Not Your Father's Air Force VI... or Not As Bad As We Thought

Back in August of this year I put this lil blurb up:

The Fifth Installment of Not Your Father's Air Force (I Counted)

From today's AFA Daily Report:

Into the Wild Blue Yonder: The Air Force leadership intends to announce USAF's new motto at the conclusion of the next Corona senior leadership summit in late September. The process of identifying a new motto began in February with airmen given the opportunity to voice their suggestions. Service officials are now close to having a list of 10 candidate mottos that airmen will get the chance to rack and stack in a survey. The top three selections will then be carried into the Corona in Colorado Springs, Colo. The leadership will then decide upon the winner. "The intent is to create a phrase that captures the spirit of the Air Force, is inspirational, and serves as an enduring rallying cry for airmen, from airmen," said Gen. Howie Chandler, USAF Vice Chief of Staff. (SAF/PA report by TSgt. Amaani Lyle)

Facepalm.

There was more to that post than what you see above; we went off on a bit of a rant.  That said, the day has arrived and here we are:

Say Hello to USAF's New Motto: Airmen spoke, the leadership listened, and, as a result, the Air Force's new motto is: "Aim High … Fly-Fight-Win." (ed: emphasis mine) USAF officials said the new motto is a two-part expression meant to be an enduring statement of airmen's pride in their service. It contains the call to action, "Aim High," and the response of commitment, "Fly-Fight-Win." Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the leadership did its best "to give voice to how airmen feel about serving this nation." CMSAF James Roy added, "This is for the hundreds of thousands of airmen who now serve, who have served, and who will serve in the future." The motto will be gradually incorporated in Air Force presentations, correspondence, and products as well as training and education courses. The search for the right motto incorporated extensive inputs over the past eight months from all ranks and career fields. (SAF/PA release)

Like I said:  not as bad as I thought.  It could have been worse, Gentle Reader... much worse.   There's nothing like the bureaucratic hive mind when it comes to developing and institutionalizing inanity.  Speaking of bureaucracy...

The chief master sergeant of the Air Force, the director of Air Force Public Affairs, the Air Force director of force management policy, and the commander of Air Force Recruiting Service provided the leadership oversight for the motto team research experts.

In early 2010, the motto team engaged in almost nine months of hands-on research that began with extensive face-to-face meetings with nearly 300 total force Airmen from all job specialties and in every major command. Airmen described to the team what they thought it means to be an Airman, to serve and what is unique about the Air Force.

[...]

An Air Force-wide survey to validate and quantify input from discussions indicated Airmen have a shared pride in their abilities to adapt to meet any threat, and they feel empowered to bring innovation and excellence to the mission of national defense.

After understanding the shared identity, the motto team began transforming words and concepts into a unifying, enduring and credible motto, said Lt. Col. Clark Groves, Ph.D., the lead scientist for the project.   

WTF?  Doesn't that just REEK of Harvard Bid'niz Review?  But leave us not not belabor the obvious.  Color me old fashioned, call me a fuddy-duddy, or just assume I'm not fully caffeinated at this hour but taking senior leadership's eyes (if PA and such can be called that) off the operational ball for "nine months of hands-on research," not to mention eating the time... however small it might have been... of "nearly 300 total-force airmen" to develop a frickin' motto tells me the kids ain't all right. 

(Sigh) We'll get out of rant mode and look at what's been done.  The new motto has a back-to-the-future ring to it, as "Aim High" has been around at least since the early to mid '80s and the "Fly Fight Win" bits are a respectful nod to the old unofficial USAF motto... "To Fly and To Fight!"... which was in place for my entire career.  I'm thinkin' a whole helluva lot of time and money could have been saved by NOT fixing what ain't broke.  At the same time one wonders what Col. Groves' next project will be.