AFP: Air force sought anti-terror funds so generals could fly in comfort — The war or terror means comfy chairs!
The US Air Force has sought millions of dollars in “war on terror” funds for “comfort capsules” so that the military brass can fly first class to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, a spokeswoman confirmed Friday.
The capsules, which are loaded into the bay of a military transport plane, come with a sofa, work space, two leather seats, a flat-screen TV, ports for a satellite phone and a separate module with two bunk beds and closets, an Air Force spokeswoman said.
Air force generals added hundreds of thousands of dollars to the costs with upgrades to leather, carpet and wood choices, according to the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit watchdog group that obtained internal emails about the program.
The first of the capsules is already in production at a cost of 2.7 million dollars, and is scheduled for delivery in five months said spokeswoman Vicky Stein.
Although that capsule came out of the US Air Force base budget, the service asked to use funds dedicated for the war on terrorism to fund the purchase of two more at 1.9 million dollars each.
Wonder how tempting it is for the pilots to open the bay door while in flight and release the lockdown mechanism…
Hey, no one ever said that fighting terrorists was going to be pretty.
Well, it seems they got caught in the name game agin. They should have called them Command and Control capsules with secure comm so the high level brass could stay in control of their forces while they were traveling. Once the term “COMFORT CAPSULE” gets out there, they have lost the PR battle. Now it looks like just another case of wasteful Pentagon Pork.
Don
Now it looks like just another case of wasteful Pentagon Pork.
If it quacks like a duck …
I wonder if the toilet tilts for the spiral landing into BIA.
General’s FEATHERING THEIR NESTS at the soldier’s and tax payers expense !!! This while soldiers are BEING ELECTROCUTED BY FAULTY WIRING JOBS BY KBR “CONTRACTORS” – IE: THIEVES !!! Time to KICK ASS AT THE PENTAGON !!!
Finally, now we know why McCain takes so many trips to Iraq.
There is some joke here about telling the “Armchair Generals” where to put their “Comfort Capsules” !!!
A big Air Force initiative in the 21st Century is to expand its mission to encompass space based weapons systems: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/business/18space.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Next up: space based golf courses.
The base concept may have been reasonible and prudent. The fancy end product makes the people that bought it and use it look like turd hoppers.
Not good.
A canvas covered recliner would have been just as comfortable as leather and allowed three people to sleep in the module as just as well. The canvas would most likely have held up better as too.
Carpet is dirt magnet and not something I’d want in the field.
These “capsules” have been used for years, and they show the wear. A senior General is the equivalent of a CEO of a major company (think GE, Coca Cola or Microsoft, and they have huge corporate jets and five star suites) and he works 12-18 hours a day. Work doesn’t stop just because he has to make a 15 hour trip from the US to his HQ overseas. They need the connectivity (internet and phones), the workspace, and a place to relax. Don’t think they are by themselves, a dozen or more staff officers would be in tow for meetings etc.
We should just hope that they aren’t bringing their girlfriends onboard and have an Austin Powers “shag party” as one general did in the early 90’s.