Uncle Sam is short-funding basic post operations in US

Budget woes force Army posts nationwide to cut services

LIZ AUSTIN
Associated Press

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/14939979.htm

The Army's Installation Management Agency is $530 million short of what it needs through Oct. 1 to fund the garrisons at the 117 installations it oversees in the United States, Europe and Asia, agency spokesman Stephen Oertwig said.

Garrisons are basically the city halls of Army installations, providing services such as garbage removal, shuttle buses, mail delivery and firefighting.

The crunch is forcing garrisons to drastically curtail services except those essential to the war on terrorism and the health and safety of soldiers and their families.

The Defense Department spends about as much on maintenance and operations as it does on weapons and personnel combined, he said, so there should be more than enough for the bills.

"It makes me worry if the Pentagon can't do its accounting well enough to find money for its electric bills," he said. "It just boggles my mind a little bit."

full report: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/14939979.htm