This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • So, How Much Money Would Using Military Labor Really Save?

    I got asked a question the other day that intrigued me.  And as longtime readers probably guessed – I decided to play with some numbers and see where they led.

    The particular question was in the context of a military logistics contract.  The question was, in effect, “How much money would DoD save by doing that with military labor”?

    Obviously, I don’t have the specifics of that contract. But I decided to make a couple of assumptions, then “run the numbers” for a contrived but IMO reasonably representative example to see where the numbers led.

    As that example, I chose a warehouse operation – two shifts, with 3 nominal 7-person teams (team lead plus 6 workers each) and a shift lead for each shift, plus a warehouse supervisor and his/her deputy.  (Let’s call the teams on each shift “receiving”, “warehousing”, and “shipping”.)  I then assumed military and civilian staffing and compared costs.

    Since costs vary by region and the logistical contract in question was in the “South”, I assumed the location was in the vicinity of Fort Bragg, NC.

    The military staffing for the operation I assumed was as follows:

    • OIC:  1 ea O-2, 3 yrs TIS
    • NCOIC:  1 ea E-7, 14 yrs TIS
    • Shift Supervisors:  2 ea E-6, 9 yrs TIS
    • Team Leaders:  6 ea E-5, 5 yrs TIS
    • Team Members:  18 ea E-4 (3 yrs TIS), 18 ea E-3 (2 yrs TIS)

    I further assumed the OIC, NCOIC, Shift Supervisors, and Team Leaders were all married; that the Team Members were 50/50 split married/single; and that all lived “on the economy” (e.g., received housing allowance and separate rations).  This was necessary because – unlike civilian industry – military personnel costs vary depending on whether or not an individual is married.

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  • Three Fewer MIAs

    DPMO has announced the identification of two US MIAs from World War II and one US MIA from Korea.

    • 1LT  Louis L. Longman, 433rd Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force, US Army Air Forces, was lost on 16 April 1944 in Papua New Guinea.  He was accounted for on 1 November 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors in Clinton, IA, in the spring of 2014.
    • CPT Franklin B. Tostevin, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, US Army, was lost on 20 March 1945 when his F-6P aircraft crashed near Eigen, Germany.  He was accounted for 30 October 2013.  He will be buried with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, CO, on 13 December 2013.
    • CPL George W. Conklin, Jr., Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, US Army, was lost 3 December 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.  He was accounted for 30 October 2013.  He was buried with full military honors in Phelps, NY, on 9 November 2013.

    Welcome home, my elder brothers-in-arms.  Rest in peace.

    . . .

    Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.  If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II – critical need), listed here (Korea), or listed here (Southeast Asia) – please consider reading this link to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.

    If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample, please submit one.   By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

    Everybody deserves a proper burial.  That’s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.

  • Yer Sunday Funny – Revenge Thru Art

    In the Detroit, MI, area a marriage ended.  Reportedly the lady involved found someone she liked better than her husband, had an affair, and then moved in with her new paramour.  Somewhere along the way, she and her ex-husband divorced.

    Somewhat understandably, her ex-husband wasn’t exactly thrilled with this turn of events.  He  (a) decided he wanted to get even, and (b) had some spare cash.

    So he did the following:

    • bought the house next-door to his ex and her new beau;
    • moved in next door;
    • purchased a 12’ statue; and
    • had said statue set up in his back yard, with floodlight illumination.

    The statue the ex-husband chose was, shall we say, somewhat interesting.  It was a statue of a human hand – making a gesture using one digit.  It wasn’t the “thumbs-up” gesture, either.  You can probably figure the rest out sans further details.  (smile)

    This article gives a more complete explanation, plus a video.  While neither the article or video is NSFW, discretion is advised around children and prudes.

  • What Goes Around, Comes Around

    Learn something new every day.

    It looks like in passing that Puerile Pararthric Asininity Created by Agnosics Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Congress – to paraphrase that “intrepid and August font of wisdom”, Paul “Fitzy” Fitzgerald – just might have “went and f***ed themselves.”  And it looks like they did the same to their staffs while they were at it, too.

    How so?  Previously, as Federal employees Members of Congress and their staffs were eligible for insurance coverage through one of the group plans sponsored by their employer (the Federal government) under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.  Members of Congress and their staffs could also previously opt to secure health insurance individually.  But now, it seems that the PPACA now REQUIRES Congress and their personal staff to use PPACA health exchanges to secure health insurance.

    Yeah, under the new law Members of Congress and their staff essentially get the same subsidy that they would have under the previous employer group plans.  But it seems that, well, the requirement to use the PPACA exchanges, coupled with the changes mandated by the PPACA, to secure insurance has led to some issues.

