Bemusing note from Lindy Kyzer, The Army Chief of Public Affairs "Blogwrangler."
The Army and bloggers are still sorting out our relationship - which is far more comfy and in some ways uncritical than the traditional media, while at the same time capable of biting the hand that feed us to the tune of many stitches because we have insider knowledge that will trip our BS sensors, too. It's an evolving thing, as we all try to figure out our roles without either side getting co-opted by the other.
So, Lindy sends us a note:
And I admit, my first thought was... "Oh, good golly gee, it must be a slow day at OCPA!" (Office of the Chief of Public Affairs). But, I gave the attached post a read, and, by golly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I frankly expected it to be - much better than some of the, erm, well, call it inapt stuff that Recruiting Command sometimes tries to entice us with. Note to RC - keep trying guys, you've been getting better, but you still don't quite understand blogs yet.
So, I decided to publish the provided post, as-submitted. Not only because I was impressed that Major Manning not only managed to make it readable, he actually got me interested in reading it through to the end - if only because, well, I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, didn't lose any money after two years in command and am frankly stunned that the SB22 switchboard (which the Arsenal actually has one of) which was on my father's property books and on mine... is still in the inventory. That's a long serving bit of kit, if apparently it soldiers on as a shambling geezer too stubborn to retire but who never gets out of the office to do anything... and I'm betting the Aged Warrior contingent around here will weigh in with some good stories, too.
Anyway - here you go, Lindy - a blog entry on the Property Accountability Task Force. Tell my fellow Redleg MG Bergner that you actually got people to run with this!
The Army and bloggers are still sorting out our relationship - which is far more comfy and in some ways uncritical than the traditional media, while at the same time capable of biting the hand that feed us to the tune of many stitches because we have insider knowledge that will trip our BS sensors, too. It's an evolving thing, as we all try to figure out our roles without either side getting co-opted by the other.
So, Lindy sends us a note:
Good afternoon!
As some of my favorite milblogs frequently read by our Soldiers, I wanted to ping you with the attached blog post submission from one of our PAOs working with the Army Property Accountability Task Force. It's not exactly a sexy topic (unless you're really into property accountability), but an important one for deploying Soldiers and particularly commanders, who will see changes in the way we deal with equipment and responsibility for that equipment.
Feel free to edit, select, and otherwise use and abuse this submission - or copy and paste it verbatim! Again, it's not exactly breaking news, but the folks at APA realize that you all are the perfect medium for information like this, and we think it could be useful to your readership.
And I admit, my first thought was... "Oh, good golly gee, it must be a slow day at OCPA!" (Office of the Chief of Public Affairs). But, I gave the attached post a read, and, by golly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I frankly expected it to be - much better than some of the, erm, well, call it inapt stuff that Recruiting Command sometimes tries to entice us with. Note to RC - keep trying guys, you've been getting better, but you still don't quite understand blogs yet.
So, I decided to publish the provided post, as-submitted. Not only because I was impressed that Major Manning not only managed to make it readable, he actually got me interested in reading it through to the end - if only because, well, I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, didn't lose any money after two years in command and am frankly stunned that the SB22 switchboard (which the Arsenal actually has one of) which was on my father's property books and on mine... is still in the inventory. That's a long serving bit of kit, if apparently it soldiers on as a shambling geezer too stubborn to retire but who never gets out of the office to do anything... and I'm betting the Aged Warrior contingent around here will weigh in with some good stories, too.
Anyway - here you go, Lindy - a blog entry on the Property Accountability Task Force. Tell my fellow Redleg MG Bergner that you actually got people to run with this!
Headquarters, Department of the Army has established a permanent Property Accountability Task Force (PATF) to take the pulse of Army property accountability and synchronize efforts to improvement the program. They are streamlining supply procedures to reduce the Soldier’s and Commander's workload, and to increase accountability for equipment. This Task Force is necessary and essential in this era of persistent conflict, with frequent deployments and the need to make sure our Soldiers have the equipment they need. As someone who has both deployment and command experience, my thoughts center on enforcement of the current initiatives of the Command Supply Discipline Program (CSDP), designed to preclude property accountability issues. I know how important our military blogging community is when it comes to reaching out to Soldiers with news and information, and I wanted the opportunity to talk directly with you – and our Soldiers in the field – through this blog post.
Simply put, our field commanders (Battalion and above) are not enforcing property accountability standards until changes of command, and that's a leadership issue that needs to be addressed by the next higher level(s) of command. Company level commanders can’t ignore their property accountability responsibilities. My experience is that commanders only inventory the 10% of their property that is required monthly, and those are sometimes pencil-whipped. Although the pace of operations, both deployed and in garrison, are fast for these young commanders property accountability must remain a priority that is emphasized and enforced from the top down. As a battalion operations officer I witnessed my battalion XO (Executive Officer) constantly having to enforce compliance with 10% inventories among the company level commanders. And the worst part is that we found out later through sworn statements gathered during FLIs (financial liability investigations) that Soldiers had lost stuff prior to these inventories but had "accounted for" that stuff. Sadly this was a systemic problem in my unit.
