Letters

You were so right when you said we cut federal agencies too deep, too fast ("The War Ahead," Editor's Notebook, November). After 15 years in government, I applied for my first nonfederal job. In discussing my decision, I told my sister that I was afraid of where government was. I felt like I was part of a "sham" where we delude the public into thinking that we can protect them, when we are not given the resources to perform our missions.

On Sept. 11, she called me and said, "Is this what you were talking about?" Of course, no one could anticipate such horrific acts. But in Greater Los Angeles we have known for some time that there are cracks in the system. And as much as our dedicated employees have tried to keep their fingers in the holes of the dike, our severe recruitment and retention problems have exacerbated our already overstretched resources.

Kathrene Hansen
Executive Director
Greater Los Angeles Federal Executive Board

Well Done

I wanted to commend you for your October cover. The stark photograph and the brief titling was reassuring in this time of flux. It is not often that a magazine cover demands much attention, but this one struck a chord of emotion and need. This cover was the best of all the news publications that I have seen since the September attacks.

Dwayne Jozwik
Management/Program Analyst
Denver VA Medical Center
Voice Of Freedom

While I applaud your editorial in the October issue ("New Glory," Editor's Notebook), I am troubled by the remark that, "Only crisis, it seems, unites Americans in support of their government." I understand the spirit of this idea but in America, disagreement is not dissent and certainly not disloyalty.

I work for the executive branch; I grew up in the military as an Army brat. I know what it is to carry out orders, and I do so to the best of my ability. However, as a citizen I express my opinions at all levels of government. I have urged the government to stop drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, building the national missile shield and encouraging the waste of resources with high-mileage automobiles. Before Sept. 11, I was merely "voicing my opinion," as guaranteed by the Constitution, but today I am "disloyal." What happened?

I was at the Pentagon recently. I saw what the terrorists did and I want to stop them. While I understand the spirit of your remark, it could, if taken literally and repeated frequently, undermine the very thing that we stand for: democracy.

Michael S. Schmotzer
South Operations Team Leader
Defense Contract Management Agency
Reading, Pa.
Lost Generation

Your article has some value, but the sidebar ("Talkin' 'Bout Four Generations," September) describing the characteristics of the four groups of employees in today's workforce really needs a reality check! First, my generation, the "war babies" is missing. The first baby boomers were conceived when World War II ended in 1945 and their dads came home. Therefore, the vanguard of that group could not have been born earlier than 1946. Those of us who were born during that war have no memory of it and certainly did not live through the Great Depression. No, we are not "veterans" either. What are the characteristics of war babies, and what messages motivate us?

I'm not going to speak for the entire group. For myself, I can find one message in each of the other four groups that motivates me and stands out above the other three. And that gets me to my second point about this sidebar: It fails completely to take into account personality types and personality differences. No good manager can afford to overlook those.

Dorothea E. de Zafra
Senior Program Analyst and Science Education Program Coordinator
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Hiring managers, not just human resource personnel, will require training that focuses on more than the similarities and differences among the four generations described in your article.

To successfully bridge the gap among generations, managers need training to identify the behavioral and work styles of potential applicants as well as those of employees who are up for promotions. These four generations need to learn how to talk each other's language and be aware of their individual work styles. For example, the Xer welcomes any drop-in with a question, while one had better make an appointment with the veteran or boomer.

Elliott B. Jaffa
Arlington, Va.

The LIE In The Lore

The letter from James W. Hawkins Jr. ("Compensation Conundrum," September) perpetuates a myth about military retirement benefits that I see in the media time and again. The myth is that everybody who volunteers for the armed services benefits from an "awesome" retirement package.

This is not true. Many of the people who volunteer to stand between us, our way of life and harm's way do so for very little in the way of monetary reward. The primary difference between any comparison of military and civilian pay and retirement systems is not that the military is noncontributory, but that it is not transferable. In other words, a military member must make it to 20 years (now, sometimes 15) to get any retirement benefits. Civilians can move their contributory plans when and wherever they go.

Given the current "up or out" policy and Defense drawdowns, it is unlikely that most of the military will ever get to avail themselves of this retirement.

All in all, the military pay system has a ways to go to achieve parity.

Maj. Nick Chando
Air Force
Getting Nowhere I turned to "Ask the Experts" (Travel, August) with great anticipation, but I was greatly disappointed by the answers to the questions.

The "answer" to the first question wasn't even an answer. The writer complained about traveling 600 extra miles and an extra half day to save the government $23 and asked why this was so. The response was, "Considering service and pricing, the GSA City Pair Program is the best value in the sky." But that wasn't the question. The writer wanted to know how to get around GSA's archaic rules and really provide value to the taxpayers. I guess we'll never know, and GSA will sit smugly in its ivory tower-oblivious to the real world. May we please have a real answer?

Now, I have a travel question of my own. As an exempt employee, I don't get overtime for travel outside work hours. I must travel on weekends and late at night frequently because I have to use licensed carriers with inopportune departure times or because meetings begin at 8 a.m. Monday or end at 5 p.m. Friday. Considering that I've had to fly coach in cramped and uncomfortable seats on delayed flights with inadequate per diem, has anyone thought to not make me travel on my own time?

Name withheld by request