USAF Can't Use "Don't Promote Me" Letters

Congress is looking askance at an Air Force proposal to reject separation pay for officers who have written letters to promotion boards asking not to be advanced.

Lawmakers understand that the service has a problem with some members whom it believes are attempting to manipulate the personnel system to obtain involuntary severance bonuses. Senate aides have asked Air Force officials to find another way to deal with the trend.

The manipulation works like this: Officers know that being passed over twice for promotion is important in becoming eligible for involuntary separation pay. Those who are planning to leave the service anyway, but want severance cash, simply communicate to promotion boards that they do not want a promotion. Last year, boards received 107 letters asking to defer promotions to major, for instance.

The incentive to use this ploy is considerable. Separation pay can range up to $52,000 for a captain with 12 years of service.

Using these letters against the writers when it comes to handing out severance bonuses would be problematic, however. Currently, all correspondence to promotion boards is considered to be confidential.

One solution might be to direct the boards to simply ignore all such letters. Lt. Gen. Michael D. McGinty, the service's top personnel officer, has already announced that officers who turn down proffered promotions will no longer be considered passed over. They will continue to serve at their lower rank but will stay on the "selected" list, negating chances of involuntary separation cash.

Feingold Attacks Navy Super Hornet

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a harsh critic of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, took to the Senate floor March 23 to deliver a scathing attack on the Navy's newest fighter, which has been troubled in recent times by wing drop and other anomalies in its testing program.

"We should discontinue the ... program before the American taxpayers are asked to shell out additional tens of billions of dollars for an unnecessary and flawed program," he said.

The senator maintained that the aircraft is in technical trouble and doesn't provide much of a boost in capability over the current F/A-18C/D models. "The ... 'Super Hornet' program is foundering, and the Defense Department is doing everything in its power to keep it afloat," said Feingold.

He said that, after reviewing the program, investigators from the General Accounting Office recommended that the Navy take a more cautious approach to the program and conduct detailed tests before buying more of the airplanes.

Even so, he said, the Super Hornet team is struggling to keep the aircraft alive by minimizing its problems, the senator charged. "The story has a little bit of deception and what might be called good old-fashioned government cover-up," he said.

The Navy maintains that the aircraft is in solid shape and is vitally needed as a replacement for the A-6, F-14, and F/A-18C/D carrier aircraft that have either aged out of the inventory already or will do so over the next decade.

Chief Benken Goes to the Hill

In three appearances before committees of Congress, CMSAF Eric W. Benken vowed that the Air Force will continue to push for new and improved housing for married and single airmen, along with programs to boost morale, welfare, and recreation.

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force asked the lawmakers with whom he met to continue to support construction projects and other quality-of-life programs for Air Force people who are having to cope with very high operation and personnel tempos.

He said, "Never in America's history has its armed forces been as strong as [they are] today. Never before has its air arm been as mighty. Never in our 51-year history have we asked our blue-suiters to do so much."

The chief said everyone understands that the national mission today requires high tempos. However, he noted, the effect on Air Force people could be negative. "We are busy," Benken said. "The numbers show that. But more importantly, our people and their families are feeling it."