[xrumerang]

By Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Oct 14, 2010 8:16:40 EDT

WASHINGTON — After pressure from two key senators, the Pentagon has reversed course and will require that the retired generals and admirals it hires as consultants file public, not confidential, financial disclosure statements, according to letters from Congress and the Defense Department.

Senators Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman and ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, told the Pentagon that "senior mentors exercise a level of ... influence" that demands public disclosure. They wrote that if the Pentagon resisted, they would propose legislation mandating it.

Leigh Bradley, a top Pentagon lawyer, responded to their letter by seeking a ruling from the Office of Government Ethics to require public disclosures. Among the reasons she cited for greater transparency is the mentors' ability to affect Pentagon policy ... Read the rest of the story here.

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Do you agree with requirement? Should this kind of transparency happened before?

[Seasmillets]

I strongly agree with the requirement and this transparency should have happened back in 2002. What kind of spineless, non-sensical generals and admirals do we have that need retired flag officers as mentors and advisors? The taxpayers should demand their money back from them. USAToday said they had a list of 158 retired 3-and 4-star flag officers working as senior mentors, but I'll bet the total figure is 4 to 5 times that many, counting all retired flag officers, colonels and Navy captains. StratCom and Offutt AFB must have at least 100 retired senior officers and retired flag officers working for them as federal civilians or contractors.

[Ruilnasr]

I think they should change the name from "Mentor" to "Paid Advisor" or "Consultant". Let's not put any more fluff on an already fluffy system.

[ignonsoli]

If we have an occasional bona fide need for these retired 4-stars' military experience, SecAF can recall them under 10 U.S.C. § 688. Of course, they'd be recalled as two stars (see 10 U.S.C. § 601) for the duration of their active duty (unless nominated for O-9 or O-10 and confirmed by the Senate) and then revert back to the retired list at O-10 when the recall period ended.

They can either draw O-8 active duty pay and allowances for those days, or waive AD pay/allowances and draw their O-10 retired pay and any applicable VA disability. Much, much cheaper than these "senior mentor" contracts.

It can be fairly argued that hiring someone at exhorbitant "consultant" rates specifically for military expertise is an unwarranted expenditure of public funds, if we can get that same person at will by recalling them for standard military pay.

One of you active duty folks do an IDEA submission on this! Think of the cost savings

[Amorsesombabs]

The whole mentor program comes across to me as a scam.

I wonder if I could get a contract to come back and mentor some chiefs.

[antipenq]

One of you active duty folks do an IDEA submission on this! Think of the cost savings

I'm on it!