Question for Air Force members circa 2001/02

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Question for Air Force members circa 2001/02

Posted: 12/26/2019 2:04:08 AM EDT

Does anyone else remember the Air Force encouraging people to separate early and/or move to another branch around then?

I was in USAFE at the time but I’m pretty sure it was an Air Force wide directive to reduce personnel although I don’t remember if it was just enlisted or if it included officers as well or even if it was limited to certain AFSCs (I was Security Forces for reference).

I know they did something similar earlier this decade but I’d swear they did it back then as well.

Posted: 12/26/2019 6:52:02 AM EDT

[#1]

Was it cross-training? Security Forces, as the largest enlisted careerfield, has routinely cross-trained E-5 - E7s out of the field annually. The SF org structure can't support the numbers of airmen being promoted, and at the same time attrition in other careerfields require people be interjected so they can remain healthy. We would cross-train hundreds in each rank every year.

I was on the General Staff in 2001 and all cross-training and attrition was halted after 9-11. We instituted Stop Loss and brought thousands of ARNG over to help us secure airframes and warfighting assets so anyone in SF stayed in SF.

Posted: 12/27/2019 3:30:35 AM EDT

[#2]

Quote History

Quoted:
Was it cross-training? Security Forces, as the largest enlisted careerfield, has routinely cross-trained E-5 - E7s out of the field annually. The SF org structure can't support the numbers of airmen being promoted, and at the same time attrition in other careerfields require people be interjected so they can remain healthy. We would cross-train hundreds in each rank every year.

I was on the General Staff in 2001 and all cross-training and attrition was halted after 9-11. We instituted Stop Loss and brought thousands of ARNG over to help us secure airframes and warfighting assets so anyone in SF stayed in SF.

View Quote

You mentioning 9/11 triggered a memory that it might actually have been partly a result of the increased enlistment drive after that happened so it might have been 2004.

It could have been limited to certain jobs or even just SF but it wasn’t cross training, it was early separation/moving to another branch if I’m remembering correctly.

Posted: 12/27/2019 5:23:14 AM EDT

[#3]

I believe it was around 02 to 04. I recall at least a couple guys I worked with in the CE field being forced to retrain into other career fields around that time.

Posted: 12/28/2019 9:43:06 PM EDT

[#4]

I don't remember anything in 01-02 but our numbers plussing up. Before 9/11 we were like 70% manned with a ton of deviations. Then 9/11 hit and we had way more bodies. By 05-06 I started seeing people getting denied their CRJ's, some cops were made to go to K9 or CATM or get out and some E-6's were force retrained. We also lost a bunch of officers from the 03 acession year which was no big loss because they fucking sucked.

Posted: 1/5/2020 4:50:17 AM EDT

[#5]

There was blue to green which was switching to the army and NCORP which was the retraining program. Early 2000s.

Posted: 1/6/2020 5:59:19 PM EDT

[#6]

About 2004-05 saw a couple of former AF officers that switched to Army. One was a B-52 Navigator who crossed over to Army Field Artillery and another was an AF Missile Man who went Army Military Intelligence. As a retired AF officer, asked them why the switch and for both, they believed they had limited career potential in the AF and felt they could easily make Major in the Army.

Posted: 1/6/2020 6:19:15 PM EDT

[#7]

I remember a big blue to green push around 2004-2005. Switch over with an orientation course for a couple of weeks and welcome to the Army!!!

Funny thing is when I looked at switching form the Air Guard to and Army Guard Officer position around 2014 (keep in mind I already had a Masters degree) they wanted to me to go to basic at Ft Jackson and then to OCS. I just laughed and said no thanks and the recruiter laughed and said that policy has cost him tons of good applicants.

Posted: 1/6/2020 6:20:49 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
Was it cross-training? Security Forces, as the largest enlisted careerfield, has routinely cross-trained E-5 - E7s out of the field annually. The SF org structure can't support the numbers of airmen being promoted, and at the same time attrition in other careerfields require people be interjected so they can remain healthy. We would cross-train hundreds in each rank every year.

I was on the General Staff in 2001 and all cross-training and attrition was halted after 9-11. We instituted Stop Loss and brought thousands of ARNG over to help us secure airframes and warfighting assets so anyone in SF stayed in SF.

View Quote

I remember having Army Guard guys on our gate when I got back to the states in 03.

Posted: 2/8/2020 8:57:29 AM EDT

[#9]

Blue to Green was initiated in 2003/2004. The USAF also initiated a Reduction In Force (RIF) and offered Voluntary Separation Pay (VSP) during that time frame. Security Forces lost just over 4k personnel during that time frame. Some great folks walked out the door.

Posted: 2/9/2020 3:11:45 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:

I remember having Army Guard guys on our gate when I got back to the states in 03.

View Quote

Air Force asked the Army Guard for help with base security in 2003 and 2004 . Our guys were Downstate under Noble Eagle for those years. I was at Stewart with half our guys. The other half were at some base way out on Long Island.

Ironically some of our guys were impressed with the better treatment of Air Guard personnel by their chain of command and wanted to go blue after that mission wrapped. Then our OEF deployment hit and that was the end of that

Retention and reduction are normal extremes for the Guard. There was a time in the late 90s where guys with 18 years of service were credited with two years of service to get them to retire out

Posted: 2/26/2020 12:51:12 PM EDT

[#11]

Some AFSCs were affected more than others. I was a 2A676 with some TIG.... forced to cross train ??

My choices were recruiting, OSI or drill instructor. I should have gone OSI, because recruiting was the worst 4 years of my life

Posted: 4/19/2020 8:24:30 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:

You mentioning 9/11 triggered a memory that it might actually have been partly a result of the increased enlistment drive after that happened so it might have been 2004.

It could have been limited to certain jobs or even just SF but it wasn’t cross training, it was early separation/moving to another branch if I’m remembering correctly.

View Quote

Ya somewhere around there sounds right to me too. I remember talk about a "blue to green" program that a lot of us laughed off and a couple junior officers we worked for being invited to leave the AF. We joked that the only ones staying were the Academy guys.
After 9/11? No idea. I remember stop loss and no talk of cross training in my AFSC at least. Was USAFE at the time as well.

Posted: 4/28/2020 4:40:00 PM EDT

[#13]

You sure it wasn't closer to 2005-7? They were doing that asinine "force shaping" program about then. I know on the officer side, it was all about getting the numbers down to meet legislative manpower caps. We had a couple of 2Lts get booted because the manpower witchdoctors could somehow forecast that there were, literally, six too many people in a career field of over 3K.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Question for Air Force members circa 2001/02

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