I guess we aren't leaving for a LONG, LONG TIME, huh?
"Army adding 5 generals to oversee purchasing, contractors; White House reverses stance after appeal" by Richard Lardner, Associated Press | July 3, 2008
WASHINGTON - The White House has done an about-face and given the Army permission to add five new generals who would oversee purchasing and monitor contractor performance.
In early May, the Army was told by the Office of Management and Budget, President Bush's administrative arm, that it already had enough generals, and rejected the plan to increase the numbers in its upper ranks.
But service officials, working to improve a much-criticized contracting system, successfully appealed that decision. They argued that reinforcements were needed to deal with the heavy demands on the existing leadership created by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army has more than 300 full-time generals. Adding five would generate $1.2 million per year in personnel costs. Senior officers are needed to make sure that past mistakes are not repeated, the panel said. Having generals in contracting jobs also will build the talent pool by showing junior soldiers that contracting is a promising career path.
Adding a brigadier general to the ranks costs roughly $217,000 a year in pay, benefits, and retirement contributions; a major general costs $261,000 annually. Congress is expected to approve the Army's plan for more generals.
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Plenty of job openings, too, from what I hear:
"Pentagon's top investigator to resign after a year on job" by Richard Lardner, Associated Press | July 3, 2008
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's inspector general is resigning after just over a year in the job and at a time when defense spending has skyrocketed but personnel shortfalls in the oversight office have strained its ability to probe allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Claude Kicklighter's departure marks yet another shift in leadership at this key Pentagon office. In September 2005, Joseph Schmitz resigned to be chief operating officer and general counsel for Prince Group, which owns security contractor Blackwater Worldwide. Schmitz's more than three-year tenure as Pentagon inspector general was marred by allegations he improperly interfered with two ongoing investigations to protect senior Bush administration officials.
An independent inquiry later cleared Schmitz of any wrongdoing. The office estimated that nearly half of the military's $316 billion weapons budget went unchecked last year because the inspector general's office lacked the personnel.
The inspector general's office also has been stretching its staff to investigate corruption and fraud cases overseas, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of contractors have been hired to help run operations.
You DON'T MIND being RIPPED OFF, do you, Americans?
