Military Fat

How come Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to eliminate an engine for the new F35 fighter jet? Because the military already has one they like very well, thank you very much. And they can't afford a second backup one. Well that seems reasonable. Then, how come Congress demands they get one whether they want it or need it or not? Because the second engine is made of pork fat. See, Congress lives on pork fat. Without it, how do you expect these people to get reelected? How does pork fat get them reelected? By getting people to vote for them? No. Pork fat gets them reelected because it brings in all that money from lobbyists hired by G.E. the company that wants to make the second engine. Here's another odd deal. If you're a captain in command of a company of soldiers and you need a bomb sniffing dog and it's handler and you make a request for it, it has to be approved by five four star generals. How come? It called job security. If Secretary Gates wants to get word to that captain to polish his boots, there are thirty levels of command in the chain of command between the Secretary and the captain. You'd think Mr Gates could just pick up the phone and call the captain and tell him to shine his boots, but oh no, it has to go through channels. Gates would like to pare that down too, but there stands congress and that job security thing again. And the thing is, each step in the chain of command has an increasingly larger staff to go with it. Ah. Life is good at the top, but even better just a step or two below the top.