A leaked audio recording of a group commander at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, lecturing airmen after sorties were canceled due to crew fatigue has raised concerns about the wing’s leadership style and safety culture.
The concerns became public July 17, when the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page posted an account by an anonymous author alleging a “toxic culture of leadership” in the operations group for Tinker’s 552nd Air Control Wing, which flies the Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft.
According to the account, AWACS crews last week were ordered to show up for exercise sorties with roughly half the sleep they needed. The writer said base leaders decided it was not safe to fly, calling off all three planned flights and allowing the crews to rest.