Far East Cynic

Milking the Golden Cow…….

As I noted in my previous post-one family from a Naval Base in Japan seems to not know when to shut up.

10,000 DOLLARS! YGTBSM!

Let me give you a tip Mrs Cash-you had best keep a low profile when you return to Japan. This story is going viral among some parts of that particular base’s community and hell hath no fury like other spouses upon other spouses.

And someone is going to have to explain to me how being a DODDS employee qualifies one as a “missionary”.

  1. Skippy,
    DODDS did come out with the memo stating that their teachers had to stay here. Some of them were pretty sore about that. The reasoning was, since this was just a voluntary evacuation, not everyone would go. Hence there was the possiblity of children still being present and they would have to be in school. Also, remember that they do have to have a minimum number of days of school each year. The schools were closed, but they did open back up last week, and attendance has been low.

    As far as her comments about dependent travel, not true. At first they weren’t going to pay, but DODDS has come out and allowed their dependents funded travel. She also could have gotten on the AMC flights out of Atsugi, but that is another story. I know DODDS is paying for dependents because at one HRO meeting an employee who was a DODDS dependent, was authorized to go, but she has to take regular leave from her regular job. This has caused some uproar with the “bean counters” since you are going to have a person being paid regular pay (leave status), and still be able to draw the per diem and allowances of being on TAD (a classic case of double dipping).

    There was gas on Atsugi, even though you are limited to 8 gallons a purchase (5 gallons for Yokosuka), and they have even allowed MLC employees to use the NEX to buy gas. The commissary has food and after the initial quake, the Japanese stores in this area do have food. Some items are limited but there is food.

    There probably is a lot more to this story that is not being said. But this is just an example of someone wanting their 15 minutes of fame.

  2. And all this-while I would gladly get on a plane to work in Japan right now. Not fair.

    I can’t tell you how many people at Atsugi are pissed off about this video.

  3. Skippy,
    Just wait until all those who chose to leave start realizing the cost of their departure. Case in point, this family. Now that she has departed, her husband’s post allowance will go down. True she will be able to get the MI&E for her location at the full rate for the first 30 days, but after that it will go down. She pretty much shot herself in the foot with the video also, since now she will not be able to show a hotel receipt since she is staying at home, and loose those funds.

    Many people here have departed thinking that they are going on a paid vacation. It depends on your situation, but in reality they will not. Case in point, my boss’ wife works at the Commissary, and her supervisor evacuted to her home of record in the states. But she has to go on LWOP (Leave without pay), and looses the Post allowance, and no lodging since she is staying in her own home. She will only get MI&E which is below what she would be making if she stayed.

    What you will see is that next month, when the reality of the actual costs start sinking in (provided that the local PSDs/HROs do their job) you will see people trying to get back over here as fast as they can. Sad, but it will happen.

    I fully believe that there will be a full time GS12 or 13 position or O5 (AD) at CNFJ/USFJ and others that will have the job of rewriting the whole NEO plan and its associated plans. We are finding out now what is written, is not what is actually being done.

  4. Skippy,
    Noe more thing about that video that irks me. She talks about the power outages, yes there are some, but they are only for 3 hour blocks each, and most of the time, they don’t cut the power. For example, if your area is scheduled for 0620-0920, anytime during that period, if there is too much of a power demand, you will be blacked out. So far in my area, during the vulnerability periods we have not had any power outages.

    If this lady can’t figure out what to do for 3 hours in case the power goes out, then she doesn’t need to be here.

    On a side note, in the mass panic to leave Japan, many persons left their pets if they couldn’t take them. Some even abandonded them. If I were the CO, for those cases I would put them to sleep, but I guess he will not. For those who made a big stink about taking their pets with them, they go their wish. But we found out today that when they return, they have to go through the whole process again. That means the 180 day quarantine, and all the associate shots need to be taken care of.

    That will once again start the whole complaint process again. I can’t wait to see that happen.

  6. Skippy,
    I just can’t let this one go. Looking at it again, the wife makes the statement that her husband took an air mattress to his work to sleep. I am going to call “foul” on that one. I did sleep in my office in Mar 11, the night of the quake, due to the fact that there was no electricity in my home, and I live one block from the ocean, and we were under a tsunami warning. Also, my wife was stuck at her parents in Tokyo so there was no need for me to be alone.

    But as things settled down, and we knew of when the power would be out we made adjustments. It seems like to me that this guy used it as an excuse to get a few nights away from home. How could he leave his family in the dark, just so that he can sleep warm and comfy on an air mattress in his classroom? I think that there is more to this story than she is telling, and just looking at him from the article, I suspect he has other plans. As I said earlier, she is druming up too much hype on the food and gas situation, and I think she justs wants attention.

  8. He probably was spending his time at Thai Teck (sp ??) or those other hostess clubs by the Gorrilla Pachinko.

  9. Thai Tec is still there? I thought they closed it- after it got put off limits. Not that I ever went there- but so I am told. 😉

  10. Skippy,
    I think it is still there buy may be under a different name. But I do know that those other bars by the pachinko parlor are still there.

    I consider myself religious, and realize that I am a guilty sinner. But once again, I go back to that video. I hate to say it, but just looking at the pictures of her husband, and listening to her whining, I can say that this guy is probably enjoying himself in her abscence. I am sure that he is using the differnce in time zones as well as “power outages” to provide a great cover story for himself. I guess I have read too many stories about the missionaries in foreign lands and what they do to the native population, and in my opinion, this guy looks the type.