The Navy – and no doubt the other services – has grown addicted over the last several years to off-budget spending for routine operations, either through so-called “cost of war” accounts or mid-year supplementals to annual budgets. This has allowed us to steam our diminishing number of ships and fly our varied assortment of aircraft at unsustainable rates, while keeping the short term cost of doing so largely out of the public view.
In recent weeks, Navy officials have instituted a series of austerity measures to reduce costs or postpone them until the next fiscal year, which begins Oct 1. The expense trimming includes:
Cutting at-sea time for nondeployed ships by about one-third and decreasing flight hours for carrier air wings by an unspecified amount.
Some of the steps are designed to help close a projected $417 million shortage in ship maintenance funds this year. Military and congressional sources said the shortfall occurred because maintenance money for Navy surface ships hasn’t kept pace with a 19 percent increase in those ships’ operations since 2002.
It doesn’t help when cruisers go aground off Hawaii, bringing unforecast $163 million repair bills with them when they finally get tugged off.
Cutting flying hours, eliminating bonuses and delaying PCS transfers is bad for morale, but it’s also time-honored behavior, especially when the economy weakens: Senior leadership can take the risk that sailors won’t vote with their feet when unemployment rates are tickling double digits.
But kicking PCS moves and ship maintenance into a new fiscal year merely moves a huge bow wave of costs into a year that will undoubtedly have challenges of its own, and anyway there’s only so much work that can be pushed to a skilled industrial workforce of finite capacity. And shipyard repair work – especially corrosion work – does not go away while maintenance is deferred. If anything, it multiplies. See also; ex-USS John F. Kennedy.
Politicians, for reasons of their own, are lambasting the services:
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has crusaded this spring against the Navy’s strategy of using supplemental money to pay for its most basic needs, and President Barack Obama has said he wants to stop the practice throughout the military by next year.
“The Navy’s reliance on emergency defense supplemental appropriations to fund routine ship maintenance in recent years begs for re-examination,” Webb wrote on his Web site. “Such funding should be included in the core budget, and it should be protected.”
What the Virginia senator is trying to protect is shipyard jobs in Norfolk it seems to me, while the president wants to get all of the budget on the table so he can trim it more efficiently. In favor, you know: Of higher priority issues.
A little here, a little there. It all adds up.
We’ve been through this before, after the Cold War. From an operator’s point of view, it looked like rows $40 million dollar fighters cocooned in Type 1 preservation because there wasn’t the money to operate them, and expensively trained combat aviators twiddling their thumbs and dreaming of airline jobs. We surged parts and people forward to the tip of the spear, leaving empty hulks and too much work for those left behind in the readiness “bathtub.” Clawing our way out of that bathtub for forward deployment was expensive, back-breaking work.
Back then we called it a “peace dividend.”
I’m not sure what you’d call it now.
Maybe it’s called whatever it was called during the Carter years?
Is there no more joy in Mudville? Filling out unfunded requests were a lot of fun…
This yardbird will tell you that the money for ship repair is desperately needed. I see a lot of stuff that gets “deferred” because the money is not in the budget. This silliness merely causes the repair to much more expensive when the money does become available. I even told a CO that he needed to think about the repairs I recommened that he should think of it in terms of “It’s like the oil filter commercial, sir, you can pay us a little now, or us or somebody a lot later, your call”. He thought about it, and decided that the work had to be done, and shook the bushes to get the money. And I’m not talking about a small job, it was underwater hull stuff, the kind that lets the wet stuff into the dry space.
Bryon,
Do you see any programs in the shipyard that are beyond belief, money holes with no value?
Curious mind wants to know.
v/r jug
You mean stupid expenditures? No, not really. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen anything objectionable at Mayport, at least not to my knowledge. Then again, I don’t need bino’s to see the bottom of the totem pole, either
The absolute living truth is that work is being deferred. This impacts not only reliability of the ships themselves, but also maintaining a stable workforce. Remember, any time we have to dip into the temp pool, the “road riders”, there’s a dip in quality that we have to keep a close eye on. Concurrent with that, is constant efficiency of the work force.
That crackling sound you hear isn’t someone walking on leaves, or fried chicken, it’s the slow and sure death of OUR ships to corrosion.
And I’d be willing to bet the same is true of aircraft and maintainence.
When we recv’d our fuel money allocation for the quarter we knew in advance that we’d blow through that in about a month of operational flying. I always got a chuckle knowing we would get the money we needed to keep flying from the COW (Cost Of War augment). Still makes me think of “How’s the cow?”
