Bad Day at the Pentagon? It Could be Worse.

SWJED · 07-13-2008

Bad Day at the Pentagon? It Could be Worse. - SWJ Blog.

Quote:

One could argue, quite reasonably, that there is much to improve in regards to civil-military relations within the US Government and, in particular, the US Department of Defense. For those who work for or with the Pentagon bureaucracy and despair at the seemingly endless red-tape and inane processes - take heart - things could be worse. This is evidenced in a recent Standpoint opinion piece entitled The MoD – Unfit for Purpose – by Anonymous. Based on several e-mails received by SWJ we are quite confident that Anonymous is who he says he is – a military officer who has worked several years at the UK Ministry of Defence. Here are several excerpts – have a stiff drink before reading the entire article at the link and be sure to peruse the comments that follow…

Norfolk · 07-13-2008

If he thinks things at MoD are desperate now, he should take a gander at DND; the same sort of thing has been in full swing there since at least the 70's, if not the late '60's. And oooh, did things get interesting.

Trust me. It gets worse.

Edited to Add:

Does MoD have a civilian at each hierarchical level starting at Director/LtCol. level, with the civilian having authority over his military counterpart, yet?

Fuchs · 07-14-2008

I don't know how well the German ministry of defense works (I dislike certain aspects of its work, but I'm a notorious skeptic anyway).

Quote:

Derzeit sind im Bundesministerium der Verteidigung rund 3.230 Dienstposten (Arbeitplätze) eingerichtet, davon:

* ca. 1.210 Dienstposten für Soldatinnen und Soldaten,
* ca. 1.370 Dienstposten für Beamtinnen und Beamte sowie
* ca. 650 Dienstposten für Arbeitnehmer (Angestellte und Arbeiter/-innen).

3,230 people in the ministry:
1,210 uniformed
1,370 public servants (cannot strike, cannot be fired, loyalty oath, comparable situation as with police - but civilian)
650 other employees

William F. Owen · 07-14-2008

Well in the UK the military are partly to blame for this by buying into all the traps the Civil Servants set and going along with all the "Effects" and "Capability" stuff that was set out by folks who had never done a day in uniform.

...and if you want a real disgrace, then look at FRES.

Fuchs · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by William F. Owen

...and if you want a real disgrace, then look at FRES.

Pfft, you Brits think so small.

GTK/Boxer !

07-13-2008	#2
Norfolk Council Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 715	If he thinks things at MoD are desperate now, he should take a gander at DND; the same sort of thing has been in full swing there since at least the 70's, if not the late '60's. And oooh, did things get interesting. Trust me. It gets worse. Edited to Add: Does MoD have a civilian at each hierarchical level starting at Director/LtCol. level, with the civilian having authority over his military counterpart, yet? Last edited by Norfolk; 07-13-2008 at 09:50 PM.

07-14-2008	#4
William F. Owen Council Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The State of Partachia, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Posts: 3,947	Well in the UK the military are partly to blame for this by buying into all the traps the Civil Servants set and going along with all the "Effects" and "Capability" stuff that was set out by folks who had never done a day in uniform. ...and if you want a real disgrace, then look at FRES. __________________ Infinity Journal "I don't care if this works in practice. I want to see it work in theory!" - The job of the British Army out here is to kill or capture Communist Terrorists in Malaya. - If we can double the ratio of kills per contact, we will soon put an end to the shooting in Malaya. Sir Gerald Templer, foreword to the "Conduct of Anti-Terrorist Operations in Malaya," 1958 Edition

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode