Musk, Money for Nothing, and Apologies to Mark Knopfler

 This backlash from the Trump/Musk housecleaning is nothing new. In fact, the very fact that the attitude of entitlement among many government employees has been around for a while is why it is so necessary.

Yes, the process has begun with a broadsword. A scalpel would be totally ineffective at this point. Later, the fine carving can begin, but I get this approach and find it fundamentally sound and familiar to anyone who took over a command or a business or an organization that was floundering.

Significant changes must come early. You don’t ease into this sort of thing. This attitude has been around for a while and removing it takes bold action.

My last tour as a Marine officer was in the Naval Air Warfare Center-Training Systems Division in Orlando, Florida. I was in charge of the Marine Corps Ground Training Systems and Simulators. I was about to compete a major contract for our West Coast bases and units and needed a cost estimate on some “non-technical stuff.”

At about the same time, a project manager didn’t have enough funding to pay a couple of civil service employees. This was a Competency Aligned Organization (CAO), and it seemed nobody had any funding for these two people, at least until the next fiscal year's funds kicked in.

I had some funding and a need for a cost estimate. I briefed the two employees in detail. They acknowledged that they understood and would have the job finish in less than two weeks, which was what I had budgeted out of my program funds for a cost estimate.

I was beginning the process for a major recompete of contracts in the Pacific (Japan and Hawaii) and traveled there for the next week. Internet service in Okinawa was not too good back in those days, so when I changed planes in Osaka, I went into the United lounge and logged in to my email. I asked how the estimate was coming.

When I touched down in Hawaii for an overnight, I went to my email as soon as possible, expecting at least an update, if not the complete estimate. C’mon, this wasn’t rocket science; it was just a dozen hours of work that I expected these two could knock out in a couple of weeks. Even in those days, the bar was set very low for general performance.

Their reply was in my inbox. It said, we decided not to do it.

They didn’t decide not to get paid, just not to do the work. When I touched down in Orlando, I went straight to the office and completed the estimate myself. It took 9 hours.

The next day, I expressed to their supervisory chain my disdain for the contemptuous attitude these two had towards their jobs and their country. They may not have cared what they did or didn’t do for someone else, but these were Marine Corps funds, and I guarded them fiercely.

I needed a cost estimate and paid for one, but these two knuckleheads showed no sense of duty, work ethic, or obligation whatsoever. None!

So, I went to Human Resources upon their request. The two employees had complained that I was being unfair. I wasn’t sure which part wasn’t fair—paying their salary or expecting them to work when they came to work. I went to HR.

I explained the situation and the HR manager, said, “We’ve had trouble with military before.”

 I am not often surprised, but this was out of left field. Two civil service employees agreed to work on a 15-hour project and get paid for two weeks (80 hours). They took the pay but didn’t do the work, and the human resources folks said this was not something I should be upset about. In fact, I was the source of the problem, expecting them to do any work at all.

Finally, I met with the Executive Director (ED), who is sort of the civil service supervisor of those employees at that facility. There was a crowd in the executive conference room. The ED said that he didn’t understand why I was upset.

I told him that I paid for and expected a cost estimate, and they refused to do the work.

The executive director said that he still didn’t see the problem, but he would have them do the cost estimate.

I told him that I had already done it.

He was shocked. I just got back.

I told him that I had just returned from the airport after being overseas for over a week and knocked it out overnight. I then made a quick trip home to throw on a shave and a clean uniform and return to work.

The ED thought he was off the hook and said, I guess there’s nothing to be done. He was ready to leave.

I said, except to refund the money I sent to have the estimate done.

While this was a terrible experience due to the deeply seeded attitude of entitlement among government workers, seeing the looks on the faces of the civil service folks was almost worth it.

The pucker factor in the room among the government workers was through the ceiling.

Return the Money?

Hoping to save face, the ED noted that there was not enough time left for me to use the money in the fiscal year and it would just be lost if it was returned.  You could sense that he had finally made a point that he could defend as there were only a couple of days left in the fiscal year.

I said, "Yes, I can." Everything is in place; we are just waiting for the return of the funds. That should take 15 minutes at most.

If you know me, you might know that I can sometimes be a tiny bit ornery. So, I said “Thank You for opening my eyes.”

The ED was a bit perplexed, so I continued. If I can do two all-nighters a year, I could cut funding for a whole employee. That was about $85-100K each, including the overhead. By the way, the overhead paid the salaries of the senior civil service employees in the conference room.

If I worked four all-nighters, no, a week of all-nighters every fiscal year, I could save half a million dollars in civil service employee costs. I stood up, said, "I’m on it," and left the room.

That last part was just for fun. I had no time for civil service reform. I had Marine Corps training systems essential to training in our modern age and that’s where my mission and focus remained.

I hope this short reminiscence opened some eyes. It did for me. The entitlement mentality has had 25 years to grow and dig in from an already well-defended position. Only the broadsword can begin the process. Scalpels come later.

There will be casualties along the way. This isn’t Kindergarten where you can sit out for a while if you have a boo-boo.

This is simple, the pain of cleaning house will be less than the pain of doing nothing differently, and surrendering to this money for nothing and your chicks for free soundtrack playing in government offices.

***

While working with the civil service people associated with Marine Corps Programs, I met and worked with some top-notch people. I still write the occasional job or promotion recommendation for some, though we are all getting to the point where it’s time just for golf and grandkids.

So, how do you reward those who defy the government employee model and give it their all?

I got them bonuses. You can give a civil service employee a financial bonus. You have to plan for it, justify it, and budget it, and I did. It is that simple.

Reward the best, coach and counsel those trying to do their best, and give the entitled the boot.

It’s going to look mean at first, but it is necessary. The infection has festered too long. We get it now or lose the patient—liberty.

President Trump, press on.

Mr. Musk, stay the course.

Government Employees, work or go away.

This isn’t rocket science.