I’ve been watching the social media universe point out that we spent $200 million to rescue a pilot whose training only cost $11 million and somehow this has come across as a deficiency.
I sat in an MBA class where we were discussing the Ford Pinto issue. For those who are not familiar, there was a flaw in the Ford Pinto where in a particular set of circumstances, if the car was rear-ended the gas tank would burst and potentially cause a catastrophic fire. The controversy occurred because while the fix cost about 20 bucks in 1970 dollars, the total cost to retrofit all of the cars produced would exceed what Ford estimated the damages would be to simply pay out estates of who were killed in fires. Ford decided this was the best plan, and did not retrofit.
In my MBA class, I made the point that the analysis was not invalid, it simply failed to consider the value of the brand damage that would occur if people realized that Ford equated people with money. So Ford had not made the wrong decision, they just had not considered all the variables.
The American military is the most lethal force in the universe, and a big reason of that is because we will not leave our people behind. Part of the reason why are people fight the way they do is because they know that America does not consider their lives to be disposable. So I consider that $200 million incredibly cheap. Thank God we live in a time when we consider every service members life to be invaluable