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Letters

Separate creeds a bad idea

With all respect to retired Col. David Welling, I disagree with his proposed Military Medic’s Creed [“Medics deserve own creed,” Letters, July 16]. While I recognize the unique position of healers in an organization devoted to threatening and inflicting violence (being a medic myself), I think such a creed is the wrong way to go, for three reasons.

First, how can we exclude from this creed the med techs (only the Navy calls them “corpsmen”), pharmacists, social workers and support staff of many flavors — just to name a few specialties? There is much more to the military medical system than “corpsman, nurse, dentist, (and) physician.” For that matter, what about our other non-combatants? Should the Chaplain Corps develop its own creed, too?

Second, the medical creed misses the purpose of the new Airman’s Creed; indeed, it defeats that purpose. We’re trying to develop and ingrain a sense of identity in the Air Force as a service of airmen — not doctors, lawyers, pilots and so on. The proposed creed takes a giant step back from that goal by declaring the medical field as a separate entity from the Air Force — in fact, from all services.

Finally, and most important, can we shed the fantasy that medics are non-combatants? I’ve done the Law of Armed Conflict and Geneva Convention training; I am well aware of the reasons for their existence, though I’m not necessarily convinced of these reasons’ validity in today’s world. Should I ever find myself engaged with the enemy, I harbor no illusions about becoming a “retained person” or a “prisoner of war.” I may be a bean-counter, but I have no intention of saving the Air Force money by bringing unused ammo back.

There are no non-combatants in this conflict. We are engaged in a struggle for our survival, both in the literal sense and for our way of life. Our enemy recognizes no non-combatants — only those to be destroyed, and those who give in to their demands (as the Spanish did). If we lose this struggle, it will not be because of Donald Rumsfeld or Abu Ghraib or the strain on our forces or any of the trendy reasons. It will be because we, all of us, are losing the fire to fight for our beliefs. It will be because we no longer value our freedom over our comforts, or our apathy.

A non-combatant’s creed, however good its intentions, is a signal to everyone that it’s OK not to take sides in this war.

Capt. Alexei Kambalov

Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

Barksdale can go cyber

Air Force Times recently ran a letter questioning the Air Force’s decision to establish Cyberspace Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. [“South, cyber don’t mix,” June 25]. This suggests that the writer is unaware of some important facts about 8th Air Force and the Louisiana community.

Louisiana is home to the Air Force Network Operations Center. The AFNOC controls Air Force networks, orchestrating the prevention, detection and intervention of hundreds of intrusion attempts daily. While many units engage in “cyber combat” as part of this effort to defend Air Force networks, Barksdale Air Force Base is the war-fighting headquarters for this mission.

Those familiar with cyberspace operations know that the Defense Department definition does not limit cyberspace to the Internet. The “Mighty Eighth” is the numbered Air Force with the majority of the dedicated electronic warfare assets, striving for superiority in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EC-130H Compass Call, RC-135 Rivet Joint, E-3C airborne warning and control system and E-8 joint surveillance and target attack radar system aircraft are all closely tied to cyberspace superiority and all are assigned to the 8th Air Force, making it the logical choice for the Air Force to grow cyberspace to its full potential.

Louisiana is also growing its cyberspace capabilities. Years ago, we installed the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative, a super high-capacity network with a connection running within feet of the base. The nearby Cyberspace Innovation Center, currently funded by the state and community to the tune of $100 million, will create a world-class research center for industry and academia, with access through LONI to one of the nation’s largest grid computing environments, with an anticipated 85 teraflops of computational capacity. We’ve invited the Air Force to partner with our CIC on matters of national defense.

Finally, many leading defense contractors are already planning branch offices and facilities in the Shreveport-Bossier area to support cyberspace command as well as to capitalize on existing regional economic opportunities.

Col. Lorenz J. Walker (ret.)

Mayor

Bossier City, La.

Infants need more care

I would like to comment on the July 2 article “Suit says Langley day care neglected infant’s injury.” According to Air Force regulations, infants (children younger than 6 months) are in rooms of eight infants for every two day care providers. As a new mother, I can see how it is possible the day care providers could have neglected the child’s injury. How can two caretakers provide the necessary love and attention and fulfill the needs of eight infants?

I do not fault the providers or the day care center because I see that they do care for the children to the best of their abilities.

But I do fault the Air Force Services Agency. Infants need stimulation and constant attention. This is possibly one of the most important times in a young child’s life, and to ignore this fact is reprehensible to say the least.

I am glad that neither of my children ever experienced the kind of pain and suffering this little boy and his parents are going through. We are entrusting these day care centers with our most prized possessions for eight to 10 hours a day so we can defend our nation. They have the obligation to ensure our children are properly cared for.