Billions for ACORN despite multiple criminal felony charges/convictions for voter fraud, hundreds of thousands to cruise gay bars in Buenos Aires …money–lots and lots of it– being thrown virtually anywhere and everywhere for anything and everything but NOO000ooo, not the armed forces, slash them.
May start talking to Demon Rum early today–hell, it’s 9:10 am here, I’m behind schedule if I want to pass out by noon….unless I can feneagle some of those federal dollars to cruise the gay bars out here in Venice and and stay conscious long enough to swill mass quantities on the Fed’s tab… And when I get back to NO? Man-oh-man, got enough gay bars in the Quarter to work up a helluva grant proposal for federal funds–I’ll emphasize all the money they’ll save on plane tickets to Argentina and the per diem in Buenos Aires…a winner for sure. If Obama won’t pay for any JP-4 (I guess JP-5 for you Navy types) let him pay for MY
personal “jet fuel.”
Virgil X: Dittos on the Acorn abomination…..but where does the “gay bars in Buenos Aires” come from? Seems I’m missing something that might be fun to throw at my “progressive friends”. (BTW: In my book anyone who uses the term ‘progressive’ to describe themselves sure does so – but not in the manner they might expect.)
Steve -
Check Lex’s link to “higher priority issues” for the information you seek for your progressive friends.
Ok. I read the link. Where’s Tom Hanks when we need his one of a kind: “Oh come onnnn!”
Guys, and ladies, there’s riches waiting for us IF ONLY we can swallow our pride, principles, and guffaws long enough to write some really stupid, I mean ‘important’ grant requests. $400,000 to cruise gay bars….to research why gay men engage in sex after drinking? Let’s have a show of hands and suggested answers to this earth shattering issue. I bet a round of that nasty stuff Lex drinks that our answers will 100% mirror what that $400K is going to buy the US government.
All too believable from our government. Awfully hard to respect that stuff.
As opposed to faith-based healing, as researched under the previous administration?
A certain amount of government money – especially in a national budget whose construction involves so many disparate, powerful influences and many billions of dollars – will always go to ridiculous uses.
If some dolt didn’t write the rules to exclude applications for a study of “behavioural elements of homosexual alcohol-imbibement in Latin America” on the basis of relevance, well, odds are some other dolt will write an application to study same on your dime… and that application just might be the least ridiculous thing to come in.
Heck, we are already approaching over 2 million in BCM’s for AVDLR in my Wing with no relief in sight. It’s only a matter of time before we start picking hangar queens again to sustain IDRC requirements. I’ve had a 66% cut in AFM and AVDLR. Heck, what we have given to the Palestinian’s could’ve a gone a long way back here at home.
“I’m not sure what you’d call it now.”
How’s “stupidity” suit you?
SteveC, it’s all over the internet news sites about a Federal Grant to study the Gay Caballeros in Buenos Aires. Some $400K to cruise 6 gay bars in BA. Gay bars must be really pricey in BA.
Virgil, surely there are 6 gay bars in NO.
JP4 ended and JP5 came in during the 80s. Those of us who can remember JP4 are simply showing our age.
Just keep your mind on Michelle and it will all work out alright. Just what are you doing in Cali, anyway? Michelle is on the east coast.
QM/
SIX???? You ought to check out the “Southern Decadence” website–the “Gay Mardis Gras” with gays from all over the nation and the world held in NO every 2-7 Sept. @
http://www.southerndecadence.net
As the web site notes, we get well over 100,000+ in town for that alone–not counting permanent party, of course, which, if you hadn’t guessed, is substantial.
So, when are you going to submit your $400K grant application?
Be sure to wear an A-2 with Michelle in a Bikini on the back.
It’s JP-8 these days.
And this sort of stunt is called INSANE.
JP*? I’m 3 off. I guess I’m getting to be as old a geezer as Virgil. Le’s keep this between you and me. How ’bout Mike?
Whoever said the Dems were sane? Alas, it seems the Reps are going back down the same drain they managed to haul themselves out of in 1980.
I’ve told the young’ins it’ll be like the 70s, but without disco music. If we’re lucky.
Oh, no. This time, we get the Iranian Terrorist Nuke instead of the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
One of the more interesting things is that given the demographics of the force (skewed heavily into the junior folks) many folks currently serving have never seen this before.
