OpEd: A virtual shame

[unhappycamper]

A virtual shame

The Air Force announced this week that enlisted airmen no longer will learn about a promotion from their commander. They’ll have to go to a Web site.

This is not progress.

Perhaps eliminating the human touch at career milestones is inevitable in a self-service age, where jobs once done by fellow airmen are the domain of automated Web sites and centralized call centers.

But that doesn’t make it right. Consider, for example, that when they first heard about the plan, Air Force command chief master sergeants hated it.

~snip~

Unlike other changes, such as the new virtual Military Personnel Flight and a virtual finance office, which can reduce the number of people needed to perform certain functions and save the Air Force time and money, the benefits of this move are hard to discern. De-personalizing the promotion process can only devalue the experience. And that’s not going to boost morale.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_editorial_promotions_071008/

[MADem]

1. Jesus, if the Skipper is too busy to do the notification, pass it down to the SGT MAJ. NT