When this comment
If it's so great? made the top 10 list, I was urged to write a diary. The Army has a big problem. They can't pay the bills. The first notice I had of this problem was an article in my local newspaper:
Budget crunch forces post to cut back on contracts
Friday, June 02, 2006
Then came this one:
Fort Hood facing uncertain future
Sunday, June 04, 2006
This story was in a diary here on July 7th. Army can't afford pens to draw thin green line! by jmaps. His diary focused on the problems Ft. Sam Houston and Ft. Bragg are currently having due to lack of funds. Please read it.
Follow below and I'll detail some of the problems....
This story is happening all over military installations in the United States. The new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, but they can't pay the bills now. They are going to have to borrow from the next fiscal budget to pay for the shortfalls of this one and wind up in the same mess next year.
The most striking thing I learned, is that the Army is having to fork over garrison money to help pay for the War. If a jeep breaks, and they don't have the part, too bad. Only equipment that is slated to be shipped out with deployed troops can be fixed.
Ft. Hood cut off all cell phones, non essential lights & AC, all ordering of supplies unless deemed essential/emergency. No trips to training session or seminars; no non-essential travel period. They had to cancel a huge yearly anniversary celebration that brings the troops and the town people together. They couldn't even buy cakes that the troops get to enjoy. A few local business people donated small cakes to the brass.
A financial storm hit the Army and its largest post last month, with many programs still headed to a dry well at the end of June if Congress doesn't come up with a few more greenbacks and pass an emergency spending bill to cover the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Until they can reach an agreement, the Army's garrison fund, already $530 million in the hole, has been helping to finance the war fronts.
Fort Hood's actions were ordered by the Army's Installation Management Agency, spokesman Ned Christensen said Thursday.
"The IMA director has ordered the installations to take new and immediate action to reduce spending," Christensen said. "All installations are to begin the process of releasing term and temporary employees as soon as legally possible."
A lot of jobs that soldiers used to do are now done by civilian contractors. But those employees have been on notice since May when the Army began cutting jobs, that everyone is subject to be laid off without notice. They are even cutting pest control to the bone. If there is one thing I learned while working in the moving business, is that roaches are all over the world. Even though HHG's aren't supposed to be moved unless the stuff is bug free, it happens all the time. Roaches are a problem on base housing here.
As a result, money for the post's operations and facilities maintenance is being allocated on a monthly basis and contracts were "subject to deferment or termination," Christensen said.
"All installations are critically short of money in the absence of reimbursement of (war) funds from the supplemental appropriation," Christensen said. "Even with receipt of the supplemental, installation commanders will have to prioritize and manage their funds very closely for the rest of this (fiscal year) and beyond."
All of the equipment that is shipped out with the troops, is loaded on rail cars for the Port of Houston. The contract expired at the end of May with troops getting ready to deploy. Somehow, the post came up with funds to keep the rail head going until they get the troops and equipment out. The troops have been flying out on Continental Air Lines, which I assume they still are. Is it really cheaper to fly them on commercial planes?
Christensen said every effort will be made to keep war-related contracts funded. Rail-head operations at Fort Hood, however, suffered a glitch last week as funds dried up for the $3.5 million contract listed on the contracting Web site as belonging to defense giant Northrup Grumman.
The railhead has been key to Fort Hood's Iraq deployments since 2003. More deployments are looming this summer and the 4th Infantry Division's 20,000-plus TROOPS are scheduled to return from the Baghdad area in November.
Funds for the railhead operation's contract were restored through this month.
A civilian contractor who did not want to be named talks about the problems they are facing. They have money to pay the employees, but once the stock of supplies run out, they have no money to buy more. The Post has stated that there will be no cuts to the Darnall Military Hospital or the Clinics or the Pharmacy which supply medical care and meds to the troops and retired Vets.
Behind the politics, memos and number crunching are 800 contract employees at Fort Hood who say they are facing each day with the question: Is today the day the ax falls on me?
"What you have not been told is that we are almost down to bare-bones staff. Everyone expects the doors to close the next time there is an announcement," the contractor said.
"The contract is now on a month-to-month basis instead of by the fiscal year. The June delivery order to carry (my) service to the soldier has only money for the employee labor, no monies for supplies to buy materials needed for the soldiers."
The Army also will freeze contract awards and new task orders on existing contracts, and suspend the use of government purchase cards.
House approves military pay raise; bill includes $50 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The House allotted an additional $725 million for personnel force protection items, including body armor, and $1.5 billion to develop countermeasures for bombs, the No. 1 killer of U.S. TROOPS in Iraq.
Military personnel and the Pentagon's civilian work force also would receive a 2.2 percent pay raise, starting Jan. 1. The civilian raise is less than the 2.7 percent mandated by another bill.
The House also provided $500 million more than requested by President Bush for National Guard equipment needs, Carter said.
Broken down, the Pentagon would receive $84.9 billion for military personnel; $120.5 billion for operations and maintenance; $81.8 billion for procurement; $75.3 billion for research, development, test and evaluation; $2.4 billion for revolving and management funds; and an emergency wartime account of $50 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq.
The $50 billion, however, is unlikely to last longer than the first quarter. After that, the Bush administration is likely to have to seek additional money for Iraq early next year through emergency spending, a practice that emptied the Army's garrison budgets in the current fiscal year while Congress debated the measure.
I am curious if this $50 billion supplemental will go to refund the garrisons for the funds that have been taken from them. Each installation is paying out their operating budget to fund the War in Iraq and then they have to wait on Bush to reimburse them. So just how much has this war really cost us so far? Is this just another way of hiding the true cost? Meanwhile, they can't pay their million dollar light bills, they can't repair equipment needed to train troops, and they must be short on shells because I never hear them firing the big guns anymore.
Since 9/11, helicopters have flown daily in a figure 8 pattern here over Gray Army Air Base. There are 2 Marine 1 helicopters out here that are guarded 24 hrs. a day in case Bush shows up. I know that the Marine 1's are still out there, but the helicopters aren't in the air doing their figure 8's anymore. Guess they are conserving fuel.
I've taken highlights from 3 articles and urge you to read them. I have condensed what I felt like was the most important facts from all three articles. We now know that it's not just the troops in Iraq that are nickle and dimmed to death, it's happening with the troops at home. Makes me wonder just what kind of training new troops are getting.