From the AP:
The Air Force’s top general expressed frustration on Tuesday with the reassignment of troops under his command to ground jobs for which they were not trained, ranging from guarding prisoners to driving trucks and typing.
Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, said that over 20,000 airmen have been assigned worldwide into roles outside their specialties.
With President Bush and Congress in a standoff over Iraq spending, the Pentagon is shifting money among services and accounts, including drawing down funds earmarked for other later purposes.
“Somebody’s going to have to pay us back,” Moseley said. “I don’t have to want to have concerns about getting that money back.”
In a breakfast session with a group of reporters, Moseley said he was trying to be realistic. “We live in a joint world. We live in a military that’s at war. And we live in a situation where, if we can contribute, then sign me up for it.”
Still, the Air Force general added, “I’m less supportive of things outside our competency.” . . .
Moseley said he didn’t mind the use of airmen as drivers as much as some of the other new duties usually performed by the Army, such as guarding prisoners.
“Not only do we not have a prison, but very rarely do we have anybody in prison,” he joked.
Earlier this week, our own Bill Roggio reported that the training and equipping of new Iraqi units had come to a halt because of a lack of funding. Now we hear that airmen are being used to guard prisoners. Some Democrats seem to lack a sense of urgency about passing the supplemental–Rep. Rahm Emanuel said the military would be fine until June–but the lack of funding is already having an effect. If nothing else, you’d think Democrats would be worried about the prospect of untrained personnel guarding Iraqi prisoners.
