A Fresh Start Here and There

[TruBlu]

I figured this would be a good time to post about this topic that I would like to share with the community. Like the Grunt Forum, my corps has undergone a fresh start. As a disclaimer, anything I say is subject to being refuted by members here and I understand that. When I say things like "as they do it in the Air Force" and stuff like that, I only base that off of what my SASI has instructed, and I do not claim a thorough knowledge of military organizational structure and operation. I say this because I would not like to step on anyone's toes through this process. With that said, I think I can begin.

My unit has undergone a "fresh start" of sorts. We have wiped the slate clean and built our unit from the ground up in hopes of leaving behind what our unit had become. What our unit had become was an over inflated, officer heavy, and disorganized corps. At the end of last year (school year 2007-2008), at least 50% of our corps was officers and only about 100 to 120 cadets enrolled each semester (only 60 or so active at one time). Our organization was horrible and officership was just an excuse for not dealing with certain problems.

I realized what was happening at the end of my Freshman year (school year 2006-2007). As I was only a Freshman, I had no pull with any upperclassman, and would be criticized to no end for even bringing up the topic with them. I decided that I would research on my own and figure out a solution to the problem that was forming right in front of us. At the beginning of my Sophomore year, I had the base for my idea: a unit downsizing. To test my theory, I went to work on our drill team as the commander. Our drill team was terrible, I mean we didn't win anything, and the problem lied within our small numbers and thought that we could still compete in everything. I downsized the competitions that we competed in, to only squad size and smaller (we only had 7 to 10 cadets on the team), and we started to place in those, not first in everything like some movie, but we were bringing home some trophies.

Second semester that year I formed the plan, I would move my unit from a disorganized cadet group to an efficient cadet squadron. I would use the same method that I used with the drill team. After researching AF squadron structures and AFJROTC structures, I formulated an organizational structure that would reduce our officer corps to only about 12 cadets and raising our enlisted corps to about 50 or 60 strong (just depends on how many cadets we have, but the 12 cadet officers would be constant). We would have a Squadron CC, with an XO and 1stSgt. assisting him/her. Directly under the Squadron CC is the Squadron Operations Officer (basically the deputy only with the AF operational squadron name of Operations Officer). Under the Squadron Operations Officer are four staff members (Current Operations, Logistics, Personnel, and Drill Team CC) and the five Flight CCs. Cadets would then file under the Flight CCs as the Flight Sgt., Element Leaders, and Airmen in those elements.

This new structure provided us a more AF style of operations, that is to say we work in parallel with each other. IE: A Flight CC will go directly to the Logistics Officer about uniform issues rather than moving from commander to commander and taking much more time than necessary.

After gaining support from the next commander in line (this years Squadron CC), we approached our SASI, who agreed 100%, and we went to work. This process was not clear cut and in some people's opinion a little ruthless. We reverted everyone's rank to their permanent AFJROTC rank and then assigned cadets by their particular skill sets. Some cadets took major hits on rank, especially the commander who went from a c/Lt.Col. to a c/Capt. in one swift move and many officers became airmen or NCOs again.

Now, everyone has jumped on board. It took some fierce debates and explanations, but everyone understands now what we have done and our unit is now operating 100% better. This isn't saying that we are perfect. Far from it. We have many problems that we must still over come, but I think this was step one.

Anyways, I would like to know what your opinion is on this, especially all you current duty and retired military guys. Not saying that I don't want to hear from other cadets either, I love talking about this type of stuff. If I didn't cover something, or something seems hazy, just ask and I'll gladly clarify. Also if anyone wants to actually SEE what this all looks like, just PM me and I can send you a copy of an org chart (no names of course) to take a look at.

Chart is uploaded in a zipped file!
Just a heads up about the chart, yes the sides are cut off a little, but its just two elements that you can tell by looking at the other flights. Its also the most basic form of the Organizational chart. Of course not every flight looks exactly like that, but that's our minimum layout. I think that covers it, oh the ranks. I displayed the max cadet rank for each position their for your convenience.

[AirForceAlways]

I'd actually be quite interested in seeing that chart. You can PM it to me if possible, but if email works better, then I'll PM you my email address. Great work, by the way, seems like you did your research beforehand on this one. Quite a bit of what you did sounds like what we did in our unit last year, and this year as well, and so far it's working pretty well, in addition with our new ASI. One thing I would recommend looking out for though is that you should try to avoid delegating too much power to one cadet. We had that happen last year and it's still happening this year, but we're in the process of fixing that. Just try to remember that you do have 12 officers, and despite particular skills or areas they might be suited to, you're going to want to make sure you delegate power and responsibility evenly, otherwise you're going to end up with a lopsided command element.

