip, and that can be a costly mistake in the larger scheme of things. He used as an obvious and seemingly irrefutable example the manner in which it's Cadets march, and offered photographic evidence to support his conclusion. Feelings got hurt, but whether you like the authors style or not, it is healthy to assess criticism like this more objectively, and examine the arguments and evidence in order to correct things that might need correcting.

This is not about a particular march, but is a question as to whether usafa, or any of the academies, are slipping to a degree, in light of, be it political correctness, or just softer discipline for some other reason.

My suspicion is that if the author wrote an article about how excellent the Air Force Academy's academics are, and that they might be stronger now than ever, we would not be condemning the guy for trying to sell books. Instead, we would be praising him for his insight, observation, and wisdom.

A long standing tradition is that people who read articles that happen to support their optics, find them insightful. People who disagree, will be more critical of how they leaped to their conclusion. Look at Fox News vs CNN. Non-critical thinkers believe what they want to believe. IMHO, some people on this forum fall into this camp. This ^^ has been the case since the beginning of time.

If the OP showed some metrics on how his alma mater was now somehow inferior, that would be a worthwhile conversation. If he discussed specifics on why "softer discipline" yields inferior results, then I'm all ears. He takes shots at the AFA leadership but has never given any supporting evidence as to why that is a fact. I think he is experiencing 'rose-tinted memory' and applying some (in my view) some waste-of-time traditions which supposedly made our nation safer.

He needs to actually add some value; as in what standards are slipping and how slipped standards impacts our country, until then, I will define his article and opinion as unsupporting junk. In my view, when polishing too many shoes gets (too much) in the way of academics (as one example), then the balance is out wack. There is a balance. But there is always room for improvement.

 

[Maplerock]

I hope I'm able to shed some light on what happened.

Wonderful explanation. Sounds like you guys did the best you could. It's a shame the world didn't see you at your best.

 

[Maplerock]

This ^^ reminds me of an argument I hear by many who think that K-12 school was better back in the "old days".

Hey, like, you be right on that. Schools better than ever. They be like teaching real good. Know what I mean? You know, they on fleek.

 

[BlahuKahuna]

Hey, like, you be right on that. Schools better than ever. They be like teaching real good. Know what I mean? You know, they on fleek.

While we're on the subject of your general disdain for anyone under 50, do you mind explaining your previous post about female cadets having long hair?

 

[amadeus]

While we're on the subject of your general disdain for anyone under 50

I'm eighteen I don't think he has disdain for me. In fact I think he is trying to fix a MILITARY academy so that it goes back to its roots which made it great. So it doesn't become as the author said "UCLA in uniforms."

 

[Maplerock]

While we're on the subject of your general disdain for anyone under 50

I'm eighteen I don't think he has disdain for me. In fact I think he is trying to fix a MILITARY academy so that it goes back to its roots which made it great. So it doesn't become as the author said "UCLA in uniforms."

Thank you Wood lax! You get it. I love the academies and I think the kids that go there are amazing. She is upset because in another thread I made a statement that she found offensive. What she doesn't get is the fact that her rebuttals simply prove my point.

I understand though, because when I was her age I thought I knew it all too.

 

[MN-Dad-2016]

This ^^ reminds me of an argument I hear by many who think that K-12 school was better back in the "old days".

Hey, like, you be right on that. Schools better than ever. They be like teaching real good. Know what I mean? You know, they on fleek.

Parenting is on the decline, not schools. People are reproducing that shouldn't. No amount of school budgets will/can substitute for parenting.

Just like the haves and the have-nots are widening, the people who are absorbing better levels of education are widening too. I happened to go to the exact same HS as our children. It would be considered an "average" MN public HS which IMHO, is above average in the USA. If you decided to apply yourself, the difference in education is mind-blowingly superior today. For both of our children, there was college mentoring programs in HS, full time college education in 11th and 12th grade for free (25% take advantage of it to some level in their HS), the sciences are more technical, the expectations are higher etc. It ain't close! Both kids were well into their university level classes before they graduated. DS (USAFA) validated a dozen classes. Our supposedly "average" caliber HS served him well at USAFA. Same for our DS. That said, 12% are drop outs at his HS. 25% don't pass the standardized tests. But for the 20% who care (parenting) they kick butt.

