The fuel business in Afghanistan is different. When the US first began bringing fuel in the shortages/theft was endemic. It was eventually discovered that truck drivers in Afghanistan normally are not paid by the load. They take payment by keeping some of the goods transported. That didn’t fly too well with Uncle’s auditors so we ensured the companies hiring the drivers began paying them by the load.
That was several years ago. Fuel theft is still an issue. It’s too valuable and too easy to sell. That and the locals who transport our goods are dirt poor. There is high reward and reasonable risk. Not that this is confined to locals. Our own contractors have been involved from time to time. Here, and other theaters as well. But, I digress. I’m looking into several discrepancies and trying to piece the puzzle together. I’m dealing with large international companies
, local companies, defense contractors and the military. It’s a curious business. At the moment I’m focused on creating better audit trails and transaction transparency. This should be interesting. I have some feel for the people I’m dealing with but I’m still FNWGY. It’s a bit like being thrown into a James Bond story albeit without much dramatic action, just much confusion over who is trustworthy and who isn’t. Good thing I like puzzles!
At the moment there are complaints by the drivers against one of our military contractors. The first I heard of it was from the COO of one of our suppliers. Not a good start. At first it looked like pointless grumbling. I am looking to tighten audit trails as a way to prove or disprove these complaints and hopefully improve the efficiency of the entire supply chain. Interestingly enough an offhanded complaint by me in a conversation with another officer led to the confirmation of one of the driver complaints. It turns out that they are being prevented from leaving the base if they have too great a shortage upon delivery. Bad deal for everyone. They are already being penalized by the companies that hire them. Holding them here is unethical, pointless and damages our ability to get our job done! It’s a typically American short sighted solution that damages us in the long run.
I don’t like that some drivers steal fuel. But, I accept that it is the norm. It’s been cultural here. Cultural changes do not take place in a few years. They generally take a generation or more. We can continue to ferret out their schemes or we can react in a knee jerk fashion that harms the entire business relationship… drivers, carriers, suppliers. I can’t say this surprises me. The turn over here is appalling. Granted I am only here on 6 month orders, but at least we are staggered out so that the entire office does not swap at the same time. This is not true for the Army. They reinvent the wheel every year. So much for efficiency or sound business practices.
I’d better stop here and start a new entry. Going into the inefficiency, waste, short sightedness, of the modern, heavily contracted-out military machine will lead me into a book, not a blog entry. Certainly not something most want to read. It’s too heartbreaking and infuriating. Hey, think of it this way… it’s your tax dollars at work!!!
That was several years ago. Fuel theft is still an issue. It’s too valuable and too easy to sell. That and the locals who transport our goods are dirt poor. There is high reward and reasonable risk. Not that this is confined to locals. Our own contractors have been involved from time to time. Here, and other theaters as well. But, I digress. I’m looking into several discrepancies and trying to piece the puzzle together. I’m dealing with large international companies
, local companies, defense contractors and the military. It’s a curious business. At the moment I’m focused on creating better audit trails and transaction transparency. This should be interesting. I have some feel for the people I’m dealing with but I’m still FNWGY. It’s a bit like being thrown into a James Bond story albeit without much dramatic action, just much confusion over who is trustworthy and who isn’t. Good thing I like puzzles!At the moment there are complaints by the drivers against one of our military contractors. The first I heard of it was from the COO of one of our suppliers. Not a good start. At first it looked like pointless grumbling. I am looking to tighten audit trails as a way to prove or disprove these complaints and hopefully improve the efficiency of the entire supply chain. Interestingly enough an offhanded complaint by me in a conversation with another officer led to the confirmation of one of the driver complaints. It turns out that they are being prevented from leaving the base if they have too great a shortage upon delivery. Bad deal for everyone. They are already being penalized by the companies that hire them. Holding them here is unethical, pointless and damages our ability to get our job done! It’s a typically American short sighted solution that damages us in the long run.
I don’t like that some drivers steal fuel. But, I accept that it is the norm. It’s been cultural here. Cultural changes do not take place in a few years. They generally take a generation or more. We can continue to ferret out their schemes or we can react in a knee jerk fashion that harms the entire business relationship… drivers, carriers, suppliers. I can’t say this surprises me. The turn over here is appalling. Granted I am only here on 6 month orders, but at least we are staggered out so that the entire office does not swap at the same time. This is not true for the Army. They reinvent the wheel every year. So much for efficiency or sound business practices.
I’d better stop here and start a new entry. Going into the inefficiency, waste, short sightedness, of the modern, heavily contracted-out military machine will lead me into a book, not a blog entry. Certainly not something most want to read. It’s too heartbreaking and infuriating. Hey, think of it this way… it’s your tax dollars at work!!!
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