Memorial Day 2024 – Lives Lost, Monstrous Debt And Citizen Angst Driving Factors On A Path To Change

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Weapons makers treasure threat-driven economic windfalls. Geopolitical values collide, without negotiation. Soldiers and civilians die in dramatic numbers.

We must recognize the major factors driving warfare today while learning more about each other on a path to change.

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From Vietnam to the Balkans, from Iraq to Afghanistan – and now in Ukraine, coupled with continued Middle East bedlam; we are paying high prices in lives, dollars and citizen angst. We must learn from the past and about those who are different from us before we go to war or support a war.

Our near term future involves weighty decisions regarding fiscal and national security.  There are trade offs during government war-making decisions and incremental funding authorizations. 

The U.S. will soon exceed a National Debt of $35 Trillion with a downgraded fiscal credit rating while carrying the financial burden of ongoing support for NATO and the Ukraine war, the Middle East Gaza conflict, as well as domestic program needs.  

A look over our shoulder at two driving factors of our recent warfare is useful as we consider history when viewing our future while making prudent decisions on the principal contributors to our national debt and security.  

DRIVING FACTOR 1 – GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR  MOTIVES:

The motives of the U.S. Military Industrial Complex (MIC) and The US Agency for International Development (USAID) contractors have fostered continuing wars.  Ongoing warfare nets billions in sales of weapons plus massive construction and redevelopment dollars for international companies. They often operate fraudulently, fostering waste, fraud and abuse.   

It is common knowledge that many of these corporations have spent more each year in lobbying costs than they have paid in taxes while passing exorbitant overhead and executive pay costs on to the tax payer, thus financing the riches of their operating personnel while remaining marginally profitable to stockholders.

I watched this from the inside of many of these companies for 36 years. You can read my dissertation on the subject at:

Odyssey of Armaments | Ken Larson – Academia.edu

Here is an example of how the lobbying and behind the scenes string pulling worked during the run up and the conduct of the war incursion into Iraq: 

CorpWatch : US: Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

DRIVING FACTOR 2 – LACK OF CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

There has been a complete lack of cultural understanding between U.S./Western decision makers and the middle east culture they have tried to “Assist” by nation building. 

The only real cultural understanding that existed during the period was in the person of General Schwarzkopf who spent much of his youth in the Middle East with his father, an ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He was fascinated by the Arab culture, commanded their respect and, like Eisenhower, led a successful coalition during the first Gulf War to free Kuwait.  

He astutely recommended no occupation of Iraq, went home and stayed out of government. Norman, like General Eisenhower, knew the power of the MIC. 

Eisenhower’s Departing Speech

U.S Tax payers funded billions in USAID and construction projects in Iraq. The money was wasted due to a lack of cultural understanding, waste,  fraud and abuse. The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has documented that aspect of the Iraq war history, as well as similar motives and abuses in Afghanistan. 

POGO on Iraq

CONCLUSION AND A HOPE FOR OUR FORTHCOMING DECISIONS:

History has been repeating itself here – much like Vietnam and Iraq, the above two factors are deeply at play with a lack of astute learning in our government as we look back over our shoulder.

We must come to the understanding, like a highly respected war veteran and West Point Instructor has, that military victory is dead.

“MODERN WAR INSTITUTE AT WEST POINT”

“Victory’s been defeated; it’s time we recognized that and moved on to what we actually can accomplish.”

Military Victory is Dead

Frank Spinney, a foremost expert on the MIC, spent the same time I did on the inside of the Pentagon while I worked in Industry. You may find his interviews informative.

Inside the Pentagon: 30-Year Insider Chuck Spinney

I have hope these historical factors are useful in considering our future financial and defense security and that every U.S. citizen from the individual voter to the politician will consider them in their decision-making. 

