#1
[A]lthough the headline rate of pay for reservists is marginally lower than regular soldiers, the true cost of sending them into action greatly increases when training for battle-readiness is taken into consideration.The study found that over a 10-year period it would cost £2,910 a week to deploy a reservist, more than double the £1,258 for a regular soldier.
Logic dictates that, the better a reservist is trained, the lower the level of casualties of both the reservists and regulars, and lower the level of material losses.
Considering the lack of consideration for the former (and the latter not thought about at all,) one assumes that logic has taken a very long furlough.
#2
Notice if you will, the cost and lengthy time required of training raw recruits is not mentioned. No mention made as well of the number of experienced veterans retained in the Territorials.
#3
If those who count beans used logic, they'd eventually figure out that the growing cost of military aircraft versus the defense budget would project a point where the military could only afford one aircraft which could be shared on alternating days between the air force and navy, with leap day given to the marines.
Note to bean counters - it's better to error and have a ton too much ablative material on your reentry shield than a pound too little.
#4
I doubt the Marines would ever accept an aircraft adopted by Army or USAF P2k. But to Marine's credit, they can probably pay for any aircraft they want by continuing to avoid the Army and USAF Uniform Board fiascos.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/24/2013 17:09 Comments ||
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#6
The scam is that all of these extra costs were preventable. The prior Tory government slashed training for the Territorials "in order to save costs." I remember wondering what that hell they thought the units would be good for.
All they have to do is train the Territorials to the old Cold War standard, and the problem will disappear.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/24/2013 18:08 Comments ||
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[Dawn] SUDDENLY this week it dawned on me just why Malala Yousafzai has so many enemies and detractors in Pakistain.
As she received the European Union's ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... prestigious Sakharov human rights
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/24/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
The problem is that Pakistan is a $h!thole run by a bunch of Muslim fanatics that are threatened by education and independent thinking. The Muslim leaders and the jihadi-bot madrasses are financed by people like the Saudis. Eliminate Saudi financing and the religious leaders and you may have a chance to save Pakistan. This is a big nasty project. It will involve rounding up and eliminating the so called religious leaders.
Malala has a tough choice. If she stays in Pakistan, some nutcase or suicide bomber will take her out. She should leave and make something of her life. There is nothing for her in Pakistan without some help in excising the cancer that ravages through the society.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2013 1:53 Comments ||
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#5
Agreed, Skidmark. I have been harping on this for years. Too many past and present presidents have been too palzy walzy with the Saudis. We are fighting the jihadists with one hand tied behind our backs.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/24/2013 12:53 Comments ||
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[Dawn] WHEN we read about Hakeemullah Mehsud's death by drone, some accounts of his final moments mentioned that he was at the gate of his lavish mansion in North Wazoo.
Nobody speculated on how this house was paid for, but my guess would be that the money came from Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... : over the years, the city has become a giant ATM for the Taliban. Instead of plastic cards, however, these snuffies use Kalashnikovs.
To be fair, several political parties protect criminals who have also fastened their hooks into the city like ticks sucking an animal's blood. The result of this free-for-all is a traumatised population living in constant fear.
Hardly anybody I know in Karachi has gone untouched by the daily violence and crime that wrack the city. People use routine evasive measures to try and lessen their risk when they step out of their doors. But all too often, criminals break into houses with impunity. Life and property are at constant risk.
Many keep two wallets and two mobile phones when they leave their homes. One (less valuable) set is to offer gunnies when being mugged. I, too, usually leave my credit cards at home: there have been many horror stories about people being driven from one ATM to the next, pulling out as much cash as possible at gunpoint.
And when it's not the constant danger of a random hold-up at gunpoint, it's the regular payment of bhatta, or protection money, so many businessmen are forced to pay. How pervasive this has become became evident when I stopped to buy flowers the other evening from my local florist.
This is a tiny operation run from a wooden platform on a street corner, so it can hardly be considered a target for gangsters. Nevertheless, the owner said he was forced to pay Rs100 a day. And the nearby shopkeepers were regularly shaken down too.
At the other end of the criminal spectrum, I was told of the kidnapping of a highly successful Karachi industrialist recently. He and his driver were stopped on their way back from his factory in the evening by gunnies, forced into a pickup, and driven blindfolded for a few miles. They were kept there for a couple of days before the driver was released at a distance from the hideout.
The industrialist -- who doesn't want to be identified for obvious reasons -- was then forced into a sack and driven for three days and nights. He describes most of his journey as being over smooth roads, with stretches of unpaved surfaces.
The vehicle was not stopped at the many checkpoints close to the border, but when he emerged from the sack, he was on Afghan territory.
The kidnap victim was kept chained and blindfolded most of the time for over a month; every now and then, he was casually beaten by passing guards.
After weeks of this treatment, his captors negotiated his ransom. Again, he is reluctant to disclose the amount, although it ran into several crores, or tens of millions.
He was then forced into a vehicle and driven far away before being made to walk several miles. Here, his captors called the Karachi number he gave them so he could tell his wife the amount she needed to raise, and the details of the drop-off.
After the call, the mobile phone was destroyed. Significantly, the only thing these kidnappers -- who he was sure were members of the Taliban -- seemed to fear were American drones.
After the money was paid, the businessman was taken back to Karachi the same way he had been driven to Afghanistan. Again, the vehicle went unchallenged. He was dropped at a remote place outside the city from where he made his way home.
Clearly, the Taliban see the value of returning their victims once the ransom has been paid.
In view of Karachi's rising tide of violent crime, I recently asked a very senior police officer of the Sindh government if he had any cure for this plague. He said the crisis could be resolved if three conditions were met.
Firstly, the political interference had to stop. Officers were transferred on whim: if one annoyed a politician, or if some favourite wanted a job, police officials were moved around, irrespective of merit or experience.
While registering a case in a cop shoppe a few years ago, I noticed that the board carrying names and tenures of officers in charge showed that several incumbents had been transferred within three months of taking over.
Next, around 5,000 coppers had been recruited over the last few years either because of their political connections, or because they had paid bribes. Most of these recruits were incompetent, but because of service rules, they couldn't be thrown out without lengthy administrative proceedings.
Finally, and most importantly, the police needed the judiciary's support in fighting crime. Currently, many criminals were either given bail or released on flimsy grounds. Hundreds had been rejugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! for other crimes. Cases took years to reach a conclusion. Witnesses were either too frightened to come forward, or were reluctant to be called to testify again and again as hearings were repeatedly postponed literally for years on end.
Given these handicaps the police are being forced to work under, it is easy to see why crime is so out of control in Karachi. While our police force is widely seen as ineffective, we need to understand the underlying reasons for its impotence in tackling the city's crime wave. Morale and training are issues that need to be improved urgently. When I look at the living and working conditions of our supposed guardians, I can hardly blame them for their poor performance and corruption.
Ultimately, we get the policing we are willing to pay for. Above all, our politicians and our judges will have to cooperate, and support our police if we want a safer city.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/24/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
He said the crisis could be resolved if three conditions were met.
1. Beat them early
2. Beat them often
3. Beat their neighbors
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