Two air support operations squadron commanders were fired this week after investigations found \u201ca culture of hazing\u201d in their units, the Air Force said in a Friday release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lt. Col. Robb Fiechtner, commander of the 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and Lt. Col. Joshua Cates, commander of the 5th ASOS at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, were relieved of command, the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson said in the release. The two squadrons are part of the 1st Air Support Operations Group, which falls under the 354th Fighter Wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re better than this,\u201d Col. Benjamin Bishop, the 354th commander who removed Fiechtner and Cates, said in the release. \u201cEvery airman has an obligation to prevent and stop any harmful or demeaning conduct toward fellow airmen. This is especially true for commanders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Command-directed investigations found airmen at those two squadrons commonly took part in, and encouraged, a practice called \u201crolling up.\u201d That practice involved tackling or restraining an airman, binding the airman\u2019s hands or feet using duct tape, and allowing the airman to struggle before being released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CDI found that many airmen in those squadrons thought \u201crolling up\u201d was based on camaraderie and bonding. But those who participated were taking part more out of peer pressure than on enjoyment of the actions, according to the investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are traditions that promote the health of the unit and link us to the long blue line of airmen that have preceded us,\u201d Bishop said in the release. \u201cWhen airmen, however, attempt to equate hazing actions as tradition, they do an absolute disservice to our Air Force culture and also undermine our mission effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishop denounced hazing in the release, and reminded squadron commanders that they are responsible for the airmen they oversee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hold the duty of squadron commanders in the utmost esteem, and expect our commanders to train and strengthen our airmen, while also caring for their morale and well-being,\u201d Bishop said. \u201cI hope we can all agree that hazing in any form has no place in our service, and that we can emerge more committed to our core values of integrity, service and excellence as we move forward in pioneering airpower\u2019s frontier.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Col. Kenneth Boillot, commander of the 1st ASOG, has named Lt. Col. James Marlow as the acting squadron commander of the 3rd ASOS and Lt. Col. Todd Davis as acting commander of the 5th ASOS, according to the release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two air support operations squadron commanders were fired this week after investigations found \u201ca culture of hazing\u201d in their units.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,116,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3372],"class_list":["post-32355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"54MDHEIGLBHQ5OBZKWL2YGWMTE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/03\/30\/two-354th-fighter-wing-squadron-commanders-fired-over-hazing-culture\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n