I’m briefing my JO’s and Sailors that this will be trough #3 in the sine waves that I’ve seen. Many of them simply don’t know what to make of it– advancements down, SRB’s down or gone entirely, planes in aluminum foil, etc.
I basically tell them we’ve been through it before, and that this too shall pass. In the mean time, we all need to keep our heads on a swivel and be as safe as we can be on 40% of the flight time we were getting last year. I also tell ‘em to keep an eye on that new GI Bill benefit. I honestly think it may just be too good to last–
Best,
Sluf
…maybe instead of peace dividend it’s a “hope future option”?
Have to stick my nose in here about this. I joined Uncle Sam’s Aero Club back in 1974. Assigned to Edwards AFB, CA to maintain the country’s leading edge in technology. Not hardly. Worked on a C131E (the latest!) until they were sent to aluminum heaven in Tucson. Got assigned to an outfit with 2 of America’s finest, the O-2A. But I learned. Do whatever you had to do; but don’t make the Colonel look bad. 1980-Iceland. 12 F-4E’s. Nobody loves you; Hell most can’t find it on a map; with help! (Got to stick in props for the Navy guys there. Even less respect, the deck didn’t move!) Airplane rolls into the hanger for an inspection and a flock of vultures devour it. All to make a failed policy of budget cuts appear to work. It doesn’t work regardless of the branch. Maintenance put off now will cost more in the future. Long post from an old man (Sorry, Lex) but lower apppropriations in defence look good, to Liberals, in the short run, but we’ll all pay later.
Regards,
Tom
P.S. The Tridenttom1 comes from owning a cantankerous old British motor cycle, that continues to amuse me to this day.
So.
When do the DRIFTEXs start?
Ships pierside cost more than ships drifting DIW at sea.
Yeah, I know, this dates me a bit…
Driftex? Off the VaCapes? As in anchor off Va Beach so the CO can motor in for a party with a hand select group leaving a couple thou other unfortunates looking at the city lights wondering what the h-e–hockey sticks we we doing in this god forsaken yacht club.
At sea time comes in many forms, pleasant and unpleasant. I just pray that “driftex” time doesn’t become “sinkex” time because training time was forfeited on the alter of the Won’s payback to his supporters.
$400,000 to study gay risky sex behavior? I’d vote for $40 million so that we can keep them drunk and engaged in risky sex behavior instead of promoting their agenda to eliminate DADT. Then we cancel Gates check to the Pakis for $400 million and we ain’t lookin too bad.
Those older than 40 have seen it before – we cut flight hrs, and inevitably suffer a Class A mishap that costs more than the savings of cutting flight hours. Those with HISS (head in sand syndrome) that all too often populates DC never learn the hard lessons. I feel lucky to have weathered 22 years and almost 5500 tax payer funded flight hours. But I’ve also been in a squadron with 13 bare firewalls. you can only do so much NATOPS trivia or simulator flying before the proficiency, but more importantly, the genuine enthusiasm wanes.
VX-crank up the barco-jet. That flight time is gonna increase whilst manned flt hrs decreases. I bet the dronies don’t have an AVDLR shortfall.
G-man/
Sitting here reading your missive, it suddenly dawned on me–an epiffeny, even–about what these budget cuts really mean. Yes, I’ve figured it all out. You see, these cuts are but a sly toe in the water prior to doing away with all manned TACAIR by elim. a Navy carrier and the AF F-22s. It’s all in preparation for the final, ultimate budget cut. Think of the money saved!! No FOBs for the Air Force in foreign climes with $ for schools for snot-nosed dependent children and whiny wives shopping at Big BXs–and huge water bills for golf courses. And with no Navy carriers no multi-billion-dollar construction costs (and also no ASW budget ’cause the bad guys won’t have anything for their subs to sink!) and no fleet of supply and suppport ships and their equally expensive crews. It ALL, ALL of it can be done from a barco in Nevada! The Air Force will ultimately rule the UAV world! (well, except for those piss-ante Dragon-fly sized drones we’ll allow the Army to have) We’ve already got the main fort in Nevada! You Navy Dudes that have been calling for the elimination of the Air Force? Remember, the Senate Majority leader in Obama-world is from Nevada! And the Navy doesn’t have any barcos at Fallon!
BWAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAhahahaha!!!!!!
“ALL YOUR UAVs ARE BELONG TO US!”
