Panetta Flies VIP for Coach Rates

The Washington Times ^ | 21 Nov 11 | Susan Crabtree

[jagusafr]

Since becoming defense secretary in July, Mr. Panetta has flown home 14 times as of last week, continuing the cross-country commute he made regularly as CIA director, and he has no plans to curtail the trips, his aides said. “The White House understood when Mr. Panetta took the job that he would return to Monterey to visit his family, as he did when he was director of the CIA,” a senior administration official said. “That’s where his family lives, after all.” Mr. Panetta’s travel situation, first reported by the Los Angeles Times in September, is drawing another look, particularly after President Obama issued marching orders this month calling for all Cabinet agencies to cut back on everything including cellphone use and official gifts such as mugs. But he singled out travel as an area ripe for savings.

[jagusafr]

Lemme get this straight: I'm prohibited from accepting a First Class seat while traveling in uniform, but SECDEF can pay the coach price to fly on a government bizjet all by his lonesome?

And people wonder why there's a certain cynicism amongst the troops about their civilian leadership...

Colonel, USAFR

[Texas Eagle]

Our tax dollars pay his airfare either way.

[Rapscallion]

It used to be that all commuting costs were PERSONAL expenses. Has the law changed?

[I am Richard Brandon]

You are a Prole in Uniform - your job is to die for your country and he is an Elite who will tell you what to do. Get used to it, this is the New America.

[jagusafr]

It’s the appearance of impropriety that underlies the prohibition on flying First Class while in uniform. Seems to me this appearance is much more improper.

[trapped_in_LA]

“Has the law changed?”

Nope, it’s still the same as far as I can tell and nothing has really changed. Rank does have it’s privileges after all and our “public servants” will make sure that they enjoy them to the fullest on our dime.

[Rapscallion]

If he were reimbursing the government at cost for this COMMUTING expense there would be no problem. COMMUTING (travel to and from workplace) is always a personal expense among the non-aristocrats of America.

[Mouton]

Interesting, when I was on the road on assignment, I had the option of returning home if I could show the costs of remaining were more than the costs of returning home for a few days. Oh, the travel had to be after hours. So, leave the east coast at 6PM, arrive home in Ca around 10PM PST. Leave California Sunday at noon PST, arrive back east around midnight local time, and broker.

[Texas Eagle]

Even if the costs were personal expenses, his salary comes from the taxpayer and all his travel expenses are passed on to the taxpayer as well.

I'm not making excuses for the guy. This is roughly the same as Nanzi Pelosi taking military flights back and forth from D.C. and S.F. complete with $100,000 wine and brie in-flight snacks.

None of that was deducted from her salary. It was passed on to us.

[tanknetter]

It used to be that all commuting costs were PERSONAL expenses. Has the law changed?

I don't believe that the law has changed. The SecDef is at the top of the DoD chain of command (under Goldwater/Nichols the Operational COs report to him, he reports to the CinC/POTUS), and is also fairly high up in the line of Presidential succession.

Given that, wherever he goes, his security contingent and communications train goes with him. You don't want the balloon to go up and have the SecDef on the other side of the country and incommunicado. So flying DoDAir everywhere is not only acceptable, but appropriate.

The law specifies that even though his train goes with him (requiring military air transport) regardless of whether official or personal business the SecDef must pay prevailing market prices for his seat for personal travel. That's what this article is talking about.

As to Leon's "special arrangement", the problem isn't really with him but his boss. He had every right to determine the criteria under which he'd take the job, and negotiate for such. The problem is that Obama actually agreed to such an arrangement.

[RobinOfKingston]

And people wonder why there's a certain cynicism amongst the troops about their civilian leadership...

I don't wonder, but, then I used to be one of those troops. In fact, I maintain that "certain cynicism" intact.

[tanknetter]

Ok, flubbed the above somewhat. The SecDef pays market prices for airfare only when the travel is personal in nature.

[starlifter]

Stop whining. He is the SecDef and part of the national command authority. As such he must stay in constant communication. Does not matter whether he is D or R.

[mrsmith]

On the bright side a mainstream media outlet used the words “flies” in a headline about a member of the administration.

It can’t be long before they use “turd” in a headline about Obama...

[Oldexpat]

Seems to me that we are still fighting a war in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Africa. The SecDef needs to man up and spend a little more time away from home to appreciate what our troops have been doing the last 10 years.

[jagusafr]

Wait a minute - yes, he does have to keep in touch, but no, he doesn’t have to go home every weekend on a government aircraft. We all pointed fingers at Queen Nancy for abusing the privilege, why is he different? And his political affilation hasn’t even been mentioned.

[Oldexpat]

Seems to me that we are still fighting a war in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Africa. The SecDef needs to man up and spend a little more time away from home to appreciate what our troops have been doing the last 10 years.

[paul51]

if we don’t provide extravagant perks to our rulers we won’t be able to attract qualified people to public service / s

[xsrdx]

He's choosing to travel home each weekend, and reimbursing the treasury for the roundtrip coach airfare equivalent.

His job mandates travel on gov't aircraft, thus he has no choice other than to not travel, which is hardly reasonable.

I'm not familiar with details of Pelosi's situation, but I don't imagine she's required as a condition of employment to travel exclusively using gov't aircraft.