Lucre, filthy lucre...

So I spent the last week training under the Federal dime, particularly under the umbrella of DHS, and have seen how much the checkbook has changed in the past few years, at least when it comes to national security...

I spent 14 years playing in the military for those who may not know. I became very accustomed to putting in 14-18 hour days in training, especially when you added in gear cleaning & maintenance, regular cleaning, and just general facility upkeep for whatever base or class I was dealing with. It was just an accepted fact that you would put in the time to get stuff ready to train the next day & take care of all the stuff they gave you.

Well, this week was definitely different - and it wasn't just my class, it was the whole thing. Gear was set out for us when we showed up in the morning, it was swapped out when required through the day (fresh ice vests after two hours training in a HAZMAT suit and SCBA is a blessing in July, trust me), and at the end of the day the magic trucks showed up to roll it all away and get it ready for the next morning.

Not to mention the constant flow of snacks, water & anything else we needed to just be able to focus on the course in question.

Now, I'm not saying this administration is perfect by any stretch - we all know I have problems with bits of it. But trust me, it is very nice from the standpoint of someone doing the job to be able to spend a week actually training, without any wasted time as opposed to ten years ago when we would have been scrounging for enough money to even show up, much less make it worth our effort. And I can honestly say everyone in the class is better prepared to go home and help our communities now.

Just something you might want to keep in mind when you decide where your priorities are...