Admin Guru
Just come on over to the USAF, about ten years ago we figured out we could "improve" morale by giving everyone an occupational badge. Not wings, mind you, but a badge indicating the career field a person was in. (We later tried the same thing with leather jackets for aircrew, anyone want to comment on if it worked or not??)
The admin (oops, "Information Management" to use the politically correct term) badge is a nice scroll with a feather pen on top of a globe surrounded by a wreath. Just go to <a href="http://www.af.mil/photos/art_badges03.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.af.mil/photos/art_badges03.shtml</a> and look at the top center. Lovely, isn't it? If you want I'll send you one. And it sits right next to the Intelligence badge, which we all argued should be a DMPI (a red triangle with a dot in the middle, indicates the Desired Mean Point of Impact, or the best place to drop the bombs, on a target graphic) as by wearing it we are a walking target.
Yep, I'm intel <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> , probably loathed as much as admin (and I've done that job too <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> , so I can expect full laughter from this list, but to be honest I really didn't like it). Before I became an officer I worked in aircraft maintenance. So I've worked in quite a lot of career fields, and guess what I've learned, EVERYBODY complains! I have yet to find an apathetic soul in the bunch. But as a person who has had a nice, cushy office job, let me tell you, a lot of admin folks don't realize there is a big difference in the level of importance of getting a form filled out correctly (using regulation-approved punctuation, of course) and moving an aircraft (possibly with cargo and passengers) from one place to another. I've yet to see an incorrect form kill anyone, mistakes in the admin field are rarely fatal (just annoying). All jobs can be tough, it is just the consequences of some may be significantly higher than others. One of the most dullest jobs around that I can figure, being a missile launch officer, can be catastrophic if you screw up!
Probably the best advice given to you during this thread was to go out and make friends with some of the aircrew. I've done so throughout my career and it has made a big difference. Yes, some were complete idiots, but most were friendly chaps and a lot of fun. If you ever get a chance to deploy with a flying squadron (or even just go to Nellis AFB for RED FLAG), do it, as you’ll have the time of your life. You’ll never work as hard or play as hard as you will then. Plus you’ll have great stories you can tell (and some you can’t!) for the rest of your life. The flying side of the house is not the enemy, and you don’t have to wear a bag (flight suit) to be a part of the fun, but I can tell you the standards area high and they expect the same hard work and dedication out of you as they expect out of themselves.
I give you credit for fueling such a great thread, I got a good chuckle out of a lot of the responses, and wonder how all these eternally busy folks find time to post them (I for one find time to check out PPRuNe at work, and I am sure some others out there do the same). I strongly suspect you are an ingenious aircrew having a go at the list, things were getting a bit boring and you've definitely brought it back to life. And if you are really an admin troopie, credit for poking everyone with a stick. We all need some prodding once and a while.
Just my two euros...
Cheers!
[ 20 January 2002: Message edited by: MajorMadMax ]
[ 20 January 2002: Message edited by: MajorMadMax ]</p>