The ID card

I've done a couple of stints as a defense contractor for the Department of Defense. As such, I'm completely disgusted with the performance of the Federal Government workers, commonly known as GSs (General Schedule).

During the course of getting a DOD ID card, I was forced to try and get one of these GS characters to do their job. It's just about impossible to do. And as a contractor, when a government employee won't do their very simple clerking duties you're just about screwed. The beauty of it was when the former Colonel who was the head contractor for the program starts hitting us over the head for not getting our ID cards. What are we supposed to do about it?

In the end I got the head GS to make the other GS do her job. Probably about 40 hours work for me to get her to do her job. For a simple ID card.

A few years ago, a soldier asked the Defense Department Secretary why they didn't have the equipment they need in the theater of Operations to do their job. Rumsfield's famous reply was, "You go to war with the Army you have." He was vilified in the press for this statement. The reality is, you go to war with 700,000 federal civilians in charge of paying, equipping, and servicing you. It seems like 95% of them don't do a damn thing.