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2009-02-22 Home Front Economy

Probe finds Army charity is hoarding millions

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Posted by tipper 2009-02-22 18:39|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 And yet, nobody asks why they might have a reason to hoard. I imagine the whole mood at the Pentagon is rapidly shifting to, if you have a penny, it had better well have your thumbprint etched into it through pinching.

Posted by Anonymoose 2009-02-22 21:20|| 2009-02-22 21:20|| Front Page Top

#2 The usual MSM mix of facts, fiction, and application of stereotype bias looking for something to tag their beliefs on.

While independent on paper, Army Emergency Relief is housed, staffed and controlled by the U.S. Army.

It is not independent. It is covered by regulation. Organized as a private organization. It is independent of direct taxpayer funding. Playing loss and fast with language.

AER executives defend their operation, insisting they need to keep sizable reserves to be ready for future catastrophes.

Unlike the SEC, the Fed, et al, the Army remembers. It remembers the disaster of the Carter years when the average soldier lived in basically poverty. I recall AER being the one element to carry soldiers and families over when the Democratic controlled Congress delayed the budget and fiddled around with continuing resolutions and we had to go through two months with paydays delayed by over a week without knowing if there was going to be a paycheck at all. The pattern of gutting defense then and in the Clinton years may well be on the way again. Unlike the banks waiting till the tsunami hits before hording their capital, the Army does it now.

Most charity watchdogs view 1-to-3 years of reserves as prudent, with more than that considered hoarding.

History has shown it's usually 6 to 8 years before Congress gets around to rebuilding that which they gut when it comes to defense.

The AP findings include:

* Superior officers come calling when AER loans aren't repaid on time. Soldiers can be fined or demoted for missing loan payments. They must clear their loans before transferring or leaving the service.
* Promotions can be delayed or canceled if loans are not repaid.

You betcha, just like ANY other debt the soldier may carry. It doesn't matter whether its AER or a loan company, auto dealership, or any other similar activity - failure to honor just debts gets into UCMJ territory. Debt is a basis for suspension of security clearance and removal from various surety programs.

AER pays just 21 staffers, all working at its headquarters at Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Va. AER's other 300 or so employees at 90 Army sites worldwide are civilians paid by the Army. Also, the Army gives AER office space for free.

No different than the Army and Air Force Exchange System [PX/BX] which is a non-appropriated fund activity operate by DoD. The services also provide facilities for the Red Cross for free, which in some posts occupy the same facilities as AER.

Officers must recommend soldiers for aid

The officers are also held accountable for the actions of their men and to be knowledgeable enough to render judgment of character and responsibility in repaying any loan. The commissioned officers and NCOs are expected to know the soldier's standing vis a vis his pay and entitlements. Guess who get hauled up to explain why their soldiers are having specific financial problems and what they're doing about it? /rhetorical question.

From another post of the same AP article, this appears:

Sylvia Kidd, an AER board member in the 1990s, says she feels that the charity does much good work but guards its relief funds too jealously. "You hear things, and you think, "`They got all this money, and they should certainly be able to take care of this,'" she said. She now works for a smaller independent charity, the Association of the United States Army, providing emergency aid to some military families that AER won't help.

AUSA is not a charity. It is a lobbying organization that acts just like other lobbying organizations to further special interests in procuring resourcing for Army programs. It like AER gets 'command' influence in getting memberships generally from the officer corps.

AER and the Combined Federal Campaign [the military counterpart of the United Way Campaign] are suppose to be the only two solicitations that are permitted on Army Installations. And yes, there are instances of abuse of command influence pressuring 'everyone' to make a contribution. That is the responsibility of the DA Inspector General's Office to address. Unlikely to change till you relieve a General Officer or two as an example to others. They're a little bit busy at the moment with some other priorities.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-02-22 21:22|| 2009-02-22 21:22|| Front Page Top

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