Support For Our Troops?

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
tjefferson 

Steven P Munsey A+, MCP, IASO Orange Park | Green Cove Springs munsey13@comcast.net

Mike,

I saw the story & agree.  There should be fury.  There has been an excess of jingoism, audience pleasing, warm fuzzy spreading, (along with a lot of other spreading) & deceit.  And it only starts with the base Commander.

For any problem, there is achoice of a top-down fix or a down-top fix.  I'd hat to venture how this will be handled.  I would start with an investigation of the base CO. while necessary repairs &/or upgrades are being made.   JATFUR.

RichK

Honestly, I watched the video.

No surprise here.

I know everyone wants to get incensed over this video of ONE Barracks.From my experience as a Military wife, what I just saw is considered normal.I'd guess 80% of military housing is pretty similiar.

My husband (who is active duty military) and I were discussing as we watched it,the cuts on military spending arent exactly helping matters.My husband said " If I have to choose between Bullet Proof vests and a nice place to stay...."

This isnt just happening at our Military bases.Enlisted personnel who choose to live off base and collect BaH ( Basic Housing Allowance ) arent exactly given the adequate funds for what might be consider proper housing to many reading this post.I could post photos of the house I live in if you like.And its not just the actual housing itself,the school districts are SO bad here,and the neighborhoods are so crime filled and run down that in the last 4 years at this duty station my husband and I have spent an estimated $6,000 dollars in repair costs due to our vehicles being vandalized.

We recently stopped repairing the damage until we move.

The Military takes any run down old areas and housing they can get.Lowest bidder wins.After a 5 month deployment overseas at the beginning of the Iraq War, my husband was coming home from a overnight duty stay on the ship.He stopped by the gas station that was directly outside the Base gates,and was mugged at knife point by a drug addict.He took everything my husband had on him,and put his life in danger.

I was at home with our 4 year old son, and 6 months pregnant.I was just grateful he came home unhurt, and alive.

With all the incidences you can see of the Military squandering money, and they do, trust me, but you have to understand how it works to get the why and how.Each Station/Unit gets audited every year, EVERY penny they DONT spend, gets taken away from their budget for the following year.So while the Unit were are discussing with the run down Barracks might have blown $5,000 on something stupid last year, chances are they didnt have the money to fix the Barracks.And the unnecessary purchases they made were probably only to keep thier budget for the next year,so they would have the money to buy necessary equipment.

There isnt some imaginary General taking the money back to his place to buy a big screen.The money isnt there!There is red tape all over the place and a set way to do things.As far as overall money spent, for things like BAH,the goverment can't reevaluate our housing funds, because even if they did, the money isnt there.

They dont look because they cant,they can't do a thing about it.Cause in the end, most Americans think our Military budget is already too much.We're spending too much on the War when we're in one.And when we're NOT at war, no one sees the point in spending the money.Americans dont notice the military, until you NEED them.They dont think about the families and the men and women living in BELOW poverty standards.

This is something i recently found pretty amusing.Ironic rather.Anyone ever heard of EITC?It basically a little check the goverment cuts you during tax season, because you are living in what they consider BELOW POVERTY level.My husband is paid by the United States Goverment, they decide his pay rate and all enlisted like him.And every year they cut us that EITC check, cause they KNOW they are paying him a below poverty level salary.How's that for support of your troops?

So at the end of the day boys and girls, this is your military, its not just one Barracks.This is our life,and it is what so many American Citizens live with day in and day out to protect and defend.

Think about that next time you think Military Spending is a joke.I guarantee you it's not.

 Miani

Miani;

I hear you loud and clear. I spent 26 in the Navy as an enlisted man. 1964 - 1990. I'd say that way too many of our leaders have their head in their butt not the sand.

The sad truth is that you are correct in that this is NOT an unusual sight. It is more the norm than the exception. And that is the real crime here.

They can make all the 'no money' excuses they want. The fact is that it is pure BS. The real problem is they don't have the cajones to stand up and raise the BS flag. That is what leaders get paid to do.

If you can't be trusted to take care of putting your troops in a decent place to live right here in the US how the heck am I supposed to trust you and your judgment in combat? The only thing most of these guys are worried about is when their next promotion is going to happen.

Most of these senior officers are worried that if they stand up and say they will not allow this to happen they may not get that next star.

