I saw something that said Joint Chiefs of Staff billets could be painful, at least for Naval Aviation guys. Is there any non-OPSEC info on why that might be the case?
It can be pretty hard work with some long hours depending on where your billet is on the Joint Staff, for some it isn't exactly an 'easy' shore billet that is 9-5 and home to the family for dinner every night. The commute can be a pain too depending on where you live and weekend work isn't unusual but isn't the norm unless your job is to be there off-hours. The work depends on your rank too, O-5/6's are a dime a dozen where even one star Generals and Admirals are pretty low on the totem pole. It can be a bit deflating for former CO's who go from commanding a squadron/ship/battalion of 300-600 people to now doing power points and staff papers between getting coffee for the boss.
But it can also be very rewarding too, it is interesting too see what goes on behind the curtain and understand that there actually is a method to the madness sometimes.......just sometimes
. It can very maddening sometimes but also very enlightening to see how the Joint Staff works and why. And even a relatively junior person can have an impact on the staff, the higher ups often value someone's opinion who just came off an operational tour doing the very thing you are briefing just months before where they haven't done it in 10-20 years.
As with all jobs though it largely depends on your particular billet/job and your bosses though, they can be great or suck but more often it is a mix of somewhere in between.
