Please Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs & Turn Down the AC, Per Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth

(July 1, 2006)--Billions of military dollars [is] being spent on the war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, some Army posts back home can't afford to pay the electricity bill or cut the grass.

The Army's Installation Management Agency is $530 million short of what it needs to fund 117 garrisons at posts it oversees in the United States, Europe and Asia through Oct. 1.

Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio hasn’t been able to pay a $1.5 million-a-month electric utility bill since March.

That's prompting the utility system to mail out 1,300 disconnection notices for many of the post's administrative buildings.

Legislation Congress approved June 15 includes $722 million for the Installation Management Agency, to be divided among its installations.

Fort Sam Houston's garrison commander, Col. Wendy Martinson, still doesn't know how much Fort Sam will get.

She expects it'll be enough to pay the $4.6 million electric tab.