Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Pentagon - home of the New Janissaries?

Time to use that picture again ...

From our friends at POGO;
Despite a plan set forth by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to rein in the Department of Defense's (DoD) increasingly top-heavy force and assurances from Pentagon personnel that these plans were being enacted, the U.S. military is still adding top brass ...
...
Seventeen general and flag officers were scheduled to be eliminated between May and September through Gates’ Efficiency Initiatives. But the DoD didn’t reduce its top brass at all. Instead, six generals were added from May to September, increasing the number of general and flag officers from 964 to 970. Moreover, from July 1, 2011—Panetta’s first day as Secretary of Defense—to September 30, the Pentagon added three four-star officers. Coincidentally, this is precisely the number of four-star officers Gates cut during his final year as SecDef, from June 2010 to the end of June 2011. Thus, in just three months, Panetta undid a year’s worth of Gates’ attempts to cut the Pentagon’s very top brass. It’s doubtful that Gates would consider Panetta’s current rate of adding a new four-star officer every month conducive to efficiency.

One of these new four-star officers is Admiral Mark Ferguson, who became vice chief of naval operations and consequently a four-star admiral less than a month before he testified at Senator Webb’s hearing. Ironically, this beneficiary of Star Creep wrote in his prepared statement that the “Navy supports these efficiency actions and anticipates additional review to reduce or merge flag officer positions.” At the hearing he expanded upon this, stating that “We [the Navy] remain absolutely committed to create a more agile, flexible, and effective flag officer staff structure.” Apparently, this support and commitment to flag officer efficiencies includes adding admirals.
All the while - look at what we are doing with PTS and ERB. ERB especially.

Total costs? They're low balling it.
The cost to taxpayers of uniformed military personnel increases markedly with their rank. In just basic compensation, these six new generals will cost taxpayers more than $1.25 million per year. Over the next ten years, they’ll cost taxpayers more than $14 million (methodology).

The total cost to taxpayers of Star Creep is not trivial, even in the Pentagon’s bloated budget. Since the war in Afghanistan began, the Pentagon has added 99 general and flag officers, a rate of growth that’s tops among all DoD uniformed personnel groups, as can be seen in the above graph. In 2012, these general and flag officers will cost taxpayers more than $22 million in just direct financial compensation. Between 2012 and 2021, they’ll cost nearly $250 million.

But the cost of Star Creep only begins with direct compensation. Other costs that surround generals and admirals—such as staff, contractors, and travel—increase with higher ranks. For example, Bloomberg recently reported that taxpayers in Huntsville, Alabama, footed a $3.8-million bill to build luxurious homes for generals in a successful effort to keep Pentagon pork flowing into the area. One such home, built for a major general, was a sprawling 4,200-square-foot mansion that included granite countertops, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances.

Luxurious homes are just the beginning of the extravagances available to top military commanders. According to Raymond Dubois, former DoD director of administration and management from 2002 to 2005, there are other perks:

Do you get the second-order detail from the graph above? Note that 3-4 Star have increased more than GOFO in general. As a recividist staff weenie I'll try to explain a very childish attribute about GOFOdom. It isn't enough to make Flag - you must get more stars. A 1-Star, you see, is almost seen as a non-qual. To not get promoted to 2-Star is looked at as a "fail to launch."

Just a 2-star? What did you screw up? And so on.

So, no shock to the above. As we have discussed before - those we hoped would bring accounting to the Pentagon - McCain and Webb - have turned out toothless.

So, we wait. We wait for leadership - leadership that can look its force in the face with a clear conscience. As we are moving in the exact opposite direction we need to go - when change comes it will be with a broad-axe and not a scalpel.

Lead from the front? When it comes to end-strength management, our GOFO does not know the word.

35 comments:

Grumpy Old Ham said...

<span>Bloomberg recently reported that taxpayers in Huntsville, Alabama, footed a $3.8-million bill to build luxurious homes for generals in a successful effort to keep Pentagon pork flowing into the area.</span>

Yippee!  More BRAC-provided savings to the taxpayer!

>:o

AW1 Tim said...