What Can We Learn From People Who Are Different From US

Critical Skill Incentive Awards Improperly Paid To 75 Percent Of VA’s Entire Senior Executive Staff

“INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDING 1. The blanket award of Critical Skill Incentives to 357 VA executives was inconsistent with VA policy. INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDING 2. VA’s internal controls were ineffective in preventing improper awards”

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Executive Summary

“On September 13, 2023, VA Secretary Denis R. McDonough was alerted by the Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jon Rychalski that the Office of Management had detected unusual payment activity relating to senior executives. The preliminary data provided to Secretary McDonough by Mr. Rychalski indicated that VA had paid 367 senior executives more than $19.7 million over two pay periods in September with another 21 remaining to be processed (about 75 percent of VA’s entire senior executive staff).Mr. Rychalski identified these payments as critical skill incentives (CSIs).

CSIs are a type of recruitment and retention incentive pay newly authorized for VA by Congress under the PACT Act, which dramatically expanded access to VA health care and benefits formillions of veterans exposed to toxic substances.

In anticipation of a significant increase in new healthcare enrollments and benefits claims, the PACT Act included CSIs as a tool to enhance VA’s ability to meet the projected staffing requirements. CSIs are available to an employee who “possesses a high-demand skill or skill that is at a shortage” at a rate up to 25 percent of basic pay. VA’s first CSIs were approved in March 2023 for human resources specialists to support increased hiring.

In the days following the CFO’s disclosure to the Secretary on September 13, more data were gathered to confirm details regarding the CSIs and determine next steps. On September 22, 2023,VA provided a statement to members of Congress, veteran service organizations, and others indicating that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans Benefits Administration(VBA) had awarded CSIs to nearly all of their respective senior executives. This statement reported that the CSIs included payments reportedly totaling $9.7 million to 170 senior assigned to headquarters functions at the VA central office (VACO).

VA also indicated that these payments to senior executives would be canceled because VA had made a “policy error” and “was overly broad in the way [it] implemented and executed this authority.”VA did not cancel the approximately 200 CSI awards made to “field executives”—that is, senior executives based outside of headquarters, including regional office and district directors in VBA,as well as medical center directors and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) directors inVHA. That same day, Secretary McDonough also notified VA Inspector General Michael Missal of the cancellations and requested that the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) review the facts and circumstances surrounding the issuance of the CSIs.

During the investigation, OIG staff also received information through interviews and document reviews regarding the subsequent cancellation and announced recoupment of these payments, and this feedback is briefly summarized in this report. Because the recoupment is ongoing and its impact is not fully realized, an in-depth examination was outside the scope of this investigation.” executives assigned to headquarters functions at the VA central office (VACO).

VA also indicated that these payments to senior executives would be canceled because VA had made a“policy error” and “was overly broad in the way [it] implemented and executed this authority. ”VA did not cancel the approximately 200 CSI awards made to “field executives”—that is, senior executives based outside of headquarters, including regional office and district directors in VBA,as well as medical center directors and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) directors inVHA.

That same day, Secretary McDonough also notified VA Inspector General Michael Missal of the cancellations and requested that the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) review the facts and circumstances surrounding the issuance of the CSIs.

A few days later, the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs responded to VA’s statement. They stated that using “incentives . . . to boost pay of senior executives at VA rather than bolster staffing for critical shortage positions requiring highly skilled individuals” was “contrary to congressional intent.” They also supported the Secretary’s request for the OIG to conduct a full review.

The OIG initiated its oversight work on September 28, 2023, to examine VA’s compliance with law and policy in the issuance of CSIs to VACO senior executives at VHA and VBA. The investigation also included determining the rationale for the CSI payments and the chronology of decisions by the individuals accountable for implementing the incentives that VA subsequently determined were improper. During the investigation, OIG staff also received information through interviews and document reviews regarding the subsequent cancellation and announced recoupment of these payments, and this feedback is briefly summarized in this report. Because the recoupment is ongoing and its impact is not fully realized, an in-depth examination was outside the scope of this investigation.”

READ ENTIRE REPORT:   Administrative Investigation 23-03773-169