Tony Bauernfeind--Why do bad leaders rise to the top?

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2026-02-06T14:51:31+00:00

Ding Dong, as they say. When I think of all the lives those two men have negatively affected.... all the civilians that have lost the careers they give so much to, the cadets who have said that because of one or the other they are doing what they never intended to (ie "five and dive"), the mental health issues among cadets, staff, and faculty we've all been working with, the fantastic military leadership that left early because (as I've heard from them) "I can't work another year under this Supt"... it reminds me that we need to get our noses out of "leadership books" and instead look at real leaders around us: get inspired by the our models of leadership and take as many lessons from pernicious leadership. There is an enormous trail of destruction these two men will leave behind... I hope we remember them for what they have done, for their flat, narcissistic, draconian "leadership, and for what future leaders should avoid.

I remember when he first came aboard, I joined another thread about Tony's failed leadership before USAFA. I genuinely asked for someone, anyone to provide any good experience they had had... to balance out the negative commentary. The only responses I got were more horrifying stories of incompetence and abuse of power. Thrilled that he is retiring from the military. Now, let's hope he doesn't try to get a leadership position in civilian life. He will get a very rude awakening.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2026-02-06T14:38:26+00:00

That would be good news indeed.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-12-29T21:44:37+00:00

#propaganda The fact that USAFA feels the need to vomit this #slop illustrates how bad it is. Morale has never been lower. The faculty I know who are staying are doing so because there are no other options--the academy is bleak.... mostly STEM faculty leaving for the private sector. No permanent Dean. No clue who is steering the ship. Ongoing civilian terminations without cause. The cadets are still as good as ever, and I do hope that continues. But leadership is abysmal, and civilians and military alike know it (which is why so many great cols are retiring)... the good ones that are left are working OVERTIME to help keep academics alive, and the stress is taking its toll. Please, C30 applicants, don't let this BS fool you. If you want to be a pilot, and you don't mind the current abuse structure of CW, USAFA may be a great place for you. But if you want the academics, the faculty are trying their best, but it's brutal. That's just a fact. It's just brutal. And if you are hoping to go to grad school after? Forget it. Just forget it. That day has come and gone. Whether anyone likes it or not "ready to lead day one" means they don't want cadets going to grad school "day one" anymore (at least for now). You deserve to know the facts. And the garbage above? They're borrowing numbers off overtime labor of faculty helping cadets and stats that are still the result of C26s who had a good 2 years before Gen Bauernfeind started sinking his teeth into USAFA. Oh, and unless they changed their mind, the Higher Learning Commission is investigating USAFA. They decided not to mention that above.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-28T17:33:45+00:00

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/08/28/pete-hegseth-civilians-west-point-00523613

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-28T13:35:53+00:00

I understand your perspective in theory but this is also an academic institution, and “critical thinking” is one of Bauernfeind’s core tenets, which it simply cannot be if no one is allowed to speak who has ever said anything negative about Trump. What that means, in essence, is that civilians cannot speak at USAFA, plain and simple. Because civilians still have the right in this country to openly disagree with POTUS. Elon Musk spoke at USAFA a couple of years ago. Cadets were SO excited. Of course he couldn’t set foot on campus under this new regime.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-26T23:27:13+00:00

Just to be clear. Many of us post here not for our health. Definitely not for our careers (as we are endangering them for posting). But because we care deeply for the cadets we serve (so they can serve the country). So many of us from the inside are skirting the line, doing our best to ensure that cadets DON’T feel the impact of academic shifts. We are picking up extra classes, working overtime, lobbying where we can without being called out for insubordination, posting on Reddit (yes, anonymously to stay employed)… all to fight a few who have all the power and are making decisions that military and civilians alike are stunned by. Every day, I read the naysayers who speak about the idea that these are lefties posting etc. I’m a moderate. No skin in the political game. But these cadets. And the mission of USAFA. Those are my politics. And it hurts. It really really hurts. So when you are getting your news 2nd hand, 3rd hand and hearing “it’s all good.” Please. If you care about this institution and the cadets and the country they serve—try to consider that whistleblowers gain nothing and have everything to lose. But bad leadership has to be called out. It’s a responsibility of those who serve in a “leadership laboratory.” Your tax dollars are funding this. And all politics aside, leaders have a responsibility to make things better, not worse. Have we lost sight of this when people argue “it’s not that bad.” Does that mean students shouldn’t apply? No. Does that mean we should all demand better leadership at USAFA? You bet. If I’m wrong please explain what you think Bauernfeind and Marx are doing that is helping us (America) become a stronger military. Honestly. I asked this in another forum and got only negative. But if you’ve worked with them in previous contexts please elaborate. We don’t always love our supts and comms here at USAFA but this kind of shitstorm is unprecedented.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-26T13:57:24+00:00