    At least one member of Congress – specifically, Representative Michele Bachmann – has now received notice that her existing health insurance is being cancelled because it no longer qualifies under the PPACA’s new requirements.  No word yet on how many other Members of Congress and Congressional staffers have been similarly affected.

    Ya think if that happens about 300 more times Congress might realize something needs to be done to fix the problem?  Maybe.  I ain’t holding my breath, though.

    Sometimes I swear that you can almost see Karma in action.  Here I bet she’s grinning from ear-to-ear while acting, too.  (smile)

  • Sure, It’s All Legit. Trust Us.

    One of the main boondoggle giveaways in features of the P!ss-Poor Abysmally-Crafted Abomination Patient Protection and “Affordable” Care Act (PPACA) is the fact that it subsidizes the cost of insurance for many.  In fact, that’s one of the main ways it will screw over US taxpayers help the “poor”.

    So, no one would ever take advantage of that, right?  No one would ever think of understating their income so that they’d qualify for “free help”, right?

    Yeah, right.  Uh huh.  Sure.  Whatever you say, amigo.  Just like everyone who gets cash income always declares 100% of that cash income on their tax returns.  And just like they always send Uncle Sam their FICA and Medicare taxes from said cash income, too.

    Of course this is going to be abused like hell.  In fact, it already is being abused.

    And the “kicker”?  Some PPACA “Navigators” are advising people to do exactly that.

    Yeah, folks – you read that correctly.  We (US taxpayers) are actually paying people to tell people how to defraud Uncle Sam.

    Don’t believe me?  Then watch this video clip.  And afterwards, watch this one, too.  And then you can read this article.  (You might want to have a barf bag handy, though.)

    Sheesh.

    Dunno about you, but I’m getting damned tired of seeing my tax dollars siphoned off by blatant fraud like this.  And I’m royally p!ssed that the Federal government is actually paying people to help low-life a-holes certain individuals perpetrate that fraud.

  • Another NY Weapon Seizure

    Well, it seems as if NY authorities are at it again.  They’ve confiscated yet another weapon from a state citizen.

    This case was a bit different than the norm, though.

    Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office officials confiscated the weapon from Brian Malta.  Seems as if he’d fired it, albeit while loaded with blank charges, towards neighboring homes during a dispute with neighbors.

    The weapon confiscated was a Civil War cannon.  Seems Malta had aimed it in the direction of his neighbors’ homes and fired it (with powder charge and wadding only) during his dispute with his neighbors.

    Yeah, firing a freaking cannon towards someone’s house – even if only powder and wadding – is likely to get you a visit from the police, as well as an escorted ride to the station.  Dumbass.

    Malta was charged with 3 counts of harassment and 3 counts of menacing.  He was arrested and later released on bail.

    No, the amount of his bail wasn’t set at $5150.  Though that might have been apropos.  (smile)

  • Ia Drang Valley, 14-17 November 1965

    A bit more than 30 miles southwest of Pleiku, in what was once the Republic of Vietnam – AKA South Vietnam – flows a river.  It flows through the region of South Vietnam called the Central Highlands.

    The people living there were the Nguoi Thuong.  They were not ethnically Vietnamese.  Westerners termed them “Montagnards”.

    In their language, the term “Ia” meant river.  The river referenced above was the “Drang”; the place it flowed, the Ia Drang valley.

    In November 1965, the Ia Drang valley it was the site of what is generally regarded as the first major battle of the US Vietnam War.  The battle lasted for four days.

    For a bit more about the battle, you can read these articles (here, here, and here) previously published at TAH and elsewhere.  Or you could read LTG Hal Moore’s and Joe Galloway’s book for a more detailed account.

    Those there were, for the most part, soldiers.  Many were young; some, not so much.

    Many who went to the Ia Drang valley in November 1965 didn’t come home.  That’s true for both sides.

    May the fallen, and those who have passed since, rest in peace.  And may the passage of time, along with the grace of God, comfort the survivors – both the families of the fallen, and those still among us who lived through the battle.

    I just thought this deserved a mention today.  Today’s the 48th anniversary of the battle.

  • Yet Another Broken Promise. Gee Thanks, HQDA.

    I wrote this article mainly because I’m p!ssed, and I’m venting.  It’s geared toward Army personnel and retirees who read TAH.

    But personnel with a background from other services might want to read it anyway.  I’m guessing similar things will be happening in other services, albeit likely involving other subjects.

    AKO – Army Knowledge Online – will close its doors to retirees and dependents at the end of March 2014.  That’s now official Army policy.  See page 6 of this document.

    Inactive retiree/dependent accounts (no password change in the last 90 days) get the axe at the end of the year.  Current accounts (those who’ve had a password change within the past 90 days) will get the axe on 31 March 2014.  Further details are in the linked article.

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