[Infowarrior] - SECDEF's outrageous travel

[Richard Forno]

Wired world or not, if you accept a job of this magnitude, you move your a-- to DC and that becomes your primary residence when on Uncle Sam's paycheck.   How much EXTRA is the taxpayer paying so Panetta can fly USG-owned comfy-class private-jet (plus local security escort and comms support) back and forth to the West Coast *every* weekend?  Reimbursing for a coach-fare ticket is a frakking joke, too. Such utterly wasteful spending during an era of economic stringency,.

The fact such a practice is APPROVED by this White House (at this time, too!) defies belief.   --- rick


Panetta's Commute Raises Eyebrows
Los Angeles Times
September 2, 2011 
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/01/nation/la-na-panetta-home-20110902

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Aides say that unless he is required to stay in Washington or travel
elsewhere, Panetta will spend most weekends and days off at his 12-acre
walnut farm in scenic Carmel Valley, where he and his wife, Sylvia, make
their home.

Panetta usually flies home late Friday and returns to Washington late
Sunday, getting to work on Monday morning, his aides say. Before agreeing to
run the Pentagon, he told the White House that he planned to go home
frequently. His aides maintain he stays in touch while out of town.

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Robert M. Gates, the previous defense secretary, kept a home in Washington
state. Gates visited several times a year for holidays or vacation but did
not go home each weekend.

His predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, made occasional visits to a home in
Taos, N.M., when he led the Pentagon. But he mostly stayed in Washington or
at his house on the nearby Chesapeake Bay.

Panetta is required to fly on U.S. government aircraft, whether on official
business or not, to ensure constant communication with the Pentagon and the
White House in case of a national security crisis.

On personal trips, like the weekend flights, Panetta is required to
reimburse the Treasury for the cost of an equivalent coach fare. The actual
cost of flying him is far higher -- about $3,200 per flight hour, according
to the Defense Department.

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