Aug. 24, 2004 - 20:49 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Duh !

Sometimes articles in our paper, the Rocky Mountain News, make me weep. Usually they are buried somewhere in the back as the one today is. In toto:

Study finds error in Army Reserves Payroll

WASHINGTON -- "Army Reserve payroll procedures for activated soldiers are so convoluted that mistakes occurred in 95 percent of the cases examined by congressional auditors, The Government Accountability Office said Monday."

"Soldiers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan have had to spend a year or more straightening out problems, the GAO said."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My opinions

The company I once worked for was a manufacturer of government equipment, one time used by the Navy and Airforce and later by the Airforce alone. My job put me with personnel of both arms of the service overseas. I lived on their bases and worked closely with them.

Even then, in the Viet Nam era, payrolls were screwed up a good part of the time. What I noted, at least what I heard from the military folk I was working with was that their home folks bore the brunt. The military folk had it, in that respect, easy. They had their quarters, their clothing, food and medical care. The women at home had the money coming from the government for the service their military men were doing. If the payroll was screwed up it was the folks at home who suffered.

I am sure in my own mind that voluntary help was rendered to many folks who were running short, but there would have been a feasible limit I think. I can see how stressful living was under those conditions, car payments, mortage payments, insurance on automobiles -- all those things that eat up money as if it is going out of style, school fees, clothing, shoes, etc.

Now this is the Army Reserve that the GAO ran the study on. Folks on reserve who were conducting life like the rest of us but who knew they could be called out to defend our country and having to leave their normal daily life behind. And they were called out. I think some of the first soldiers sent to Afghanistan and Iraq are still over there -- with their pay screwed up.

Seems like the military gets the short end of the stick most of the time. I remember when the base stores here in the US had to peg their prices up to what the stores in town charged, even though military pay had not gone up. I expect military pay has gone up since I was around but I would still venture to make a guess that their income is not anywhere near what civilians are getting.

Even though I live next door to the Military Finance Center here in Denver (seperated by a fence) I have no idea if the Navy and/or Air Force is having the same pay problems, but making another wild guess I think the situation is probably much the same. Seems a shame to me.

So as usual things are snafu, fubb, fubar, rfu and all the derivations of same. It is our military, out in the field trying to survive whatever fate deals them and unable to go home and get things straight who are having to bear the brunt of what I think is utter stupidity.

But it is our givernment at work, Duh ? . . . . . . . .

Blog