The Air Force wants all commanders to know where their people are 24/7 to facilitate operations and recovery during and after disasters or emergencies. It sounds like a reasonable request in light of the confusion surrounding last year’s Hurricane Katrina, right? Air Force Materiel Command has a problem, though, because it has the highest number of civilians of any major command in the service, and civilians don’t have to let anyone know where they go on leave. AFMC’s solution: Ask for the information to be volunteered. At this point, the command is not even asking any union employees.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…