(Air Force) Audit: Millions spent on unjustified moves

[unhappycamper]

Audit: Millions spent on unjustified moves
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Aug 1, 2010 11:56:14 EDT

The Air Force needs to get more airmen to extend their overseas tours and make sure all airmen assigned to the U.S. stay at a base for at least four years, according to an internal audit that found the service spent $14 million in one year on “unjustified” permanent change-of-station moves.

The high price tag of the moves triggered the audit. In fiscal 2008, for example, the Air Force paid slightly more than $1 billion to relocate about 145,500 active-duty airmen and their families, $14 million more than it would have if it had implemented initiatives establishing a 48-month minimum time on station, requiring airmen overseas to complete their tours and encouraging them to stay even longer as long as it wouldn’t hurt their careers. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, then the Air Force Chief of Staff, called for the initiatives explicitly to reduce PCS expenses.

Auditors found Air Force personnel “did not consistently comply” with the initiatives. Nearly a quarter of airmen moved before completing their 48-month minimum time on station or overseas tour requirement “without adequate justification,” according to the report.

The Air Force wants to hold down PCS expenses but does not consider the moves “unjustified,” a personnel official told Air Force Times.

“All the people who PCS do so to fill valid mission needs,” said Lt. Col. Edwin Caro, chief of assignments, joint officer management and classification policy at Air Force A1. “If they didn’t go, there would have been another person who’d have to go.”

[Obamanaut]

1. Close the more than 700 sites (sizes varying from small to large) in

the 30+ countries they are in, and that would save a butt load of money.

Spread the returning personnel and their families among the downsized bases around the US to give an immediate boost to the local economies.

Reduce to overall force via normal attrition and reduced recruiting efforts.

Let Department of Defense actually be for defense and not policemen to the world.

[county worker]

2. I'm buying a house from an airman who had a PCS.

He bought the house in 2005 for $510,000. He still owes close to that. I am buying it for $354,000. There is a program for military who have a PCS and owe more than they can sell the house for. It is called the Home Owner's Assistance Program. HAP was started during the time of base closures when closing a base caused economic hardship to communities where the bases were located. House prices were depressed and HAP paid off the difference between what the house sold for and what the military person owed on it. It had to be sold at market value at the time of selling.

Today HAP is paying off houses like the one I am buying because of the recession and the money comes from Recovery Act funds. It takes months to get the paper work done but the sellers of this house will get the house paid off, by HAP.

I'm guessing that other military people who are upside down may take a PCS to get the houses paid off when they are upside down in this recession. I'm not sure that is a motive but it must make one think.

Being a Vietnam vet I am getting a VA loan so both he and I are getting something that civilians are not getting, on the other hand I risked my life for a year and he may have done the same or will.

[ThomWV]

3. Holy shit ....

Let me see if I got this right, he's upside down to the tune of 156,000 and the Air Force covered it. I served in the Army for 4 years back in the 60's and that is roughly 10x more than I earned in total during those 4 years, including 3 years of combat pay.

[county worker]

4. That's correct.

http://hap.usace.army.mil/