I was unaware of the government "GSing" contractor positions. That is insane. We should be doing the reverse. This is corrupt, Obama, third-world B.S., moving contractor billets to his preferred union GS positions.
If a position is highly specialized, such as managing specific skills training or maintaining a particular weapon system, it should be a contractor. If it is manages money, it should be GS.
I personally do not understand today why we have any Wage Grade wrench turners working in weapons system depots. Depot maintenance on a military airplane is no different from a D-Check in the civilian world. This support, along with all of the non-flying training, should be part of the overall contracts for the weapons system.
Tons of positions in the Air Force have gone from contractor to civil service because of the Dynacorp strike of 2009. When they went on strike, it completely shut down Vance and Sheppard Air Forces Bases and the Queen Bee facility at Randolph, pilot training came to a complete standstill, and it completely trashed the pilot training schedule. Contractors got themselves all but kicked out of there and they’ll never get it back.
Shoddy contractor maintenance caused an Edwards T-38 crash that killed the aircrew. This was a maintenance problem that had repeatedly been found by ORE inspections and at least one IG. I’ve had to deal with ass-hattery on F-16s and it’s maddening to be tasked with fixing what a contractor majorly screwed up (it’s commonly asked, “Where did all these gouges come from, and why does this part look like it’s been pounded with a steel hammer?” Especially on a structural part that has no maintenance and is nearly never touched).
Don’t even get me started on contractors.