Alaska - Chris McCandless "Magic Bus" removed

[JackE]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

It's a challenging mission with a lot of training value and makes everyone look good. Would you rather they just pick up and set down 55 falling drums in a grass field next to the helipad all day?

Absolutely not! Like I already said, I'm all for the training! Real world training experiences like this are beyond value. I learned more in the real training of cutting up a car during my time with the fire department than watching 1000 hours of video of someone else doing it. My current training leaves a lot to be desired, but it is still necessary. I'm just simply saying, it still cost the state money to remove the bus. Unless it was funded by some rich guy, it was still tax dollars being spent. Just like the largely useless videos I get paid to watch on how to keep the computer from getting bugs from malicious emails. Just because I can watch them during my already paid work day, doesn't mean the state isn't paying me to watch stupid videos. Just saying the article shouldn't have said it didn't cost the state anything.

[Biscuitsjam]

The state spent the same National Guard training dollars it would have anyway, just on better training than normal...

[jimburke77502]

Absolutely no cost to the public???? So the fuel, maintenance, and whatever else that would in other words cost $$$$ just magically didn't happen???? Am I the only one who saw that?

[Biscuitsjam]

Well yes, it cost money...

However, this was a National Guard unit's annual training. The unit has a training budget that they spend on fuel, personnel, maintenance, etc.

This year, instead of picking up a 55 gallon drum in an empty field and setting it back down again over and over, they picked up a bus and moved it.

Cost to the state? The same as if they did their original training... So, did they spend money? Absolutely. Did they spend one dime more than would have been spent that week? Absolutely not.

[banman]

Originally Posted by JackE

I'm not saying it was poorly spent money. I get training budgets and what they are used for. I agree with removing the bus to save additional rescue dollars in the future. But the only way it didn't cost the state any money is if it was funded by a private entity. Doesn't matter if it was a 55 gallon drum, or a 5500 lb bus, it still cost the state money.

My point is (the bus being moved by the AK ANG) They got a trng budget last Oct to spend throughout the year. They can practice picking up oil drums, or they can practice on something more interesting -- this time it was a bus.
Either way they're gonna train -- they were already funded to train...
So it cost no additional money...

Hell when I was with HAATS we did high elevation rescue missions all the time in the surrounding BLM & USFS without getting approval because we would just call it a training mission. Don't need approval if you're not asking for money!

Otherwise...
There's a lovely paper trail for the bean-counters to transfer one agencies "money" to another agency for services rendered. Yes, if the USFS officially asked the CO ANG to come do an air-lift somebodies paying for it -- the USFS will transfer "funds" to the CO ANG.

If one of my squadrons C-130's breaks while flying cross-country and we can't send our own maintenance people to go fix it -- some other squadron is sent to go fix it. That "other" squadron will 'bill' our squadron for the parts and man hours. And that's money being exchanged within the USAF itself because each squadron gets a fixed maintenance budget every year...

Takes a room full of bean-counters to keep track of all the beans...