USAF Counter-Terror Funds Buy "Comfort Capsules" 429
An anonymous reader writes "The Washington Post reports, 'The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world ... Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror.' Congress told the USAF twice that they could not spend the money on this frivolous project, but they did it anyway."
How? (Score:5, Interesting)
How does this happen?
Who's actually in charge of how they spend it? Is it not Congress?
If Congress says no, is this a "we think that's frivolous, bad dog, no biscuit", is it a "you will be breaking the law", or are congressional meetings about this stuff just for fits and giggles?
--Q
Re:Smells Hammy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:How is this News For Nerds? (Score:3, Interesting)
I agree with both of you, to be honest. It's hugely important that government and military, or indeed any expense paid for with tax-payers' cash, is highlighted and examined. Particularly when that expenditure was for something so pointless. Generals want nice, comfortable quarters on a plane? Fair enough, make the military planes comfortable for everyone, don't buy a 'pod' that's presumably removable (I haven't RTFAd) so's they don't have to share it with the commoners. I have this strange notion that the senior people in any organisation should lead by example, rather than seek luxury for themselves regardless of cost, while moaning that standards in the young 'uns have deteriorated.
I also agree with the GP that, really, this isn't news for nerds. Yes it matters, but it matters to everyone in the country in which the expenses were paid, not just nerds and geeks. This should be more for CNN or the BBC news, surely?
Congress has control over spending (Score:4, Interesting)
Congress has full control over spending. "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." - U.S. Constitution, Article 1, section 7.
Congress can exercise detailed control over spending when they so choose. Sometimes bills will contain language like "No federal funds shall be expended upon...", and that's binding on the executive branch. It's not unusual for Congress to explicitly turn off some project in this way.
Re:Congress told them? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:huh? (Score:5, Interesting)
Sad note, the older men get, the more sensitive their testicles get to pressure, and the more their mass drops into the part of the abdomen constricted by a belt. Business slacks become pretty uncomfortable for long periods of sitting. I'm 48, and I can already see where things are headed.
Just something for you to look forward to (assuming you're male).
Re:USAF... (Score:2, Interesting)
Seeing an insightful mod on the parent made me want have to reply... mods should stop and think about what the author is saying, so that they don't mod up false posts and make people believe crazy things.
O-clubs come before a golf course because the Officer clubs is usually a required component of a military golf course. However, this has nothing to do with delaying the runway or necessary operations. MWR is alotted a certain portion of the budget to build Morale, Welfare, and Recreation centers and to fund certain activities for the benefit and entertainment of military personnel. While the Air Force may allot a certain amount more MWR money than other services, it most certainly does not due so to the detriment of vital operations, necessary runways, and so forth.
Tax money (Score:-1, Interesting)
I don't want to spend my tax money making you feel like a billionaire. Buy something off the shelf that gets the job done. Even billionaires have enough sense to avoid a $64,000 seat color change.
You behavior can also cause a moral problem. People risking their lives following your orders might start to question your dedication and judgment. In short, this is a screw up that's going to embarrass everyone involved.
Re:huh? (Score:5, Interesting)
...and certain civilians, like maybe Senators. No one in Congress or the Air Force brass is loosing any sleep over this. They just have stall until the next affront to the average tax paying citizen overshadows this one. Then the media/public pressure is off and the can go enjoy their fancy new hotel-room-in-a-plane. Trying to get any accountability out of today's government requires that you let ten offenses slide by, just you can finish addressing one offense. Good luck with that in today's ADD-like, sound bite ridden, OMG Amy Winehouse is a post-op transvestite!!11!
What were we upset about again?
Re:RTFA mate? (Score:1, Interesting)
Imagine taking a mobile home [carrick.gov.uk], having some guy who hardly deserves the rank of general, doing some interior design with highly padded funding, and sliding it into a C-141 or C-5.
Re:huh? (Score:4, Interesting)
No kidding. When I was in the army (early 80's) we flew on an air force C-130 from Frankfurt to Crete.
The 'seats' were just web straps.
The 'facilities' was a small, rectangular urinal (I assume it just flowed to the outside).
I'm not sure what you are supposed to do if you need to take a crap on a long, slow flight.
Has that improved any recently? It just seems like common sense to have a real bathroom. At the very least you don't want the pilot distracted by a large load he can't dump.
so ? (Score:3, Interesting)
barack obama, is a very high chance, your next president. EVEN if he is not, he is practically the top democrat in the nation, and therefore can probably replace any other democrat in their duties, being the leader of the party that holds the majority in the congress.
you better be funding his trips with taxpayer money. you didnt do it with the last president, and he has made a fool of himself with his ignorance, and a mess of the world.
The USAF used to use an Airstream trailer (Score:3, Interesting)
The previous VIP container, called "Silver Bullet" [typepad.com], actually was an Airstream trailer, minus the wheels and with an aircraft pallet base added. The new "Steel Eagle" [pogoarchives.org] thing was designed based on an aircraft-qualified shelter module, which is basically an empty metal box on a pallet base. Then the USAF had to engineer an aircraft interior into the box, with lighting, HVAC, comms, and furnishings. It was a tight fit (the Airstream was bigger) and much custom engineering was required to cram everything in.
Looking at the pictures, one can see how the project got out of hand. They're doing the engineering required for an aircraft interior, but only building two or three units. There are companies that do luxury private aircraft interiors [cabininnovations.com], and they would have had this done years ago at a lower cost, but the USAF apparently did this in-house, which ran up the costs.
Re:RTFA mate? (Score:2, Interesting)
What's flamebait about it? The money was stolen. They were not authorized to spend it that way. And look at his bio [af.mil]. What has he done to deserve the promotion? He's a bureaucrat. Does being "chief" bureaucrat qualify you for all that? Puleeze! Part of the problem with today's military, beyond the lowered standards for getting in, is the ease that you can be promoted for kissing ass.
Re:The Only Reason Congress... (Score:2, Interesting)
This isn't for those guys this is for
for use by four-star generals, fleet admirals and federal officials at the level of assistant secretary and above.
; You honestly don't think they are going to ferry Obama for 36 hours inside on of these C-17 Globemaster III [wikimedia.org] sitting on nylon webbing seats and staring at palletized cargo in the center isle.
Re:Actually, this really could be legitimate... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Actually, this really could be legitimate... (Score:3, Interesting)
Depends what the use profile is. If they're setting these things up with sofas, they may be designed for more than one person, in which case 37" would be helpful for collaboration, since they probably are not going to also have conference room pods.
Re:Actually, this really could be legitimate... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Actually, this really could be legitimate... (Score:3, Interesting)
The cost/silliness is really the issue.
The same goal for seating pallets could have been accomplished by modding heavy-duty pallets with reclining airliner seats and other accessories, and it could have been done "local manufacture" by any major AFB Fabrication flight.
AAR Corp make most of the containers used for USAF air transport, and could have easily whipped up a "capsule" based on existing ISU container designs. It is basic fabrication, not brain surgery.