Slashdot Mirror
USAF Counter-Terror Funds Buy "Comfort Capsules"
An anonymous reader writes "The Washington Post reports, 'The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world ... Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror.' Congress told the USAF twice that they could not spend the money on this frivolous project, but they did it anyway."
I've read several articles and I still have no clue what the hell a "comfort capsule" is. Is it a whole plane? Is it an add-on to a plane? Is it one of those napping pods like you can find here? Am I alone in this one?
The game.
Would this be anything different from the way money is being spent on irrelevant "security measures" at public transportation access points?
Honestly, the s/n ratio keeps getting worse and worse here. News flash: government wastes money. Next.
I was worried that these capsules might leave our betters and brass fatigued when they arrived at their destinations, until I saw that the vulgar and degraded brown leather had been replaced with suitably dignified blue, and the wooden fittings replaced with cherry, restful to the eyes and mind of the higher orders. The DVD player, also, will be of incalculable military utility, I have no doubt.
Seriously, I can understand the logic of having people be able to sleep on the flight, so as not to waste time at the destination; but how could anybody possibly justify this level of ostentation(or, for the amoral weasels who just don't care, how could they possibly believe that they could get away with this level of ostentation(erm, besides a quick assessment of what people have been able to get away with these days, that is, never mind about that one))?
The USAF doesn't report to Congress. Since their Commander in Chief treats Congress like a jizz rag, it's unreasonable to expect anyone in the armed forces to show them any respect. They won't cut budgets, and the most that they every do is write Sternly Worded Memos, or go running to the courts like little snivelling bitches, wailing "Pretty please make everyone obey the law."
I swear, the USA is one lost staring contest away from a bloodless military coup. I mean, if it hasn't already happened. How would we tell the difference?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
In Pelosi's House, it results in a sternly-worded letter.
usaf has never been on the same team as the others you mention in this regard. from building the golf courses on a base before the runway to lavish living conditions for staff - they've always been very different.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Bullshit, the USAF does NOT build golf courses first. They build the O-Club first then whatever money is left goes to the golf course. They delay the runway and other necessary ops till the Army has to have them and pays for 'em.
some military types have no respect even for the constitution or their own rules of conduct ( http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/08/atheist.soldier/index.html ), so what makes you think they'll listen to congress when it comes to spending money on luxuries for themselves?
It should be mandatory viewing because among other things it shows how little real power politicians have.
After all, how long does a general serve compared to a senator? And the general doesn't have to fight a war every 2 years and defeat his rivals.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
So congress told the Air Force not to guild these things, twice, and they went ahead and did it anyway? Obviously, the Air Force thinks it is in charge. Now, either congress has to discipline them, harshly, or the Air Force really is in charge. If the Air Force is in charge, then you've got the beginnings of a military state on your hands.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
You're neglecting the other alternative:
Don't collect the money that will eventually be spent on pork.
Then its definitely local.
I find it kind of odd that congress told the Air Force that when a four star general flies to the AOR they cannot make use of a higher class accommodation on board a military aircraft but whenever a member of congress flies their they get their own personal high class commercial aircraft. I'm not saying that the Air Force is right here, I don't think any of our public servants should be getting first class rides at taxpayer expense.
It's not only a waste of money, it's horrible leadership. Any officer in the military pushing for this kind of thing should be immediately railroaded out of the military - being a good military leader and seeking this kind of fluff are absolutely mutually exclusive. Some pig high ranking General lavising in luxury while ordering people to risk their lives and live in cramped air carrier quarters is fucking disgusting.
What about war is comfortable exactly? And why are we trying to shield officers and civilians from reality (even further)? Why isn't this being spent on the comfort and (psychological/physical) well being of our troops?
Twinstiq, game news
If you read the arcticle carefuly it explains that this money was going to be used to 'improve' the provisions already in place for Executive officers. I am a crew chief in the military and i will tell you that we already have these things. They are basically 'silver Bullet' campers with a bit of some overhauling on the inside. We already have these things in place, and they are being used. Forget the fact that 102 soldiers fit on board uncomfortably with the center line seats. But i have an idea. why not stop the medical evac missions with their wasted space of 36 litters and just put the 'silver bullets' on board so that General skippy won't spill his F*king martini.
Reading from the story, the original idea was good but things got out of hand when people start deviating from the original objectives. The Air Force saw that there was a growing need for top brass and government officials to work and rest on long military flights. They have some planes for this purpose but in some areas for the world (and for security reasons), it would be more practical for these officials to fly on military transports like C-17s. Transports can be fitted to carry troops and personnel but they have the most basic of seats. So modules could be built and put into these transports like UPS or Fedex modular containers but are not made for packages but personnel.
With the idea of a traveling office in mind, some basic elements are probably necessary. Chairs and table for work. Bed for sleep. The module should probably be sound proof/vibration proof as much as possible because these transports have no shielding from either. For communications, the module might need to be plugged into the airplanes communication or its own separate feed. The module probably requires some modest power for equipment. Everything should be bolted down for obvious reasons.
After basic requirements, then it got out of hand. Certain generals wanted leather upgrades to match color. The chairs went from being standard commercial airline chairs to ultra-luxurious first class. TVs and DVD players were added. While a TV/monitor might not be a stretch if used to convey information (video uplinks), it is frivolous if used for entertainment.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
We're talking about high-level military executives here. Guys who have to make Really Big Decisions.
Now let's say you have one of these Generals in Washington, and they need to go to Iraq.
How do you get them there?
Do they fly commercial? Probably not very regular commercial service from DC to Baghdad.
