MORE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE MILITEC PLAN

There are approximately one-million DoD civilian jobs -- 779,163 regular jobs plus an undisclosed amount of contractors –estimated well over 100,000. The total number of warfighters is 1.43 million.   The main problem with DoD is it’s mentality of one-shoe fitting all sizes as it did since World War One. This dated mentality is wasteful since our missions now are spread out across the planet, smaller groups being deployed and more women in the ranks which require adjustment to the basic gear. As an example, the rucksacks are now being modified since many warfighters are getting injured.   

This top heaving bureaucracy is so top heavy that even the most simple task (K-9 being deployed) results in, paralysis- by- analysis, which only reinforces the status quo.  The only way to evaporate 500,000 workers is by allowing competitive on-line purchasing of gear by warfighters with credit lines.  This new system will close down the money trail that has corrupted the DoD and prevents needed gear from reaching the warfighter.

When we invaded Afghanistan, the equipment the average warfighter carried was all dated and nothing new other than the “Picatinny Rail”. It took warfighter questions to Donald Rumsfeld concerning ballistic protection for the Hummers to get action from the DoD bureaucracy.  

Where was the large civilian work force back home looking out for the troops when their vehicles were left defenseless?  Warfighters were forced to weld steel plates onto vehicles -- in a war zone -- because one-million DoD folks back home and abroad were not watching their backs and they were also not smart enough to realize that ballistic protection might come in handy to protect loss of life.  Plus, why did it take almost 10 years to field the right camouflage pattern to help hide the troops from the enemy?  The blame for this imbalance is not republican or a democrat, its greedy DoD civilians that place their job security above the welfare of the troops. The proof of a broken DoD is evidenced by the lack of gear and the countless upgrades, and downgrades with the existing gear. DoD would rather use their own folks to fix (upgrade) a problem, versus using a better mousetrap that competition allows.

Based on the variety and ever evolving technical screw-ups by DoD civilians since OEF started has proven the DoD work-force numbers have no bearing on the readiness of the average warfighter preparing for war. Troops today are still lacking basic staples that are supposed to be standard issue gear. Even with the countless billions from the free spending era of Bush, the average warfighter still did not have the basic gear prior to deployment. I have emails from front line soldiers to prove this in triplicate, if anyone cares if our troops have high confidence prior to landing in a war zone or not. Does the proper equipment matter when boots hit the ground in theater, your dam right it does and DoD has done a terrible job at keeping even basic supplies in stock, let alone delivered when needed.

It puzzles me when I count the number of SES positions and other positions with the tremendous perks  that are tied to the reliable DoD revolving door. Are these folks needed to oversee how tanks are made, or if they work? The point is this, if DoD folks cannot justify their position as supporting warfighters (versus supporting the bureaucracy) and all they do is “rubber stamp” documents for their bosses, then what good are they other than standing in the way of progress? Do these hard-boiled and embolden bureaucrats ensure our warfighters are safer every day, or are they there to deal with Capitol Hill politics and supporting the status quo?

 DoD must take the purse strings away from its civilian workforce that manages everyday items and allow warfighters to order all their gear online through competitive websites. Each warfighter would have a credit line and would be their responsibility to have the proper gear prior to deployment. Purchasing basic supplies online evaporates the civilian acquisition workforce and the related programs -- because no one needs or wants their services any longer.

So why are folks so concerned over the cuts to defense? Is it that needed technology will not get to the troops and more of them will be killed, or is it the high paying government jobs with amazing benefits that allows too much idle time (for bureaucrats) to figure out how to spend as much of Uncle Sam’s money as possible, in order to have at least that same amount for the following year. As the saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it.  To prove this, Militec Inc always sees a spike in sales at the end of the acquisition year for the very reason of spending all the money. If DoD was a business, many employees would be in jail. Why can’t a government agency be run like a business? The answer is easy, the corruption of politics allows for embolden rascals to run amok – under the umbrella of national security.

This is not rocket science in dealing with pentagon cuts. All you have to do is look back at the past decade and count the new technology that is now standard issue for the troops and you will have the tragic answer.  I’m not suggesting shutting down necessary programs that cannot be done through out-sourcing and total absorption through private sector innovation. The basic issue gear, weapons and accessories can all be privatized plus this eliminates redundancies and ensures the best products get to the troops and in time.

DoD must realize that even active duty folks (PEO Soldier as example) will bend over for contractors because some will be leaving the service and want to have jobs. In other words, you can’t have future employment (for soldiers/DoD civies) interfere with getting the proper gear to the troops. The only way to cut acquisition waste for commodities (in our changing environment) is to allow credit lines for the acquisition of basic gear (by warfighters) through approved and competitively operated websites. This will not only eliminate the waste, it will make the accounting easier, since the troops will be the ones responsible for ordering their own supplies on-line prior to deployment.

Some fault lies with the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) whom will only hire former commanders of Army Material Command (AMC) to become President of the Association. Why is the policy of AUSA to only hire former CG’s of AMC?  This ensures the good old boy network and the money connections to AMC -- which pays the association Big Bucks for trade shows in DC and Florida in order to show off all the neat Gucci gear costing billions that seldom reach the average warfighter.

AUSA hinders competition and prevents the creation of American jobs by carrying the services’ water to Capitol Hill to influence army-specific legislation. For this lobbying service, AMC pays AUSA   for these high dollar tradeshows and related activities, including golfing outings. This is an easy case of following the money right to the tradeshow in DC and the personalities at the event -- which makes my case.

In order to cut waste, the pentagon must allow for full and open competition for all basic supplies, including most  weapons and accessories. This new acquisition process for sourcing basic supplies is for all active duty members with assigned credit lines that apply for gear only.  This new online ordering system will ensure the purchase of items that are needed and in budget since all ordering will be out-side the control of the existing acquisition system. Competition will place DoD on a diet, if they like it or not.