The biggest problem is that the general public thinks that everything is smooth sailing for the troops once they get home. I mean they don't do anything until they go back to war right? NOT HARDLY. Many of them have better conditions living in tent cities than they do at the base or in government housing.

Mike Heemer http://24.23.126.8/ Petition for choice (5 or 7) in Nov.

Agreed

I would just like to add as I reflect back to my days working for Uncle Sam.

I remember there were some young families that had to collect food stamps to feed their kids. How pathetic is that?

TRUTHHURTS

I agree with Mike. Big cajones don’t get you very far when you make it to the upper echelon in the military. If you make the s**t list of the top brass, your career isn’t worth diddly. Office politics doesn’t hold a candle to the politics practiced in the armed forces. Once you make the upper ranks of both enlisted and officer, your future promotions are at the discretion of Congress. One bad endorsement on your evaluations can bring your career to a halt.

As far as new construction or renovations to existing buildings on a military reservation, nothing happens until after at least 5 years of planning and budget allowances. I was tasked once to submit inputs into the planning phase of a building at NAS Jacksonville. That building wasn’t completed until after I had been transferred to Norfolk, Virginia to ride a carrier for three years and then transferred back to NAS Jax. I helped do the acceptance inspection of that building not long before I was transferred to sea duty again. It is also correct that all contracts are issued to the lowest bidder and they are only allowed to do the work as written in the specifications. Any alterations to the written plan are not done until after the Navy accepts the building as originally specified. That is because the building was already budgeted and amendments to the specs would have to be budgeted again. That’s a heck of a way to run a railroad, huh?

That building at Ft. Bragg probably will be fixed but it’s repair might still be in the planning phase.

I agree with every word all of you have written. Had some personal experience with it all. Now I still have to ask what are we doing in Iraq and what happened to the millions they can't find over there. It sure would come in handy if and when it's used for the right things. Everyone should contact their congressman and tell them how you feel.

Mike, et all,

I came across an update on this story this morning.  I found it on the Drudge Report, which was taken from Yahoo News, which, in turn, was taken off the wires of AP titled "Army widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg."  The story was by Robert Burns, AP Military Writer.  I think we'll hear more as time goes on.

RichK

Solo;

Thanks! I saw this somewhere this morning at about 0230 and couldn't find it again. Must be old timers setting in.

One of the things I'd like to hear is that this arrogant, condescending sob got fired.

"Are soldiers happy with living in the Korean War-era barracks? No," McCollum said. They do not meet the expectations of today's troops, although the Army has done what it can to improve living conditions, McCollum said, speaking by telephone from Fort Bragg.

"Today, no matter how hard we try, we can't put enough lipstick on this pig to make it more pretty," the spokesman said. "So are there soldiers complaining? Yeah." He said they've been complaining for decades. 

In other words no matter what we do they are going to complain so what's the big deal? They've been complaining for decades and we never did anything about it before. Why start now just because someone put out some pictures?

His attitude is the reason that conditions are what they are. It is a pervasive attitude throughout the Military. It was the attitude at Walter Reed, it's the attitude at Bragg and it's the attitude in darn near any other place you want to pick.

Trust me, it's cheaper and easier to buy more lipstick than it is to actually fix the problem. Fixing the problem would mean relieving a few AHs from command and holding them up as poor examples.

Until somebody cleans house and holds leaders responsible for their actions it will continue to be like this. It's the typical 'different spanks for different ranks' mentality.

Rogers said the Army's standard procedure is to inspect a barracks building to verify that it meets Army standards before it is occupied by soldiers returning from an overseas deployment. For reasons he was unable to explain, that apparently did not happen in the Fort Bragg incident.

You can take this to the bank. That barracks got inspected and a conscious decision was made to put those troops in there. This was no oversight. And you can add this one to your deposit slip. Rogers knew about it. If he didn't, why are we paying him to be in charge? The only thing he is pissed about is that he and the Army got caught.

Rogers, McCollum and the Army know this will fade into the sunset of sound bites just like Walter Reed did and it will be back to business as usual in 3-6 montths.

a final paint job is in the works. Ah, good old paint, any color lipstick you want in 5 gallon buckets.

Mike Heemer http://24.23.126.8/ Petition for choice (5 or 7) in Nov.