And on the other side of the coin, I would offer this cautionary historical analogy:

Well, About the time of Caesar, Rome began to expand it's military through the use of non-citizen "auxilia". They were trained and fought in the same manner as the legion, were armed and paid about the same, but their real draw was that, should they survive their 25 year enlistment, they were granted citizenship. Eventually, the legions also began to fill their ranks with non-citizens, and by the end of the empire, the Limitani and Comitantensis were so full of "barbarians"  that the borders and Roman culture basically merged and being "Roman" lost all sense of identity/purpose. That one idea, of permitting, and then depending upon, non-citizens for their rank & file did more to hasten the end of Rome as something unique than anything else. At least, in my opinion.  :)

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Too many GOFOs? 

Shocking

Will re-pose the question from over at USNI.  Time to rescind Goldwater-Nichols?

Guest said...

Seems to me that the VCNO has been a 4-star for a long time.  How exactly is he an example of star-creep?

Not Surprised said...

Combine flag creep with the SES population bloat and you have a real problem.

When we heard that we were getting another senior manager in our organization, one of my astute colleagues noted:  Damn, we don't need another mouth to feed, we need more farmers.  

Flag officers almost behave like they are on some fraternity scavenger hunt:  remodel office, new flag suite art work, must get a new flag sedan, two strategy support contractors, a few extra 06's who manage the real work, hottie flag writer, etc.  

MR T's Haircut said...

AW1, you just described Kalifornia and Texas....

MR T's Haircut said...

Admiral Ferguson was our embarked DESRON Commodore during the 2001 OEF cruise on Big E and then he was NPC for the last 10 years.. Naval Academy.  Navy taking care of their own...

Competent enough as a DESRON I suppose.  Never had to see him in action.

Stem said...

....and why do we have reserve flags?!.....I thought the new paradigm was the active forces handling the reservists - after all, the active commands pay for them.....why do we need flags in front of a collection of units that, combined, equal the personnel attached to a HORNET squadron, which is commanded by a Commander?.....we fought WWII with far fewer admirals and generals than cluttering the ranks these days.....just sayin'

Andy said...

Stem, for at least the last 15+ years, the (Navy) Reserve flags have been used as a work-around by the active forces to fill billets that were gapped so they could put active flags elsewhere. Many have filled Fleet Deputy billets.  As to why so many, I blame the usual scapegoats: Goldwater-Nichols and the Air Force ("Why send a LCOL when a One-star will do?")  Navy Reserve Flags? Well, as they used to say, "now that's a two-beer story..."

Flashman said...

I think the DCNO level is the level to examine within OPNAV staff.  For instance, I'm still stymied to understand why the N2/N6 had to be a three-star (with a coterie of flags and O6's).  While there's significant undertakings within the N2/N6 enterprise, there's nothing to me that clearly indicates it should've been a three-star responsibility.  The vast majority of intelligence and cryppie billets and programs fall outside the N2's direct management and funding lines (and those lines lead to other major commands and flag billets).  Similar, but quite different, in many ways for the N6 side of the house.  While there's an important level of leadership involved in standardizing training and acquisition for N2/N6, I know that work largely lies outside of OPNAV.  Not sure why we need three stars for this function or a few others on the CNO's staff.

Old Farter said...

Libya made it for years with a Colonel in charge. Just saying.

DeltaBravo said...

So how many boots on the ground or sailors can you get for the price of one 3 or 4 star?  (Since we're cutting budgets.  Right?  RIGHT???!)

A smart military would do the forward-looking 5-for-one deal.

steeljawscribe said...

Sort of like how we went from O-5 CAGs to O-6 senior CAGs and the AF then went O-6 Wing CDRs to O-7 Wing CDRS...and I'm not done beating the Goldwater-Nichols overhaul drum either (as we add yet another flag seat on the JS)
w/r, SJS

steeljawscribe said...

Oh, and you should see the new buildings, er, "campuses"  Unbelieveably opulent from the fixtures to the furniture.  Ought to be enough to make even an SES blush - but that was a different time I guess...
w/r, SJS

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Heh. 

Mussolini was a Sergeant. 

steeljawscribe said...

...and Hitler a corporal...
w/r, SJS

Steel City said...

I knew this to be the case the first time the billet down-grade list was published.  DoD took credit for downgrading billets that were never filled by an officer of the higher rank.  You nailed the GOFOdom mentality where nothing below 3-star decides all that much in the Pentagon and that is the rank where you get personal servitude (cooks/servants) and the higher quality housing quarters.

