Stir The Pot

Like many Americans, I was disappointed that the leadership of our executive branch chose to respond to sequestration by furloughing government employees instead of making serious decisions about cutting waste.  I clearly remember all the hand-wringing about the negative impact on military Readiness and Training.  I’m sure the recent nuclear surety inspection failure at Malmstrom AFB will have as one of its causes “lack of funding for adequate training.” 

On the other hand, when I get a memo like the one below imposing yet another requirement to meet for an upcoming inspection, I don’t feel that sequestration went far enough:

“Subject: CUI-Empty Folders

Please Disseminate:

Good morning,

If you have empty paper or electronic record folders then you will need to

place an "Empty Folder Memorandum" in the folder until you start populating

them.  The "Empty Folder Template" can be found out on the RM SharePoint

page under the "Records Management Information" folder then the "Templates"

folder.    You will need to input when you created the folder and why the

folder is empty and that you will check it again in a year to see if you

need the folder.  This will help prevent write ups when inspected.

Now some folders remain empty until an action happens.  (Example: One of our

flying units has this memorandum in their folders and stated that the

folders remain empty until they have a plane in.  Once the plane leaves the

folders become empty again but they have the memorandum in the folder when

the records are not in them.)  

Please contact your Functional Area Records Manager (FARM) for further

assistance.

           

Hope this helps . . . .”

Secretary of Defense Hagel recently patted himself on the back with announcements that he managed to reduce federal employee furlough days by cutting waste.  How that can be when one of his bureaucrats has so much time on his/her hands that they can produce memos and requirements such as the “empty folder memorandum?"  Beyond the obvious logical fallacy, requiring others to apply their time and efforts to comply with it is in itself wasteful. 

I'd like Secretary Hagel to tell us how the "empty folder memorandum" requirement might have improved the outcome of Malmstrom’s nuclear surety inspection, or how it has positively impacted Readiness and Training for combat-bound troops?  His DoD employees are being required to complete 100% of their taskings in 80% of the available time (and for 80% of their former pay).  Their work load wasn't reduced, just the time in which to complete it.  I'd like him to explain how diverting their attention from their jobs, to satisfy some bureaucrat’s anal-retentive focus on empty folders, contributes to mission effectiveness?

I will never believe that we have reduced government to its most efficient operating size and cost as long as pointless internal exercises in self-promotion and bureaucratic self-perpetuation such as this continue to be allowed to exist.