air force downsizing

[Broken_Wings]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-02-03/Air-Force-cuts-airmen/52953456/1

Less PMEL troops again? This downsizing sounds bad.

[USMCPMEL]

everyone is trying to do more with less now...

[USMCPMEL]

and of course less aircraft to support less equipment being calibrated...

[mdbuike]

Les is getting tired...I'll be 61 at the end of this contract...and I am one of the younger guys...

We'll see

Mike

[jimmyc]

there has been a downsizing of troops after every war time build up.  not only that, but i have a friend who works in the F-35 program and he says everything is contractor repair, to include tmde calibration. (not specialized equipment but all test equipment). 

[USMCPMEL]

Les is getting tired...I'll be 61 at the end of this contract...and I am one of the younger guys...

We'll see

Mike

I hear ya buddy. My company is trying to get blood out of stones right now and the techs are almost at the breaking point. There is only so much you can do before you reach the point when you can not handle all the extra work being poured onto you...

[Lost in Place]

All of the services are downsizing. From the media, it would appear that the USN is taking a bigger hit than the USAF, mostly due to the size of each force. That being said, recently a large number of the AFPSL work force was let go as part of cost saving measures. I rather doubt the AFMETCAL will be spared and is having to make some very tough decisions. In the news this weekend, there was discussions about the C-5A's and C130's squadrons in WV.  These are not little cuts anymore.  I would like to see the training of PMEL troops continue, even if the training numbers were reduced, but it is hard to tell in this dove defense spending era.

[dallanta]

  That is a shame.  In my day the only way to learn PMEL was to enlist and go through the military.  They now have some colleges that do this from what I hear, but they cannot be that good compared to military training.  I guess I am biased.

[Ronin]

PME, PMEL, TMDE, GPTE, I&ME, and I just identified another one a couple days ago.  So, just give it a new name, draw up a business plan, make some tests that test one's knowledge of the parallel PMEL dimension, and then refuse to hire anyone who isn't "ztj&q certified". Disgusting fascists.

[ZZ]

Ronin...do you always ramble on incoherently or did you just change your meds? A little advice...don't mix the little blue pills with the little red ones. And stay off the wild turkey!

[darkness63]

To Ronin and others, I am not the oldest or most experienced but I have been around the block a few times and in my short time I have seen metrology change significantly. I know 10, 20, 30 years ago calibration was a bit simpler. No need for certifications or 17025's, Aclass, or Z540's. But the times they are a changing. Metrology is evolving into a certified world if its not already there. Yes, some of them can be ridiculous, monotonous, and time consuming but this is the path its going down. In my opinion it is good, a lot of the labs are actually doing metrology and not just run of the mill calibration. Tech's these days are doing incredible work that engineers use to do. So I guess what I am saying is if you don't like the certs and tests then maybe its time to call it a day and buy a boat.

[USMC kalibrater]

"In my opinion it is good, a lot of the labs are actually doing metrology and not just run of the mill calibration. Tech's these days are doing incredible work that engineers use to do"

Show me where this activity is occuring, I want to work there...
Metrology is not happening in most labs, especially when most techs cannot explain the physics behind the measurement they are attempting to take.
3rd party calibration is just that and it should not be confused with Metrology.  They are two entirely different animals

[USMC kalibrater]

scratch the 3rd party
It should read
"calibration is just that and it should not be confused with Metrology"
I see no need to isolate 3rd party cal from all the other types of cal.
Im not saying that calibration is not a needed, labor intensive technical service, Im just saying its not Metrology

[Ronin]

Actually ZZ, my post was in direct response to the one immediately preceding it.  Are you understanding me so far?  I thought it was quite coherent and appropriate to mention that there are numerous organizations out there whom have taken the original mid to late 20th century model, changed some acronyms, and then called it macaroni. The thread follows.  So ZZ, are you in the habit of trivializing strangers...or should I read all of your posts and think on it a while before I ridicule your incomplete assessment of who I am and what medications I might be on?  I'm not sure anymore.  The current climate seems to reward those who have the best-timed insult-irrespective of truth or consequences eh. Hold your fire and stand down...be the AI CPU, not the drone.

[Ronin]

Darkness63:  "Tech's these days are doing incredible work that engineers use to do. So I guess what I am saying is if you don't like the certs and tests then maybe its time to call it a day and buy a boat. "

I think there is a sizable number of technicians that were, and still are, doing the work of engineers long before the current era.  They already bought the Boulton 18' River Ranger, but they only use it on the weekends because they love the job enough to continue working and assimilating the changes sir. There is no honor in idly watching a system of watered-down, paper-promised guarantees replace a system of integrity and thirst for knowledge. (Yes, we should be concerned with things like honor and truth). Universally recognized systems of certification are not tantamount to traceability as I'm sure you know. What I see happening is a devaluation of the knowledge and experience base, not an improvement of the median quality benchmark.  A "well-certified" technician with 5 years of experience on the bench is not an adequate substitute for a 20 year technician who REFUSES to certify anything that is not certifiable-regardless of the kind of pressure that is placed on that technician to "get it out the door".   In my opinion, the greater part of the motivation to found these newer systems has been to avoid liability while maximizing profits.  So am I condemned to a life of boating lol?  No sir...because my interest in the science is many orders of magnitude more powerful than any deterring factors that may exist in the profession from one decade to the next.  Perhaps the thing that concerns me the most is that the voice of disagreement has been chronically stifled by opportunistic types who have a financial interest in steering the discussion toward "submission to ignorance".  I don't trust anyone who is under pressure to attract gifted engineers for $15 an hour.  They would say anything to discredit and ridicule the notion that we are worth more.  Would you like ketchup or data with that? 

Now, let's see who disagrees, and who they represent shall we? lol...  Dear unemployed technician, do not devalue your expertise. Have faith that an organization with a genuine stake in innovation and the unadulterated science of measurement will find thee. Find another technician in your situation and embark to use your gifts for something greater than sweat shop production.  Be interdisciplinary...invent things...question things...look deeper for a place that allows you to look deeper.  Once upon a time we were paid to think and reason........for a REASON !!!!