Dear Harry Riley:

Although a little too crusty, your recommendations are what is needed, in that the answer to the problem is, as you say, more funds in the budget.

Also I think what you accuse Chu and others of is basically correct. However, based on 16 years of involvement in the budget process, I believe Chu and others would not get more funding if they should try your recommendations. Following orders is not only in military culture, it is also a similar culture in the executive branch in all grades of management. One must go along to get along.

When new employees come in, they progress up the line if they adhere to the prevailing culture. If an employee doesn’t go along, he doesn’t get along. Think about the number of star grade officers have lost a star or retired earlier than they wanted to. At the first opportunity an officer or appointee who doesn’t go along is replaced with one who will go along. What I am saying is that if Chu, Abel or even Rumsfeld doesn’t go along they are replaced, and we are no better off with the replacements.

I submit that our retiree problem stems from the prevailing culture in the OMB. Few people recognize or know where all the many concepts in management and budgeting come from. Most come from the culture in the OMB. They never give up. If they lose a fight, they put that idea on the back burner until they see another opportunity, then here it comes again.

I believe that what is happening to us with the retiree programs is, that the management structure in DOD knows they can not win against OMB with a frontal assault. But, they figure that if they can get retirees and their supporters mad enough we can and will go to the Congress in a frontal assault and keep firing away until we get some changes in programs and the budget.

Thus, DOD uses us to try to get the budgets they need. This is not a new approach. Throughout history all levels of government use the same tactics when they are told that they must cut their budget request. The time proven tactic is to cut the most visible and sensitive programs, such as, swimming pools and parks, fire departments and police departments. This way they squeeze more money out of the legislators/ or in some instances more taxes out of the voters.

I believe that DOD would be perfectly happy for retirees to get what we are entitled to, if it did not come out of their budget which is restrained by OMB.

So, Harry Chu will quite likely will receive your letter with a smile, because it evidences the fact that the retirees are going after Congress to get our entitlements(I hate that word, but it is better than the word welfare).

Just keep up the barrage until you get enough of us fire-up to move Congress in the right direction.

Respectively,

Charles Northington
Captain USPHS, Ret.
Cwn1@tx.rr.com

This is to advise you that I concur and agree with the word’s said below. I cannot express my disgust of the disdain that you and others within the DoD have for the very people that you are sworn to support and work for. As Col. Riley said, “This letter is harsh but it must be said.”

Earl Warmath