[ARC5] Surplus Disposal

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <MillerKE6F at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Surplus Disposal


>Therefore, what is the government to do?...
> The original contractors did not want the stuff flooding the 
> marketplace in competition with their post war offerings...

Stupid waste is never justified.  *Never.*
Thoughtful people can always find a positive alternative
IF they are allowed to do so.  
There are people all over the world who could have 
broken that disarmed equipment down and put it to 
all sorts of postive uses, even if only to smelt it down
to make plows and hoes.  Better to disarm  
and strip-out the critical spares and leave the rest of 
the aircraft to the natives on the island or the destitute
peoples in Europe to make of what they would, 
than to throw them in the drink.

Think of the technical schools that could have been founded 
with the equipment of all types that was dozered.   
It would have cost us nothing to turn it over to the 
locals and let them make the best of it.
Sure, some would have been sold to Chief Ugg's uncle,
but that's beside the point;  once we've given them
the assets to better themselves in any way, the 
responsibility passes to them; our hands are morally "clean."

And I think the "it wasn't worth the transport-" 
given the empty transport sitting idle in every harbor and 
the hundreds of thousands of idle hands laying around 
playing cards- is nonsense spread by those
who were beholden to commercial interests.

The truth is as you stated later in your post, Bob:  
The Big Money boys had it done.
Congressmen and Senators were bought, just as they are now, 
by commercial interests who felt threatened.  
The sad part is, the threat was hollow.   
They were never in real danger.  Most of the equipment 
was not suitible for civilian use in the U.S. in the first place.
But that's no excuse to dump it in the ocean.

No one can ever convince me that the only good thing to
do with that 7-foot tall stack of NOS Textronic scope probes
and those tons of tech manuals for every kind of gear you can 
imagine was to bury them in a hole.  
It would have cost nearly nothing to send them to tech schools 
and colleges all over the world.  Many people could have 
(and.... ahem... did) volunteer to spend their own time 
and money to pack them up and ship them out.
We were told "the schools don't want any of it."
Well I and some others actually made some calls on that,
and it was a flat *lie*, one of Uncle Stupid's chief talents.
Lord... 15 years ago and it still angers me to think of it.
And I'll tell you a secret- I heard a "rumor," but of course
could never swear... of course not...
that a lot of small stuff that could fit in boxes at the post office
did anonymously go to those places.
There are people who are willing to take risks to address 
such a gross and disgusting outrage;
even if they can make only a tiny dent in such an evil,
it's worth doing.
The C.O. who "followed his orders" by "throwing it in the fire" 
in such a way that the locals could put the stuff to good use 
should get a medal.

I believe completely that Ingratitude and Waste, which
are "kissing cousins," are two deep, black evils for which
The West shall certainly be held accountable 
on  "That Great Gettin'-Up Mornin'."

73 DE Dave AB5S