Army Outsourcing Put on Hold (Privatization not as good as thought)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 5, 2004; Page A15


The Army has indefinitely suspended plans to contract out as many as 214,000 military and civilian positions, an effort begun last year by then-Army Secretary Thomas E. White as a way to focus more of the military's resources on national defense.

The plan, known as the "Third Wave" within the Pentagon, could have affected about one in six Army jobs around the world. It would have provided a major boost to the Bush administration's effort to move large blocks of government work into the private sector if it could be done better and more cheaply by contractors.

But the initiative came to a standstill in April when White resigned after a two-year tenure marked by strains with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Air Force Secretary James G. Roche has been nominated to be the new Army secretary, but the Senate has not confirmed him. His plans for the initiative are unclear.

Even before White left, progress on the initiative had slowed as top officials coped with requests from lower-level managers that thousands of positions be exempted from the process.


More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54561-2004Jan4.html

[mbperrin]

1. Never ceases to amaze that ANYONE thinks that

costs can be cut by adding in a layer of private management and profit!

I mean, there's not even a prima facie case for it, but it is blithely discussed as if possible.

Try starting a conversation with any of these similar statements:

Congress should be replaced by a batch of hired employees of Towers Perrin Consultants in order to save money.

or

We could save money by having a private monitor assigned to every teacher in America to make sure they're teaching properly.

[dansolo]

10. Especially when they eliminate competition

Privatization is merely a means to loot the treasury for the benefit of Republican campaign contributors.

[leesa]

2. Another privatization failure...how many will it take?

[aquart]

5. Hey, it's a start.

[FreakinDJ]

3. Oh GEE we can't defend the country We'er on STRKE

yea that will work

[havocmom]

7. Um, no strikes allowed, sorry. National security needs require that you

abandon collective bargining and get your self back to work! You must take whatever treatment your private employer deems appropriate because they have a contract to provide service to the nation. You must do whatever is required of you for the fatherland..... and the CEOs.

Ever look into some of the events that took place between union mine employees and their bosses with the aid of the US Army during the era prior to and during WWI? There was no portection for workers. There was sanctioned murder of those who dared to stand up to management.

Look into the history of a town in Az called Bisbee.

[havocmom]

4. can't run government like a business

the missions of government and the mission of business are too much in opposition. Providing for the common good is not a money makeing proposition in and of itself. It does allow for the making of profits by providing infastructure for commerce. It must be managed for the common good not for particular entities over other entities. It is time to restore some dignity and common sense to how the charge of "Providing for the common good" is carried out.

Dick Cheney is not a good public servant nor is he a leader. He is a whore to the business interest who own him and it is time to take the US Treasury checkbook out of his crooked little hands. It is time to force the maladministration to recognize that international relations are not done well by heavy handed CEO methods.

Privatization has made hostages of our military personnel and they deserve better than that. Privatization lowers the tax base and does not save any money. Privatization weakens this nation and malaigns those who truly are public servants out of a sense of pride in and duty to the nation. It eradicates the idea of responsibility and justice among the commercial interests.

Privatization is an attempt to rob the US Treasury and hold a knife to the throat of the country. It is a thug takeover and must be stopped.

[aquart]

8. Yup.

[Lostnote03]

11. Good points.....

..........I believe that privatization increases military adventurism because of the lack of Congressional as well as public oversite.....this is one screwed up idea for our country that has its origins within our military/industrial complex.......

[gold_bug]

6. another Rummy blunder.

McDonaldization of the army.

[lebkuchen]

9. Ask the troops how successful outsourcing the mail has been

Answer: It hasn't. It's a recurring morale problem, one that you'd think Rummy would want to avoid at all costs. Now he has to expand stop-loss, troops are so fed up with this profession. They want OUT.


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=19605

Mail is a morale issue

I would like to know what is going on with the mail delivery in Kuwait. My family mailed me several items more than a month ago and they still have not arrived. My address has not changed in four months; in the past I have received mail in as little as two weeks, but the last item I received took 29 days from the States and that was priority mail.

For some people, mail is the only link between home and our overseas duty station. We do have a phone center, but the time difference makes it tricky catching people at home at a decent hour. We also have an Internet cafe, but if your family doesn’t have a computer this is not an option.

So I would hope this letter will reach the eyes of someone who can hopefully do something about it, and not just get the usual response of “It’s Christmastime and things take longer.” This is a morale issue for us soldiers, and right now we need all the morale boost we can get.

Spc. Glenn Hicks
Camp Victory, Kuwait

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

12. Yep, see the thread on Accidents here in LBN

The piss-poor maintenance on vehicles is just one symptom. That day it killed a young Marine who should still be alive.

[lostnfound]

13. YAY! I may have had a small hand in this :-)

I was interviewed for 2 hours about outsourcing maintenance at work, and though I won't say that all outsourcing is bad, the way they were trying to go about it -- open-ended uncontrolled short term contracts with little oversight -- was all wrong.

[Lost4words]

14. off the subject, lets start a war with India to get our tech jobs back

Vajepee ( or whatever ) has been seen with Osama Bin Ladin making plans to weaken the US over long term by taking jobs from the American worker.

For the good of the country we must attack. Just joking,... sort of.