Letter to the editor

  • Jul 06, 2001

Hear! Hear! I concur with Milt Zall's standpoint. The pay adjustments are supposed to reflect the cost of living as measured by inflation.

I'm a civil servant who worked for the Defense Department for 15 years and agree that the military has some tough conditions and long hours. BUT, I was working right alongside sailors. As a civilian, I have more sea time than many career Navy personnel. I was at Grenada, I've been to the Persian Gulf, I've gone through "the ditch," as sailors call the Suez Canal.

By the way, guess how much extra I made living aboard a ship? On average about five bucks a day. Oh yes I did get overtime pay of an agreed-upon 20 hours max per week. What was my function? I was a technical representative for the F/A-18 employed by the Naval Aviation Engineering Service Unit (NAESU). Most times I went to sea with Navy carriers as what I thought of as an "insurance policy." However, I was there!

Jon Rudeseal DOD/DOT civil servant

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