So you fly them military.
Now, do you fly them in the jump seat of a cargo plane?
That might work for your average soldier, but do you really want the guy in command of all your forces arriving somewhere absolutely tired? Do you want to provide them with a work area for the 12-24 hours they're going to be in the air?
Regular troops have the luxary of not having to go straight from getting off the plane to directly into the battlefield. Generals are high-level decision-making executives who have to be effective all the time.
Capsules give those personnel a work-area where they can be productive on planes, and a sleep area so that when they do get wherever they're going, they're not running on a day of no or crappy sleep. There's a reason that in the commercial sector businesses pay thousands of dollars for business class seats that employees have a chance to sleep in isntead of hundreds of dollars on a coach seat. If they're flying their staff to someplace, it's important, and they don't want their staff operating on poor rest when they arrive.
So, what makes more sense: Spending millions of dollars on aircraft for moving around top military personnel, or spending tens or hundreds of thousands on some pods that can convert any standard-issue cargo plane into a flying office?
Give the guy in charge of keeping 150,000 people in Iraq alive a bed and a desk when he's got to spend 20 hours in the air. That's not a waste of money. And it sounds like building pods might actually be the least expensive way to provide those facilities.
paintball
I don't have any personal experience with Congress, so I don't know how bad it is. I was in the Marine Corps during the Clinton years when money was scarce, equipment was old, and we had to go without most things we needed. I've since worked in many commands, most of them Joint or Combined, where they literally had more money than they knew what to do with. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse is rampant in the larger commands, and the Air Force is the worst of the services. Its bases are nothing but manicured lawns, its offices full of leather chairs, hell their barracks in Qatar were practically 4-star hotels. Having lived in condemned WWII barracks in the states, I just find it all appalling.
I agree with the GP; doesn't surpise me at all.
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
"...to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule..."
It always bugs me how the military treats the 'senior military officials' better than the soldiers even though the soldiers are the ones putting their lives on the line. Pay increase for going from soldier to non-soldier should be only a lower risk of life, nothing else. What makes it worse is all these 'support our troops' and 'spend money on the military' types don't even realize that the troops are getting shit on.
I'd prefer pork not getting spent by the government at all. Then I can buy myself some local goods that I want.
he costs should be borne by their campaigns.
I'd agree with that in the context of Obama's trip to Europe but I have no problem with taxpayer dollars going to send him (or McCain) to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
Do you really see it as a waste of taxpayer dollars to give the candidates (or our other elected officials for that matter) a view of the war that they will have to contend with once in office?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
So the only reason you don't rape someone is because you'd get arrested? Does the concepts of "right" and "wrong" mean nothing to you, only "can do" and "can't do"? Jesus.
Maybe, but I have to think that Generals tend to be in their 50s and 60s rather than late teens and early twenties. I'm only approaching 30, but I find that my body isn't quite as good at bouncing back after a bad flight or short night's sleep as it used to be. In twenty more years... I say give the guy his comfortable quarters.
The thing I *Don't* like is that they're using funds that they were explicitly forbidden to use.
I also question how much terrorism danger this country is really in if they figure the counter-terrorism funds can be better used on window dressing. That's why Congress is mad (other than because they were ignored): The military is shooting the cash cow.
you didnt do it with the last president
Current president, actually, however you are correct. Bush has made a fool of himself with his ignorance, and a mess of the world.
Being ex-Navy, I'm no fanboi of the USAF. I understand that they've turned down control of all Naval Aviation because they're afraid of carrier landings. However, let's give them credit where credit is due: they're the only branch where the officers go into combat and the enlisted men almost never do.
Good, inexpensive web hosting
It's about productive.
There are generals. Presumably, they're generals because they have important shit to do.
If you are flying your general around, do you want him able to work, or do you want him twiddling his thumbs in an airplane seat?
The idea behind the capsules is that you can fly generals around WITHOUT it having to take them 'out of action'. They can be on the plane and doing all the things they could do if they were not on the plane.
Hell, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making sure the President can be productive on his 747. A few hundred thousand for the next level down in the command chain doesn't seem unreasonable.
paintball
A tired grunt gets himself and maybe his buddies killed.
A tired general gets hundreds or thousands of grunts killed.
You're also missing another aspect.
Your general is going to be making mission-critical decisions on-arrival, or maybe even on the plane. The people 'actually doing the job' have buffer time between when they arrive and when they are in mission-critical environments.
Or put another way, when the 'people doing the job' get off the plane, they get a chance to get a night's sleep before they're involved in battle. That's not a luxury available to your military brass.
paintball
I ran into one instance back arround 1978 or 79, none since and I retired in 1998. The Military is big and diverse, you'll run into anything you'll run into in society there yet for the most part the military is more progressive than society in general.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
"Pay increase for going from soldier to non-soldier should be only a lower risk of life, nothing else."
Brilliant career soldier retention move there...
The move up in hassle and responsiblity is no joke, be it from junior enlisted to mid-level enlisted or through officer career progression. The bennies that go with rank, such as they are, are cheap compared to civilian executive compensation.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
When I was in the Marine Corps we had nothing but ancient rifles and flack jackets, and we are the ones who die.
It always bugs me how the military treats the 'senior military officials' better than the soldiers even though the soldiers are the ones putting their lives on the line.
Class warfare, read up on it.
The soldiers' job is 100% to protect and further the advantageous lifestyle of their 'betters'. Stop idealizing the soldiers, they're just tools, and stop believing their masters, they just want the tools to have good morale so they'll be more productive.
You can't take the sky from me...