[Billyd]

I would be insterested in seeing it as well. You can upload a variety of files here. Just attach when using the advanced editor and not the quick reply.

[C.A.P. Flight Officer]

WOW.....I wish you can come to my AFJROTC Unit. Our cadet staff consists of people who are lazy and don't want to do anything. The problem is that when the staff officers don't do their job we cant find a replacement, because to find a replacement we have to skip over most of the juniors to the freshmen and sophmores because the juniors are also lazy.

Any Suggestions?

P.S.
Sorry about the spelling if I am wrong. What is your rank ? Just asking.

[TruBlu]

Thanks for taking an interest in this guys, I really appreciate it. I need to get a clean copy of the organizational chart, I kind of saved over my original (I know a very dumb move but...) so I'll get one up here as quickly as possible, probably tommorow afternoon. I need to figure out a way to have the file size small enough also, I used Microsoft Visio, and my files are big big. But I'll have it all figured out and posted soon.

[TruBlu]

Posting it as we speak, but its a big file, and I'm not sure if it will accept its size. But we will soon find out. But just keep your eyes peeled, and I'll send out a PM to everyone that posted here if it worked or not, and I'm sure I'll be able to get it to anyone that wants it through emails or PMs or something.

[flyBoy2010]

The chart looks great! It's similar to my own units. Can't wait to see the org chart!

[TruBlu]

Originally Posted by flyBoy2010

The chart looks great! It's similar to my own units. Can't wait to see the org chart!

That is the org chart LOL... What else do you want to see, did you have something else in mind?

[Airbourne Infantry]

Originally Posted by C/Colonel

WOW.....I wish you can come to my AFJROTC Unit. Our cadet staff consists of people who are lazy and don't want to do anything. The problem is that when the staff officers don't do their job we cant find a replacement, because to find a replacement we have to skip over most of the juniors to the freshmen and sophmores because the juniors are also lazy.

Any Suggestions?

P.S.
Sorry about the spelling if I am wrong. What is your rank ? Just asking.

TruBlu had the same problems. But he formed a plan and took the initiative to get it going. If your officers aren't doing their jobs, then fire them. Simple as that, demote them to their permanent enlisted rank and replace them with someone who actually can get the job done. If you've gotten to the point to where you're desperate to find someone to do an officer's job, then you can't be picky about who you pick. Even if they're a Freshman. That's what happened to my unit last year, we had a bunch of Officers constantly failing at their jobs and they were replaced with someone who could perform: Freshmen Cadets. Granted they weren't Officers, but they still got the job done.

[TruBlu]

Originally Posted by Airbourne Infantry

TruBlu had the same problems. But he formed a plan and took the initiative to get it going. If your officers aren't doing their jobs, then fire them. Simple as that, demote them to their permanent enlisted rank and replace them with someone who actually can get the job done. If you've gotten to the point to where you're desperate to find someone to do an officer's job, then you can't be picky about who you pick. Even if they're a Freshman. That's what happened to my unit last year, we had a bunch of Officers constantly failing at their jobs and they were replaced with someone who could perform: Freshmen Cadets. Granted they weren't Officers, but they still got the job done.

When taking drastic measures like firing cadets from positions, you need to have a plan and know exactly what you are doing. The repercussions of it may come back to hit you when you most need things to work. Removing an officer of their position and reverting them to their permanent rank is a good move IF they are not performing to the capacity that their job mandates them to have. Replacing said officer with a freshman can be a very bad idea, and should only be last resort (in my opinion, having multiple staff officers that do THEIR jobs split up the work of that one position would be better). Try to use your upperclassmen first. Then the sophomores as they have had a year and should know the basics. And if you do place freshman into certain positions, don't change their ranks because of it, you could inadvertently cause imbalances within the corps rank structure and even disrupt it to some extent.

Basically what I'm saying is this: Know what you want, what you need, and who you have before you make any decision. Also, collaborate with your unit commander (if you aren't it yourself) and find the best plan of action. If he/she doesn't agree with you, but you know something has to be done about it, SKIP HIM and head to the SASI. I know that's not proper military protocol, but neither is staff officers that need to be replaced by freshman. Your SASI should see your point as long as you provide evidence and a strong case. But what ever you do, don't make it a point against your commander, and don't slander him/her in any way. Just go about what you need to do to fix things.