Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
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Now, here's a fun vehicle to run across while out driving in the back of beyond... with a "driving school" placard, no less!
The Armorer wouldn't mind having one of these out at the Castle...
Speaking of military traffic on the roads... sometimes rush hour gets a bit hectic...
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I understand where American Airlines is coming from - but this issue is being handled clumsily by both the airline and the DoD.
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Murray confesses to a crime... and perhaps more disturbingly, is on television, talking about witchcraft... (link is video from New Zealand, takes a while to get it to wend it's way through all that stuff coming from the Olympics...) -the Armorer
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Now, here's a fun vehicle to run across while out driving in the back of beyond... with a "driving school" placard, no less!
The Armorer wouldn't mind having one of these out at the Castle...
Speaking of military traffic on the roads... sometimes rush hour gets a bit hectic...
-the ArmorerAn F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 102 launches from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk for the last time in Pacific Ocean, Aug 6, 2008. Carrier Air Wing 5 aircraft flew off Kitty Hawk to join the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington in San Diego. In September, George Washington will replace Kitty Hawk as the Navy's only carrier operating from Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle D. Gahlau
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I understand where American Airlines is coming from - but this issue is being handled clumsily by both the airline and the DoD.
As always - you should click the link and read the whole thing. H/t, Kevin. -the ArmorerAmerican Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.
American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.
"Because the soldiers don't pay a dime, our waiver of the fees amounts to a discount to the military, not a discount to soldiers," said Tim Wagner, spokesman for American Airlines. "Soldiers should not have to pay a penny of it."
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Murray confesses to a crime... and perhaps more disturbingly, is on television, talking about witchcraft... (link is video from New Zealand, takes a while to get it to wend it's way through all that stuff coming from the Olympics...) -the Armorer
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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&amp;I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change.Anyway, I call the post H&amp;I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.<br />
Saw those frequently when I was stationed there in the late 90s.
Not unless there's a paragraph on their orders stating explicitly that excess baggage is authorized. If it's not there, they have to request amended orders after the fact, then wait for those orders to be cut and distributed before they can apply for reimbursement. And if they have a lazy personnel section, they may wait for six months before they get reimbursed.
When we moved from Campbell to here, we did so with 10 bags - 2 suitcases each plus 2 of MacGyver's flight bags - in addition to car seats, carry ons, and personal items (diaper bag, laptop, etc.). To do that now would cost us hundreds of dollars out of pocket that I could never be sure we'd get back. OUCH.
You guys have very generous baggage allowances in the first place if the article is correct.
It's always been a military admin issue, but now it's compounded by the airlines changing the rules in mid-game. When I went to Pakistan, I had two (full) flight bags, two (full) helmet bags (carry-on) and a laptop 'puter bag for a 90-day training gig. On the return trip, I had less luggage because I'd transferred one packed flight bag and both helmet bags (one with helmet) to the Pak squadron I was working with -- and got banged with a hundred buck overweight charge because the carrier had reduced the luggage weight authorization.
For my current sojourn, we were told at CRC that our baggage allowance covered two sixty-pound dufflebags and two carry-ons. Next day, I got banged for an overweight charge because my two sixty-pound dufflebags exceeded the weight limitation by twenty pounds -- the new limit had been instituted that morning, with no previous announcement.
I expensed both times, and both times my company reimbursed without a peep, because I'd asked to have the excess baggage authorization paragraph inserted on my travel orders *before* they were issued...
Everything the Army does for / to a Soldier is optional, except for two things -- they've gotta feed you and they've gotta pay you.
Sorry, Maggs - I think the military should be more adaptable. And getting timely reimbursement while inside the box is very dependent on where you go and what kind of relationship your unit has with the infrastructure - and your relationship with the unit to which you are assigned (thinking individual augmentees here.). And your rank. I now how to make bureaucrats in uniform do what needs doing. Young soldiers don't. Nor, oft times, do their Sergeants.
Of course, your attitude is shared by middle-to-senior leadership, which is a part of the problem.
CBT - we use commercial carriers to move troops because it frees up the cargo lifters to lift cargo - and is cheaper, as well. Military aircraft operation costs exceed commercial air. The strat airlifting fleet is fully taxed supporting the war.
As it stands right now, the airlines don't care - they just want to clear their bottom line (and rightfully so) and the DoD doesn't care because it's the servicemember and their family bearing the brunt of the expense.