Staff Sgt. Glenela S. Rajpaul

Altus Air Force Base, Okla.

Speaking course needed

In a July 2 column titled, “A degree of frustration,” Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry Sutton discussed the recent change requiring a Community College of the Air Force degree as a prerequisite for a senior rater endorsement. Sutton has bachelor’s and master’s degrees but has not earned a CCAF degree because he has not completed a three-semester-hour speech course.

Public speaking competency is an essential skill in today’s Air Force, particularly for senior noncommissioned officers. Furthermore, CCAF is required to comply with accreditation guidelines that require demonstration of public speaking competency. CCAF is accredited through Air University by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. To comply with SACS/COC Principles of Accreditation, CCAF implemented a three-semester-hour speech requirement in 1991.

The college is also a member of the American Association of Community Colleges, whose policy states: “All degree programs must include the opportunity for the student to demonstrate proficiency in the use of communication and computation skills for transfer and/or for career goals.” Air Force enlisted professional military education lacks sufficient contact hours in public speaking to fulfill this requirement.

We are careful about maintaining rigorous academic standards and program curricula to ensure the CCAF degree equals or exceeds the quality of programs offered in similar civilian institutions. In fact, our oral communication and general education requirements were recently reviewed and validated by the college’s Academic Policy Council and the Air University Board of Visitors. The general education and oral communication requirements are also key links to the newly established Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative partnership program that will benefit many enlisted in their pursuit of a baccalaureate degree.

Requiring the CCAF degree for a senior rater endorsement promotes attainment of job-related degrees, which certify skills and knowledge obtained through duty-specific educational experiences. The CCAF degree confirms that graduates possess the essential knowledge necessary to serve the Air Force and their respective career fields.

The good news is that CCAF provides an alternative to graduates of civilian degree programs who believe they possess requisite oral communication skills and knowledge sufficient to meet the three-semester-hour CCAF requirement. They can challenge the DANTES DSST exam in public speaking which is available at no cost through their local education services center.

Daniel Hayes

Dean of academic affairs

Community College of the Air Force

Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Let NCOs do their jobs

It was with great interest and dismay that I read Senior Master Sgt. Scott Sippel’s June 25 letter to the editor [“All rules are important — even the small ones”] defending Chief Master Sgt. Bob Henson’s May 7 opinion piece regarding uniform standards [“Tighten up,” Back Talk]. While chastising a young noncommissioned officer for his opinion and trying to express his own, Sippel missed the point.

Apparently, I was under the misguided belief that an NCO’s primary function was to ensure the training and well-being of those under him. Spend any amount of time down range, and you will find that is not necessarily the case.

To begin with, one must wonder what has happened to peer accountability. When a person sees another with a uniform infraction, what happened to making an on-the-spot correction, regardless of the rank on your collar or sleeve? The fact that an E-9 was spending more than half a work day running down uniform violators observed by so-called senior leadership speaks volumes to the effect that peer accountability is merely a catch phrase, not something to employ. If someone is blatantly out of regulation, why would anyone allow that person to stay in such shape one minute longer?

Correcting uniform infractions that are observed is one thing, but for an E-7, E-8 or E-9 to spend his day camped out in front of a mess hall, gym or latrine is an absolute absurdity, bordering on a waste, fraud and abuse complaint for misuse of manpower. No one is questioning proper wear of the uniform, but when airmen are engaged in a game of gotcha with the “top three” during an emergency run to the latrine or dare to stand in the chow line with a dirty uniform after a 12-hour or longer work shift, it causes lack of faith in our senior NCOs about whether they have their priorities in order.

Tech. Sgt. Lee Caplinger

Swanton, Ohio

All airmen can qualify for CAM

In response to Tech. Sgt. Aaron Reynolds’ letter [“Medal not for aircrews,” July 16] bemoaning fliers getting the Combat Action Medal:

The mistake Reynolds makes is assuming that the CAM is the “nonflier” equivalent of the Air Medal or the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is not. He should have looked up the award criteria for both of those medals and the CAM. The Air Medal and DFC are both for acts of heroism (and for the Air Medal, meritorious achievement) in combat, while the CAM is for all airmen who have participated in combat without any accompanying act of heroism. There are already awards for acts of heroism for ground combat: the Bronze and Silver stars. In order of precedence, the CAM falls below the Air Force Achievement Medal, which is a non-combat medal, and well below the Air Medal.

If Reynolds wants to earn a medal that aircrew can’t, I would suggest he try for a Bronze Star with “V” or a Silver Star. If he does want an Air Medal or DFC, I hear that the loadmaster career field is critically undermanned and is open for cross-training.

Capt. Jean-Andre Parmiter

Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.