(Now I realize that you will probably think I’ve been hittin’ the demon rum too early, G-man, but seriously, politicians can rationalize ANYTHING when they don’t want to spend money on defense in favor of the wimmin & chillren’s SSI support payments. Do you remember when the British left-wing Labour govts of the late 60s-early 70s were down-sizing the Royal Navy and pulling out of Far East and Mid-East ports? They tried to explain away the dilemma of how they were going to cover their still-standing treaty obligations and bi-lateral agreements in those areas by saying that they would buy a slew of F-111s whose long-range would make up for lack of carriers and FOBs–”And think of all the money we’ll save!” That ruse mollified/fooled enough MPs long enough to get their votes to scuttle the Navy–then they reneged and didn’t buy the 111s. And you think Obama , Reid and Pelosi can’t talk themselves into believing that UAVs can handle ALL TACAIR jobs so that the money saved can be given to ACORN? As Daffy would say: “Ha Ha, It is to Laff!”)
Do Air Force Barcos have cup-holders?
I’ve just had cataract surgery on both eyes and my vision is back to that of a 22 yr old. I’m ready, I tell ya, I’m ready.
PS: Does the AF have an “electronic commute” work-from-home UAV policy?
PPS: ‘Course my barco-jet time just might cut into my Gay-bar booze swillin’ research time. But as long as the feds fund both, it’s all good, right?
Virgil, true story: back about 79, me and the ex-wife, She Who Must Not Be Named were walking around the Quarter sightseeing. She’d never been there, so we went there for vacation. We were just wandering and ended up on Bourbon St. walking towards Esplande. I heard a loud wolf-whistle behind me, and turned around, looking for that SOB who dared to whistle at my (ex)wife. To me huge embarrasment, I saw four sweet young men up on a balcony across the street. That’s when I realized that I was in the wrong end of the Quarter, and they weren’t whistling at my (ex)wife!!!
Virgil, it looks like Byron just killed your research project. Looks he “da man” to carry it out, having superior credentials and all.
They would have suspected something was amiss when they saw the pic of Michelle on the back of the A-2 anyway.
CDR M,
“Let them eat trainers”
It’s almost real in the sim, ain’t it M? I just love that Shoe leadership gives the USN this bit of reality and all the Brown Shoe leaders up and down the foodchain on the Tailhook Association and ANA boards buy into it….Un-friggin-real.
$400K for the queer Argie study is really about 1.5 a govmint funded job to stimulate the economy! That is exactly how “they” ‘reason’ this out. They count that 1.5 as 1.5 votes, for them. Simple.
Re AFM and AVDLR. My advice would be throttle back and don’t turn anything on you don’t need operating…LOL (cynically).
BTW, Lex’s analogy to the hollow force syndrome of the late 70’s early 80’s ain’t even close to being as fundamentally broken as we are right now. I was there then and I see it now. We’ve lean-sixed and buffooned our way to a much worse situation today. At least we had numbers of fighters cocooned back then… Now, we’re operating in the deficit he notes without owning enough “stuff” or the right stuff. Bad ju-ju all around. In a way we’re sorta lucky our persistent Islamofacsist enemy only has RPG’s, AK-47’s and IEDs. Things can and someday, WILL be worse if’n we don’t get our act together. Fat chance anytime soon though…
b2
b2/
“It’s almost real in the sim, ain’t it, M?” LOL!!! How true, how true! And double roger that on the “fat chance” bit. We’re in deep, deep kimchi now–in really deep serious, IMHO. Only with the force shrinkage and the passage of years, pretty soon there will be nobody left alive–or too damned few to make a difference–to have a comparative memory and realize how seriously far down we’ve let the whole thing slip…
Some of this the Navy brought on itself. It is easy to blame the current administration-but a lot of this is about allocating money where it should go, instead of where it should not. And the Navy is in total control of that.
When it comes to PCS money and TAD dollars-the Navy is penny wise and pound foolish. It has been that way since a long time before Obama showed up. Don’t forget a lot of those hulks in preservation were because we were stupid in how we bought parts-and about how we scheduled flight hours.
The Navy isn’t in total control of their money. Congress has a lot to say in the matter, and significant changes have to go back before the congresscritters.
The rest is kosher.
VX
CBS 60 minutes had a pretty good article last night on the drones in Nevada.
Cue up the funeral dirge for the death of manned TACAIR.
VFA-squadrons back from deployment barely have enough $ to fly aircraft enough to keep them from having to do a Pro A every flight… even ground MX turns need to be watched for the fuel costs…
All this savings is going to be great until a nugget with 1.2 hours in the past 120 days chucks one into the dirt at the cost of oh, $60-70 million.