an interesting Army expense

[daugen]

Army Reserve bridge unit activated after 62 years | Article | The United States Army

If the fifteen million dollars spent on reactivating this bridge unit includes all the cost of new bridging,
well, it doesn't seem unreasonable, but what do I know. But if it just went to pay for new bricks and mortar,
sure seems we've got some business as usual going on.
I understand the incredible importance of a bridge unit, particularly to get tanks and all else over rivers.
Just interesting they are cranking up this one now. or maybe foreboding.

I believe we have a member or two in that area.

 

[Gunny]

The way I read it, the $15M was for the building, and it probably included all the tools in the maintenance shop, equipment in the physical fitness shop, then they talked about the live fire simulator room.
Probably way too much money spent there, especially for just a company sized unit, usually less than 200 people. A lot of money could probably have been saved by using other facilities close by, but that isn't the way DOD does things.

 

[daugen]

Well, it's clear the Army isn't using Quonset huts any more. Maybe they have gone green, likely they have to some degree.
I wonder if there's a grass roof on this building...

Money spent on keeping our soldiers safe is well, priceless. Money spent on non-essentials, well...
But then everything is sure going up. It's vital, but the cost of that live fire training has to be
huge based on the cost of today's ammo. Seems the Army needs to get by with less "employees", more qualified and better paid "employees",
focus on performance, product and service quality, and do it all with less. And try to guarantee the safety of their "employees". That sure is the hard part, and getting increasingly more expensive as more equipment is made IED proof.

Sounds like a lot of conventional business issues, but then so of course is balancing the Fed budget. Simple, don't spend more than you have.
Until a war comes...and then spend what you need or can get approved. And, of course, you had better spend enough to win....
But replacing every foot soldier with a half a million dollar armed drone might be a tad expensive too.
But not to a lot of parents. Can we put technology in harm's way instead of people? Seems to be the way we are going which is fine with me, but
it's not cheap. But then human lives are priceless.

 

[houstonscott]

Money well spent compared to things like solyndra, and way cheaper, plus you get a military capability. You get twice for your money.


HS