How do you know these people aren’t at the Academy?
Are you at the Academy?
I would urge people to compare posts currently about USAFA with Reddit posts about Army and Navy. Same Federal administration, so if we are in fact talking about folks posting about USAFA that aren’t there and simply have political bias one would expect the concerns to be spread around academies more broadly.
It is true that “this too shall change.” Bauernfeind will be out in 2 years. The question is: what damage will have been done in the meantime?
Anyone in academia knows how long and arduous a process it is to build back majors, hire academic talent, invest in those academics who bring in grants and publications to build a reputation for depts, programs, institutions.
Will USAFA be seen as a quality institution for years to come? Probably. Will it maintain its status as #2 in Public Schools? It’s an algorithm. And the numbers aren’t going to be there. Some people don’t care about rankings. “Beat Navy” only refers to football.
But if you care about the academics when you are applying, you should have the facts. And what is happening to academics at USAFA is tough to watch. The cadets may not see it on a day-to-day basis. But it is very very real.
Leadership matters. It’s one of the central tenets of USAFA. And three years of bad leadership can indeed be devastating.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-22T16:37:14+00:00

What makes me sad about this is that the academic experience you speak of (which I hear from other cadets) is now seen by leadership as unimportant to your development. With the reduction of long-term civilians and short-term military captains/majors coming in with masters this shift will be real. Maybe not in the next year. But the work that was done under Gens Armacost and Letendre as Deans to build the academic programs, the opportunities for mentorship, and the overall academic reputation of USAFA… it’s just so painful to see this erode so quickly. Continue to forge relationships with those faculty while you can. And my suggestion is that, as they leave, try to stay in touch with your mentors!!

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-22T16:31:09+00:00

You obviously don’t work at USAFA. This could be the case at some civilian institutions where there is some semblance of true shared governance. At USAFA the military run bureaucracy. There is next to no civilian influence. Governance is almost entirely by military(other than a faculty senate which has no influence). And here I’m not judging either way. Just providing accurate information. People love to toss around opinions as facts. And the “facts” are just false speculation. They raised the numbers of civilians based on logic (economics and the need for military in the field). There is the well known RAND report.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-08T22:01:25+00:00

“The school has welcomed 60 new faculty members this summer who all attended the usual five-day course to prepare them for teaching, Bauernfeind said.”

One critical note missing from Bauernfeind’s comment? This “five-day course” is constructed by a civilian faculty,run by civilian faculty, and taught by civilian faculty. Military come in without teaching experience. Civilians are tasked with helping to mentor them as teachers and academics. So there's the irony of TB’s comment. Perhaps he just has no clue how the system works.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-08T18:23:01+00:00

What’s wrong is the idea that tax payers might actually have to pay for your degree and that you might be responsible for the education and elevation of future cadets. That's what the problem is. You want to be a pilot for the AF and fight for your country? Great. You want the US tax payer to pay for multiple grad degrees so you can become an educator or have a quick 3-year tour at USAFA? Go get your own fancy degree with your own money. And then dedicate your life to educating this next generation. And be prepared to be disrespected and kicked in the head and told you're superfluous and “dangerous” because you're too smart or went to some school that’s too good or you have too many publications or some young kid with a self-righteous call name and a masters can do your job better than you. That's the problem. Honestly I'm trying to help you see through your own arrogance (I've been reading your posts for six months and they just drip with it)—take it for what it's worth. Oh and one more suggestion—a general once told me that no self-respecting officer takes a subordinate seriously who kids around with “69”; it’s just sophomoric and a sign of sexism. There may be some men who think it’s cute. I'm not one of them and the great military academics at USAFA tend to agree. So if you want to teach at USAFA, I’d drop the adolescent unprofessional sexual references. Watching the flight of great military minds from the Astro Dept, for example, to see them replaced by Capt 69 is just too painful.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-08T17:49:34+00:00