As I talked to company level commanders a constant concern is the Army’s needs to re-look the viability of our current (Military Table of Equipment) MTOE. Current operational needs have “purged” a lot of inventory that was just clearly outdated and non-mission relevant, but some of that equipment still remains. I’m reminded of one of my maneuver company commanders that had equipment on his property book that dated back to the Vietnam War era; this was in 2008. Some of this equipment was on my MTOE as an Infantry company commander in 1999, and they are items that he’ll never use in today's fight. One item that stands out is a switchboard telephone Manual: SB-22/PT, which is what operators used to connect calls when we actually had to run wire from position to position for communication. Clearly not necessary anymore but that company commander still had to account for it, in garrison and in combat. And because it is an MTOE item on his property book, he can't turn it in. Commanders at all levels are very busy and when they are forced to account for equipment that has no utility some will “finger drill” their inventories and not truly account for the item. It would be much easier to develop a system where we rely on our company level commanders to conduct a concerted effort to “purge” all unnecessary/outdated MTOE items from their property books; under the oversight of all levels of command and the supply/property system experts. Otherwise our company level commanders will continue accounting for outdated equipment that will eventually get lost somewhere in transition.
I believe that enforcing CSDP is essential. The existing Command Supply Discipline Program, according to AR 710-2, para 1-10, is designed to dictate a review of supply responsibilities by the command immediately superior to the unit or activity being inspected to determine compliance with Department of the Army regulatory guidance. Our young captains have grown up in a "combat environment" where they (in general) haven't been exposed to high CSDP standards... they've actually been forgiven for their losses in many cases; or they've adopted ingenious means to compensate for their lack of accountability discipline. For example, the IED attack that destroys a vehicle that is used as a "blank check" to compensate for lost equipment weeks or months after the actual loss. An example like this indicates that hand-receipt holders "understand" their responsibilities, but they aren't enforcing the regulatory systems in accordance with DA guidance (routine, post-operational, and scheduled inventories to determine accountability and serviceability of our equipment).
About the Blogger: MAJ Rob Manning is a former Infantryman with airborne, light and mechanized Infantry experience; He commanded a Rifle company and two Division HHCs and was the Chief of Operations for 3rd Infantry Division during OIF III, and a Battalion and Brigade Operations officer in OIF V; He is currently assigned to the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs.
"synchronize efforts to improvement the program" Hrumph.
That said, it made interesting reading - especially since when I was "on casual" with the HHD of a unit whose name ends in "Group" in 2003, I got to assist with a change of command inventory. Possibly because I actually knew where to find serial numbers on computers.
Short form: low 7 figure loss of accountability of equipment, much of it computer related. The unit had done a complete swap-out of PC's between deploying to A-stan and back and then to Iraq... and instead of taking the old ones off the books properly, they simply "disposed" of them. Possibly to homes, possibly to the local dumpster. Incoming company commander got to take an unscheduled trip to Baghdad in hopes of finding some of the missing stuff - which included a connex, among other things.
I ended up being the ad-hoc, untrained Supply Sergeant for the unit for a few weeks as well. Definitely taught me things about accountability - and the desirablity of having as much of your signed for stuff in one place as possible. They had stuff scattered in storage all over that base.
Actually, I can see a possible use for such items, maybe, in FOB defense, to give the towers hard wire comms to the BDOC.
I remember a story back in the 90s, one of our sister companies had a connex go MIA en route back from Bosnia. Amazingly, just about every item of property that anyone in the company couldn't account for just happened to be in that connex. (Did I mention that they hadn't done a proper bill of lading when they packed it?)
The real fun came about 4 months later when the connex suddenly appeared in the battalion motor pool.
I made the HHB commander gather an example of everything on the survey and demonstrate how it was stowed in the vehicle.
The survey underwent some changes.
He jettisoned Triple Nickle. From 2,000 feet.
Bottom line: the survey team chief asked our CO how the crew had managed to get off the ground initially, because he computed a weight-and-balance and figured 555 was a good three tons over max gross...
But that is trivial, compared to what units have to account for today. Leave stuff back at home station, fall in on transition equipment, combat losses, etc.
But MAJ Manning is looking for suggestions, right? The accountability issue seems to go back eons. And those on active duty now aren’t concerned with some missing camouflage net butterflies? Those who have been ‘down range’ (for real) are sure to have some common sense, highly valuable input to the major’s query?
however, i would note that the Blackhorse Mafia has rather evidently seized the organs of mass media communications, what with Bergner as the big cheese, and that honking big pony patch on the podium for that last post on the youngster (Specialist Erik Oropeza) getting the DSC.
Jay - I think the Major's intent is to use the blogs to expand the awareness of the task force - precisely to do what you are talking about - get the people fighting the problem to provide input in an effort to fix the problem.
Build a wiki, in a sense.
If that's true, then, you're right.
Having spent nearly a year at 5 knots in a 10 nm circle at a place in the Tonkin Gulf called NorthSAR with way too much time to do anything our quartermaster (marine navigators) gang calculated that the coffee cup layer on the bottom is two feet thick.
I can also personally attest to the fact that there is at least one butt kit on the bottom too. Capt. Jackson (a sailors sailor) said, "Quartermaster! There is a fire in the butt kit." Since neither he nor I smoked, and smoking on the bridge was not a good idea when he was present, I took the smoking butt kit out on the bridge wing and tossed it over the side. He grinned and pointed at the bracket which I promptly removed.
Why would you dump small arms into the water?
Also, is a butt kit like an ashtray?Unless of course they were direct impingement rifles...
MTOE used to mean Modified Table of Organization and Equipment.
Modified meaning different, and Organization meaning personnel, which is what allowed a young SP/5 to have an E-6 slot set up for him back in the day when you had to have a slot to get promoted into or even be boarded...........
So many stories........so little time
infestedinhabited by swans. One guy decided to lean over the rail on the brow to look at a swan when the shotgun that was slung over his shoulder slipped off and went in the water.One guy was on the brow, leaning over the rail to look at a swan that was swimming underneath (probably about to bomb it with a pitcher of red bug juice, we hated those things) when his shotgun slipped off his shoulder and into the drink.