Taking care of Soldiers...

So yeah, I'm told yesterday that they need me to do an interview today at 1 on something called the Patriot Express ending starting Oct. 1st...neat, a story I thought - no problem...aahh, then i looked into it...and then came the interview...a sit down with one of the General's lackeys...right this way sir...and as we sat down in an empty conference room I immediately wanted to punch him in the neck...
Why, you ask, well the Patriot Express just happens to be the flights that leave out of Osan Air Base Korea every Tuesday and Thursday headed back to the States - free of charge to military members on leave on a space available basis...That's how troops take mid-tour leave here and can afford to fly around the world to go see their family once a year...a justifiable resource some might say...
Not these folks though...fuck that...we're (DoD) is losing something like $67 million a year on this because, get this, the military branches are buying their service members tickets on commercial airlines as apposed to putting them in the seats on the Patriot Express which the government has already paid for...thus leaving the Patriot Express flights flying across the ocean practically empty (not really but there's "usually a lot of empty seats according to homeboy")
A sensable solution to the problem would be - granted I'm only a simple-minded noncommissioned officer - to go back to the system that worked so well for so many years, and was the reason that the Partiot Express was created in the first place: make it mandatory for servicemembers PCSing (changing duty stations) to fly to and from Korea on the government chartered flights...again - I'm just a junior NCO...
But, because of the lack of logistics intelligence and a complete inability to do what makes sense...they're canceling the contract for Patriot Express and there will no longer be Space-A (free space available flights) for service members to take leave back to the states...
Look it up folks - we're looking at between $950 to $1500 just to get to the west coast...good thing I’m not a brand new private who's never been overseas and NEED to take mid tour leave...too bad however, that I'm from the east coast, which nearly doubles the cost home...
It just kills me that they're doing things like this to troops (who are mostly Soldiers)...and yet, they're boggled at why the fuck no one stays in and why no one is signing up...
Alas, the story I write will have ventured its' way through at least two or three handlers before eventually making its' way into print so the troops will no doubt think that Sgt. Finch is a puppet of THE MAN after the fluffy little "this is actually GOOD news" spin that will no doubt be put on it...
I found it funny today when a certain senior person in my office today realized what I was plotting (an actual news story to get Soldiers' attention, and maybe even stir some people up) and i was then assured that "everyone already knows that this is happening," and that I'm, "just reiterating it now that the time is closer"...riiiiigggggghhhhhht...yessa boss, isa unda stan...I'll be on the toilet if anybody needs me...