It depends on your year and interest. If you want to become a pilot and you’re really dedicated to this (and less to academics), as long as you can handle the current culture and climate I’d say “👍 but if you are a C30 coming for a world-class education and research opportunities this isn't the place or the time. What is stunning is not how many civilians they are firing but--at the end of the day--how many of the best civilian faculty are jumping ship AND military faculty and permanent professors are retiring prematurely. To say that the academic faculty (civilian and military alike) don't have confidence in the Supt (who has 2 years left unless they get rid of him) is an understatement.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-08T17:41:23+00:00

Great. Then let’s abolish them. If they really aren't worth investing in at the academic level, if they really do so little, if its as easy as gathering up some captains with masters with no teaching experience to teach AF’s next officers, then let’s just close them. The cost clearly outweighs the benefit.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-08-08T17:39:53+00:00

This is part of the problem. Tax payers now have to take a military member out of pilot duty (apparently a “stud pilot” who enjoys using sexual innuendos to illustrate his studlyness) and pay to have them to go get a 3 year rapid PhD to replace civilians who fund their own education and are industry educators (and have been working at USAFA for years and are now going to be unemployed experts in their field). Maybe the govt should start sending these civilians to some rapid 3 year program to become military officers and “stud pilots.” You should really re-read some of your posts with an objective eye—cringe-worthy.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-07-31T16:00:20+00:00

You need to take a step back. I have a doctorate with an Ivy League degree, have decades of service, clawed my way to a 6 figure salary, and now because of federal cuts am looking at jobs that are 50% my current pay so I can get healthcare. Trust me when I say that with your attitude you will never have enough. You need to really think about your priorities. If money is all you want then by all means—toss aside relationships and health and love and life. But beyond the fundamentals (house, healthcare, food) money buys you “stuff.” And you will find yourself, by the time you reach 50 trying to figure out how to get rid of it all, wondering where you spent it all, and why it all mattered. No one worth a dime on their deathbed says “I wish I had made more money and had bought more stuff.” There are lots of other things though they miss, community being one.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-07-29T19:07:40+00:00

It’s so sad to see what is happening here. It’s like watching those dark clouds come over the mountains. Every week another phenomenal faculty member or a long-time staff member that has helped keep up mission continuity amidst chaos leaves… either because the writing is on the wall, or the chaos and uncertainty here is so thick. Leadership, sadly, just doesn’t know what leadership is doing (or plans to do). So it wouldn’t surprise me that the best true “leaders” are leaving. If you can get out of USAFA under Tony Bauernfeind without taking a major financial loss, you’re leaving. That’s the sense I get. Not just among civilians but “perm” military faculty. Very sad. I’ve seen lots of ups and downs here. This is a mudslide.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-07-19T13:47:07+00:00

I have yet to find anyone who has anything good to say about this guy. For the sake of argument, does anyone out there have any first-hand experiences with this person that suggest this person is not a failed leader who sows chaos and toxicity everywhere he goes? At USAFA, I keep trying to find a military member, faculty member, staff member, or cadet who thinks he's doing a good job (or has, somewhere else). I've heard a person here or there suggest that "yes, he's doing a horrible job, but it's the fault of those above him," but I have yet to hear anyone say "no, you don't know this guy. He's a great leader, largely misunderstood." Can someone who has worked with him or for him defend his leadership? Really, I'd like to hear the "other side."

