Havok Journal writer Dave Chamberlain joins us to discuss some of his recently published articles. Chamberlain served 38 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard as an aircraft crew chief. He retired at the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.
Dave is one of the more prolific contributors to the Havok Journal.
We discuss a rather unusual situation early on in Dave’s military career. (Outlined in his article “How to go from Basic Training to Instructor in One Step”.) Despite being a “slick sleave” with no rank, he was ordered to serve as a course instructor teaching higher ranking personnel. His nerves were assuaged when one of the higher-ranking students told Dave that he knew more than they did and they were relying on his knowledge to help them keep their careers. Dave carried that lesson for the rest of his military career.
That story provides an excellent transition to his next article “Why the Existing Command Structure is Outdated”. He developed these new theories by observing the enlisted and officer corps over the years and doing some statistical analysis. He says there is an 80% turnover in first term enlistees. Everyone else has been promoted to management, which means there is dearth of technical expertise actually working on the aircraft. “No private sector company could afford to lose 80% of their workforce after they have been trained.”
We conclude with is article “When You are No Longer Part of the Machine.” This article deals with feelings we often hear from military members transitioning to the private sector – a real feeling of loss of purpose and tribe. Dave compares the feeling to the phantom pain that many amputees feel. He says the military is a well-oiled machine, but like a machine, when a part wears out it is replaced. Dave shares examples of when retirees came back into the shop just to hang out. “They are looking for their missing leg and it is no longer there.” To this day, Dave keeps his uniform well pressed and hanging in his closet.