 

[cb7893]

The Gold Standard

 

[Mountain_Mom]

For those who are USAFA grads, maybe you can explain to others, as my DH has explained to me, just exactly why the AF Academy is called the ZOO.

My son is a plebe at USNA, but he attended USAFA SS last year. There, he was told USAFA is called "The Zoo" because visitors to the Academy stare through the fence at the cadets inside the restricted area, as if they are watching animals in a zoo. True???

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usafa "The zoo where air force academy cadets are kept on display for public display. "

The large "courtyard" around which the mid-century modern campus is organized is called the Terrazzo or T-zo. Since it is easily viewed from the Chapel steps (open to visitors), it's not much of a leap to nickname the Terrazzo, "the zoo." Pro tip for new parents and visitors: The Chapel steps/overlook is a great place to watch the Noon formation for the march into lunch or watch the Doolies "run the strips" (the concrete lines around the T-zo to which the confine their movement). After I-day, I attended the picnic, then went up to the Chapel, (honestly to say a prayer), and was treated to a small glimpse of some activity below as well as a helpful AF major who pointed to my son's squadron so I knew where he was living. It was a nice way for me to end I-day before the drive up to Denver and flight home.

 

[Mountain_Mom]

For those who are USAFA grads, maybe you can explain to others, as my DH has explained to me, just exactly why the AF Academy is called the ZOO.

My son is a plebe at USNA, but he attended USAFA SS last year. There, he was told USAFA is called "The Zoo" because visitors to the Academy stare through the fence at the cadets inside the restricted area, as if they are watching animals in a zoo. True???

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usafa "The zoo where air force academy cadets are kept on display for public display. "

The large "courtyard" around which the mid-century modern campus is organized is called the Terrazzo or T-zo. Since it is easily viewed from the Chapel steps (open to visitors), it's not much of a leap to nickname the Terrazzo, "the zoo." Pro tip for new parents and visitors: The Chapel steps/overlook is a great place to watch the Noon formation for the march into lunch or watch the Doolies "run the strips" (the concrete lines around the T-zo to which the confine their movement). After I-day, I attended the picnic, then went up to the Chapel, (honestly to say a prayer), and was treated to a small glimpse of some activity below as well as a helpful AF major who pointed to my son's squadron so I knew where he was living. It was a nice way for me to end I-day before the drive up to Denver and flight home.

And, since AF recently had Recognitions, there are no Doolies until I-day. During this time of year, it is jokingly called Air Force University which is fodder for this conversation

 

[Mountain_Mom]

For those who are USAFA grads, maybe you can explain to others, as my DH has explained to me, just exactly why the AF Academy is called the ZOO.

My son is a plebe at USNA, but he attended USAFA SS last year. There, he was told USAFA is called "The Zoo" because visitors to the Academy stare through the fence at the cadets inside the restricted area, as if they are watching animals in a zoo. True???

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usafa "The zoo where air force academy cadets are kept on display for public display. "

The large "courtyard" around which the mid-century modern campus is organized is called the Terrazzo or T-zo. Since it is easily viewed from the Chapel steps (open to visitors), it's not much of a leap to nickname the Terrazzo, "the zoo." Pro tip for new parents and visitors: The Chapel steps/overlook is a great place to watch the Noon formation for the march into lunch or watch the Doolies "run the strips" (the concrete lines around the T-zo to which the confine their movement). After I-day, I attended the picnic, then went up to the Chapel, (honestly to say a prayer), and was treated to a small glimpse of some activity below as well as a helpful AF major who pointed to my son's squadron so I knew where he was living. It was a nice way for me to end I-day before the drive up to Denver and flight home.

And, since AF recently had Recognitions, there are no Doolies until I-day. During this time of year, it is jokingly called Air Force University which is fodder for this conversation

Oh my, what am I saying, there are no Doolies until after Basic. Someone will correct or clarify if this mom got it wrong

 

[BlahuKahuna]

I understand though, because when I was her age I thought I knew it all too.

Attempt #3. What does the length of female hair have to do with the effectiveness of the Air Force Academy (your own claim?)