Steel City said...

...throw in a black sedan (with personal driver(s) at your beckon call) that can stop an armor piercing missile, a few servants for the missus to boss around, and a house in a neighborhood where your social status is based on your rank that is prominantly displayed on your front lawn not your contribution to the well-being of the neighborhood.

Mike M. said...

What's depressing is that this is just the 2001-2011 growth.  Well after the Goldwater-Nichols Staff Growth and GOFO Employment Act.  It owuld be interesting to see what the numbers were for 1991...and for 1986.

Grumpy Old Ham said...

<span>DoD took credit for downgrading billets that were never filled by an officer of the higher rank. </span>

Nothing new there.  DoD also takes credit for savings in personnel accounts by cutting billets that were not only not filled, but not even authorized funding.  Sounds like true "voodoo economics" to me.

DeltaBravo said...

Awww SJS you hadda go ruin it.

DeltaBravo said...

(see GODWIN'S LAW)

Alpha Check said...

It was a huge mistake to want to keep these guys around past 30 years.  There has to be outflow from the top to enable change and new blood to come up.  They need to learn that the military isn't a lifetime gig, and that they'll have to start doing their own powerpoint.

LT B said...

I just heard that a bunch of the O4 jobs for RIMPAC got bumped up to O5 levels of "responsibility."  I wasn't planning on going, and am sourcing the requirement no my end with enlisted folks, but the cynic in me wonders why, all of a sudden these jobs NEED an O5.  Hmmm.

LT B said...

Is this behavior learned early?

Actus Rhesus said...

start by cutting the flags in the Staff Corps.  If a one star can command an entire carrier strike group, and a three star commands all of 7th Fleet, why does a community of 700 lawyers need five stars total (not including reserve and tombstone positions)

AW1 Tim said...

Again, let me toss out my solution for the "Star Creep" issue:  Brevet commissions.

No Navy Officer may hold a permanent rank higher than O-6. ALL flag ranks, CNO excepting, will be brevet commissions given to the officer for the tour of duty/mission he or she is assigned. Those brevet commissions gain the status, perqs, etc, of the flag rank, but all pay and benefits are capped at the wearer's permamnent rank of O-6 or below. Once returned to his permanent rank, the officer may retain the sobriquet "Commodore".

I would offer that such a system allows for both strategic and tactical flexibility by permitting the CNO to assign such officers to flag rank positions as are best suited for a specific assignment, without having to deal with seniority and a limited pool of available officers. Under this system, ALL officers are potentially available for a flag-rank position, though realistically the overwhelming majority would come from the O-6 pool.

steeljawscribe said...

Just facilitatin' ma'am, just facilitatin'... ;)
w/r, SJS

Grandpa Bluewater said...

My original recommendation stands. Send home every Flag Officer with an even digit lineal number.  Or an odd one.  If you wish, have the SecNav flip a coin, heads even, tails odd. Sauce for the goose...

Adversus Omnes Dissident said...

Wait........so Flag Officers are only in it for themselves?  Is that why they never resign on principle but miraculously change their tunes?  Yeah, I know......how would the sun ever rise without them.

The beauty of the DoD is that everyone is expendable.  Everyone.  If you're not expendable, you haven't done your job to date.

Adversus Omnes Dissident said...

like it wasn't ruined at Ghadaffi and Mussolini?!

Adversus Omnes Dissident said...

The more I read about this shit the more angry  I get.  It's like the LPD-17 becoming an O-6 command.  Really?  Why...because we got rid of cruisers?  Gotta find new rides for the boys you promised major command to?  Great, stick them where they have absolutely no experience...an amphib.

Worked out great with ESG 2 and Admiral Scott, right? Right?  No.

FCC(SW) said...

Don't worry, they can fund dozens of flags with the 1,149 CPO/SCPO/MCPO billets that are being cut.

Steel City said...

Aviator deep draft commands.  Had two on my LPD in the 90s.  One CO was a warrior, former Vietnam helo pilot.  I would have charged a bulkhead for him.  Never sweated the small stuff.  I won't go into any further details but the other was 180 degrees opposite where the only thing he cared about was nobody messing up him getting his CVN tour.  Everything, especially crew morale, went downhill shortly after he took command.  So what's the point...from my experience the quality of the ship depends on the individual not the rank.

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