trehorn said:
i couldn't give a toss what he wears its the fact that he's been dishing out cash lef right and centre for six months only to discover that come february the cupboards will be bare.
In a civilian company you'd be shot for that!
Oh for God's sake - he does what he is told to do and is required to work within very strict financial management parameters!
He is given a budget and he spends to that budget - have you ever seen the monthly/periodic returns that the SM has to send in? He will probably be working to an expenditure trend based on his in-year budget allocation plus previous years spending pattern and he will aim to reflect the current year spend accordingly.
If he is overspending against trend he gets asked why; if he is underspending against trend he gets asked why.
If he had held the money back there you would be criticising him for treating the money like it was his own and refusing to spend it - get a life!
If the money has run out ahead of plan there are likely to be 2 reasons;
1. The budget has been cut
2. People have been spending ahead of plan because training has been blobbed up rather than spread across the year (in a unit that has a predominance across one or two specialisations that could easily happen if training typically takes place at a certain time (The Medics always used to go off to Saighton Camp at the same time of year for example)
I suggest Trehorn, that if you have been 'disadvantaged' you take a long hard look at who in your unit has been spending more than they should more often than they should rather than kick a guy for doing the job he is told to do - the SM doesn't make the rules, he follows them ... or he is replaced by someone who will!
Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed - the RNR isn't a civilian company, it spends public money and therefore the budget holders have to be even more judicious about how they spend it - we may not like it and we may be able to point out abuse and waste and mismanagement but that is life where the grown ups live.