Army may Return to Old-Fashioned System of Soldiers Maintaining Vehicles Instead of Contractors

[The Straight Story]

Army Considers Returning to Old-Fashioned System of Soldiers Maintaining Vehicles Instead of Contractors
Friday, March 04, 2011 After running what one general called “a rental car company,” the U.S. Army has decided to go back to having soldiers perform maintenance on helicopters and trucks, instead of relying exclusively on contractors.

General Raymond Mason, deputy chief of staff for Army Forces Command, said the service needs to have a better balance between what contractors provide and what the Army’s own personnel can do. For too long now, soldiers have been dropping off equipment for repairs or maintenance, Mason said, turning the service into a Hertz operation.

By having the Army’s own perform work on vehicles and aircraft, it should be able to get equipment back online faster and save money too.

Using what’s known as condition-based maintenance systems that predict equipment failure, the Army says it saved $210 million in aviation repairs last year.

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Army_Considers_Returning_to_Old_Fashioned_System_of_Soldiers_Maintaining_Vehicles_Instead_of_Contractors_110304

[Hubert Flottz]

1. It worked for a hundred years...

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Wow! What a concept? Hoocoodanode???

:sarcasm:

[Octafish]

8. Godatride.

Piratize the Pentagon? Great idea!

[Tansy_Gold]

15. LOL

took me a while to figure that one out. but I did!

[DrDan]

3. yes!!!

If a private contractor can make a profit on this, then why can the Army not do it and save the taxpayer some money?

[HereSince1628]

4. That's an attack on Thatcheriem!

And long over due!!!!!!!!

[RKP5637]

11. Exactly!!! n/t

[gratuitous]

5. But how can you reward campaign contributors?

If you can't let some fat defense contract, how do you reward the people who got you elected? Aren't they entitled to contracts worth millions for their $10,000 donation? It's practically teh socializm!

[Mist]

9. Yes indeedy--important to bloat the budget w/payback, never mind that

the army's been doing it's own vehicle maintenance since who knows when...

[Vinee]

6. I performed a lot of vehicle maintenance on my HUMVEE , my M113 APC, and my Bradley FV

There were contractors around (especially overseas) but 90% of the maintenance was done by the vehicle crew or the motor pool mechanics. I wasn't aware that that had changed.

[Gin]

12. I bet.....you did the work.. and... the contractors got the pay..

for the work you did.

[Vinee]

13. I don't think so

the contractors weren't anywhere near our motorpool. It might have been different overseas though. There were all kinds of contractors around then. Keep in mind though, that was Bosnia and Bill Clinton's war.

[Bandit]

7. Republicans are not going to like that, Obama and Gates will put a squash on that in a hurry.

Anything that makes sense and saves money will not be tolerated

[RKP5637]

10. I've never gotten why private enterprise is more cost efficient for these

types of operations. Private enterprise has a profit motive and that does not ensure quality or lower cost at all. Look at the absolute garbage, slip shot service and high cost provided in many areas by private enterprise. Look at the garbage in Walmart, for example.

[Octafish]

14. Plausibility.

Cheney and his cronies give what sounds like a logical rationale to his allies on The Hill: "Saves money. More efficient. Blah blah blah." They give Halliburton the contract. Later on we learn the truth: Halliburton rips taxpayers off for maintainance, bills big for driving empty convoys around in the desert, electrocutes scores of soldiers, poisons most of the rest with bad water, and escapes scot-free. Money.

[RKP5637]

21. Yep, the criminals have figured out how to make their operations legitimate under

the guise of gov. contractors. What a deal. And as I recall they were no-bid contracts. Some democracy today ... And no repercussions.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

25. Read some of the analysis that has been done. Pretty compelling in some areas

There are really 3 labor pools in play, uniformed, gov civilian and contractor. From what I have seen, all have a role to play.

[Raksha]

31. It isn't more cost efficient - it just sounds like it should be.

That's part of the racket. "Run government like a business" SOUNDS so practical and hard-headed if you don't think about it too much.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. It's also excellent training for post-service employment.

A no-brainer.

[Hutzpa]

17. Why did they move from that concepts

in the first place?

[Recursion]

23. Cohen and Rumsfeld

Rumsfeld actually made some astonishingly good decisions about acquisition and reorganization, but he threw the baby out with the bathwater in terms of what the military contracts out. But, as we move back towards more organic services (and the military does this pendulum every 20 years or so) it's important not to throw out his good stuff with the bathwater.

[Hutzpa]

26. Contractors are the main reason why spending in the military has

skyrocketed. The military is approaching almost 1 million contractors, get that, ONE MILLION contractors,
so now you begin to see how frivolous and wasteful spending has taken over the military.

IMHO it will be best for the military to create a better retirement program for vets than to create
contractual programs for Vets to go into, they will save a lot more money by doing so, but alas, the
frivolous and wasteful spending has become institutionalized and would not be easy to eradicate.

[Brickbat]

18. Gah, here we go with yet ANOTHER leash on private business and entrepreneurship!

[david13]

19. Should is the operative word here. Army 'mechanics' are notoriously

the most incompetent fixers you could find. That has been the last 100 (?) year history.
dc

[Recursion]

22. The Navy's got some great shipyard people

As much as it pains a Marine to say so.

[david13]

35. Is Navy shipyard not private contractor? I wonder. But here they

closed the Navy shipyard long ago.
dc

[Recursion]

36. Maybe 1/4 Navy, 1/4 civilian DEPNAV, and 1/2 contractor

But I worked at a weird shipyard near Boston run administratively (God knows why) out of Puget Sound.

[Recursion]

20. Depends on the vehicle

I can understand that things like the LCAC or Osprey need dedicated contractor support. HMM-WVs and stuff like that should definitely be maintenenced at an organic level.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

28. Also depends on location

Naval aviation depots which are primarily staffed by unionized DoD civilians do the heavy work on carrier aircraft.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. There needs to a balance between contracting out and in house

What worked in peacetime may not work when you have wars in progress. That they are looking at adjusting that is a good thing. Do not forget that there are also unionized civilian DoD workers involved as well.

[WCGreen]

27. that'll cut a huge amount out of the budget...

But one has to wonder how many of the "contractors" donate to the GOP...

[Kingofalldems]

29. You mean drivers no longer check their vehicles?

I remember doing a detailed vehicle inspection daily on my jeep or 3/4 ton. Sounds like some companies have been making a fortune over this. I'd like to know whose idea it was to outsource maintenance.

[Recursion]

30. PM is still done at all levels

But a lot of corrective maintenance is no longer organic.

[Pacifist Patriot]

32. How quaint

[eleny]

33. Sgt. Bilko's motor pool, yes!

[Kurovski]

34. Do it!

+1000