Monday, February 25, 2013
Oh, the humanity!
When the sequester hits the fan, the easy life of the soldier on base will disappear along with the contractors who made it possible.
Soldiers may find themselves washing windows, cutting grass, manning post gatehouses and doing other jobs they haven’t performed in a generation, under the current budget crunch, according to a top Army official.Imagine that! Running base security, policing the grounds and the 1000 and 1 work details that encompassed military life before the Republican/Teabaggers privatized it. How will the poor troopers endure this misery and maintain their fighting edge???
As civilians are laid off or furloughed, the Army will have soldiers do their jobs, providing them with less training and fewer services, said Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment.
“What it’s going to mean are shorter operating hours and closed gates,” Hammack said. “It’s going to be inconvenient; it’s going to be longer lines. It’s going to mean you’re going to see soldiers doing things you’ve seen civilians do over the last 10 years. That could be anything from mowing lawns and washing windows to replacing light bulbs.”
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Well.. not the end of the world, but the US had been steadily reducing active troop strength from 1991 (end of the first Iraq War) until the Bush 2 era, and troop reductions seem likely to be in the future. The idea had been that ALL soldiers should concentrate on war fighting, leaving other tasks to (presumably) cheaper civilians, which would allow a smaller but more effective military force.
So we're going to pitch that idea? Fine -- I don't think there's evidence it worked so well. But we are going to have allowances again for large number of soldiers who don't actually see much fighting. I.e., we may need a larger army henceforth to keep the same number of experienced combat troops around.
Maybe it's time for another Base Reduction And Closure act?
So we're going to pitch that idea? Fine -- I don't think there's evidence it worked so well. But we are going to have allowances again for large number of soldiers who don't actually see much fighting. I.e., we may need a larger army henceforth to keep the same number of experienced combat troops around.
Maybe it's time for another Base Reduction And Closure act?
I recall THAT Army that did it's own work, I was part of it. I think it is a fine idea. There is plenty of time for routine maintenance work AND Army training and doing the job. The whole hire of private contractors, especially turning military quarters over to civilian slimey slum lords was nothing but a boondoggle to grab a chunk of the defense budget.
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: 12:38 PM
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