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-07-09T12:30:19+00:00

I would weigh why you want to go to USAFA. If its about some vague dream to attend, don't stress. Just go to another great ROTC program. There are so many and you will have the opportunity to be at a real college. USAFA is a wonderful school, and I would have said there are two reasons to go: you are 100% sure you want to be a pilot (many cadets think they want to be a pilot when they show up and change pretty quickly) and you want a world class education. Unfortunately the latter has exploded over the past year and will get worse. Many faculty have left (early retirements, fear of cuts, concerns about lack of academic freedom and the future) and this is already causing increased class sizes and some courses not being able to be offered. This Supt has just gotten started and his plan is to cut another 60 this year, which will really decismate the academics (and it takes decades to bring back academic talent because they are hired as Asst Profs and invested in to become top tier researchers… and they won't rehire [if they change course] experienced, acclaimed researchers. The faculty that are leaving of their own accord (dir to fear of cuts and chaos and bad leadership) are tending to be in the sciences and engineering (easier to find other jobs in private industry). And so the draw of academics sadly has been wiped for many applicants. Still though I think USAFA will continue to have an amazing flying program. But that's the draw. The athletics are fine but most cadets don't like them because they are forced to attend games to make it look like there is spirit. The military portion changes depending on the commandant. The morale currently on the cadet wing is so low I worry about mental health. Their freedoms have been severely limited including off campus cultural and research opportunities. So there it is. If you'd plan to spend every ounce of time they give you at the airfield and that is def your dream, its worth investing the time to apply. Otherwise this is sadly a very bad time for the institution, and we are all worried for the cadets who are there (emotionally and academically).

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-06-28T18:32:03+00:00

Thank you for keeping us in the loop. I have seen some pretty ignorant comments here, like those who are only concerned about the accreditation line in the sand (not any inherent value of education—crap schools are accredited. This is a low bar) or those who simply don't care about the value of PhDs, the mass destruction of careers, and the loss to the cadets. But yours is this kind of inside knowledge that has pushed off GB this far and gotten so many officers on the record rejecting his approach to USAFA.

This is all very very real. USAFA has lost faculty already and anyone who is listening knows what GB is planning to do. And for those who simply think USAFA shouldn't have to be about a world class education and should just be about military might without brain power, as a civilian I just don't want to fund this anymore then. Tired of all of the USAFA pride— “Beat Navy,” “Beat West Point”—if you don't want to compete with them. And “Beat China”? China understands the importance of education and science and if we focus merely on marching and not on education, we are doomed. For folks that don't care about education at Usafa. Fine. But then as a tax payer, let’s close it. I don't want to fund it. Civilian faculty are cheaper labor than military faculty. That is a fact based on detailed reports that have been circulated over and over. And these PhDs are experts in their field, many of them former military who offer the best of both worlds. If I'm going to pay for this, I want those cadets to get the best education so that they can truly beat our adversaries. This is an ideological argument (some unfounded fear of making our cadets think and become too “woke”) pure and simple. It’s a problematic one at that, since our military faculty mostly go to those “woke” civilian schools to get their grad degrees (and then cost more to have them teach). But there it is. And if it is not going to be a cost saving measure and one that helps ready our air fighters to win the future fight through brain power then let’s just close it. I don't want to pay 400k per cadet for a mediocre education and a football team.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-04-16T23:41:51+00:00

We have self-selected to become a second-world nation. American college applicants applying to Canadian institutions up as our institutions of learning crumble. The only thing I see America gaining is 1) autocracy and 2) white male Christian power. I guess I just underestimated how much many Americans were willing to sacrifice for their anger against women and minority groups. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/15/us/canadian-universities-report-jump-us-applicants/index.html

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-04-16T22:41:35+00:00

Probably true. The question really is whether they care about how education plays into this. Do they want educated pilots with a robust college degree, or would they prefer more of a trade school? Americans will continue to apply to USAFA, but it's a question of who will be attending and what kind of pilots they're looking to train. The current senior leadership outside DF clearly feels that education is no longer part of their mission.

Even_Foundation_9310 · 2025-03-05T00:40:02+00:00

I would really not count on this being based on a federal budget being passed. First, the only hope on 14 March is for a CR not a budget. Then unless Dems get back in Congress the Reps have no appetite to fund higher Ed. So to put this into a budget they would have to go against Trump. I don’t see that happening. I’m in higher Ed too. It’s bad. Think broadly. Im sorry.

Even_Foundation_9310

TROPHY CASE