Posted on 11/03/2002 3:20:54 PM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
WASHINGTON (AP)--The Army is considering contracting out nearly 214,000 military and civilian support jobs to the private sector in an ambitious plan to free money to fight terrorism and comply with President Bush's desire to trim the federal government through outsourcing.
Army Secretary Thomas E. White has directed his commanders to submit plans by Dec. 20 to privatize or outsource all functions not essential to fighting wars. If approved, the unprecedented government overhaul could begin this spring and affect two-thirds of the Army civilian work force. Military personnel would be reassigned.
``The Army must focus its energies and talents on our core competencies--functions we perform better than anybody else ... and obtain other needed products or services from the private sector where it makes sense,'' White said in an Oct. 4 memo.
Targeted are 154,910 civilian workers and 58,727 military personnel that perform support functions such as financial, legal, communications and maintenance.
``We must transfer highly trained military personnel back into positions where their military competencies can be best used,'' said John Anderson, Army assistant deputy assistant secretary for manpower management, in a briefing last month. ``The president, the Congress and the public require sound stewardship of the full mix of personnel resources, whether by military, civilian or contract.''
Some functions could be contracted out to private companies in a bid process, while other functions might be eliminated altogether and moved to the private sector. Some jobs also could remain in the government.
Congress would have to approve some of the proposed changes.
That's happened twice before in the Army. But White and other officials say this third wave will be ``bigger and faster.'' Layoffs are possible, though officials said they expect most civilians to find work with contractors.
A similar review of 25,000 Army positions in the 1980s led to about 15,000 jobs being moved to the private sector. In another review of 33,000 jobs in the late 1990s, just 6,300 jobs were moved to the private sector.
Overall, about 850,000 federal government jobs have been identified as commercial--meaning they also are performed in the private sector and are not limited to functions of government. President Bush has called for half of those jobs to be opened up to competition in the private sector.
Not so fast. At first H1B visas will be used.
Can he sue for age discrimination?
And some fools, especially some fools on this forum, will think that the government is getting smaller...they apparently think that corporate America is going to do this work "for free".
And some fools, especially some fools on this forum, will think that the government is getting smaller...they apparently think that corporate America is going to do this work "for free".
You are so right. The very same people that will be putting together the "outsourcing" package will be retiring and setting up the companies that will be doing the jobs or becoming the VPs of current companies. It's a way for the top military brass and those connected to this scam to become millionaires. I live in Northern Virginia. I've lived here for over 30 years and the government built McLean and now the Dulles corridor with the private outsourcing businesses. Government is bigger than ever and we pay more for it -- believe me, I know. At government sites, you can tell the government workers from the contract personnel by the cars they drive. The contractors are the ones driving the newest, expensive models. A contractor and a govenrment worker can be doing the same job in the same office and the contractor is getting 50% more to do it.
You are so correct. I also work, or worked, in N. Virginia and D.C. for 25 years. I saw how the military officers who steered contracts to our company would be hired as VPs or Directors after they retired. I always thought of it as "deferred bribery". The "Beltway Bandits" are cluttered with these people. If the American people knew the level of corruption in Government contracting there would be hell to pay.
For many of them the military is an honourable alternative to welfare.
The Army has more people doing its payroll than all the Detroit automakers combined. This is one example of something that can be contracted out with no harm to the soldiery. In fact, ask any serving soldier -- his pay is more screwed up more often than if he was working at Burger King.
White has zero integrity and should be sent packing (along with the horrible Skinky). But in this instance he is dead right. Soldiers should be war fighters, not payroll shufflers.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
It's too in-your-face out in the open to be a "conspiracy".
But you are right, it is pathetic.
Wow, that's amazing. Most, if not all, union workers are patriotic Americans and we have nitwits like you who prefer supporting Communist Chinese over Americans...Some might call that being a traitor.
If it isn't already, that should be a conflict of interest, punishable by say...50 years? Though combined with prudent cuts in government spending, and outsourcing conditioned on its remaining in the US, I can't see how private enterprise undermines freedom. It's how our weapons and systems are produced. Costing and budgeting are certainly a factor, but the desire in this country to make money and the profit incentive are not crimes. Not yet, at least.
You are 100% correct about this. Why else do you think I call Bubba-2 and his RINO pals "Corporate Commies"?
The one thing you overlooked is the added bonus of doing this helps hide the fact that the all-volunteer military can NOT meet their recruiting goals,and once the firing really starts,it's going to be even worse. I wonder what the desertion rate will be if the guys who enlisted for support jobs like truck drivers and supply clerks suddenly find themselves being forced to be squad members in a infantry unit?
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