The Transportation Security Administration is looking for managers to supervise the fitness center in its Pentagon City headuqarters. The request notes that the fitness center currently has only 220 dues-paying members; the annual membership fee is $312/year, which implies that total annual revenue is $68,640. Nevertheless, the request notes that TSA's goal is for the fitness center "to be self-sustaining"...something that won't be easy at that revenue level.
According to this DHS Inspector General report, the initial cost of this fitness center was $650,000. At least that expense was fully vetted by DHS -- as opposed to the contrast with the gym at the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC) in Herndon, which, the Washington Post notes, was chastised in the same IG report.
I don't have any objection in principle to government offices having their own fitness centers; it's a good investment to the extent that it increases employee productivity and allows them to utilize their time effectively. But with only 220 dues-paying members at the TSA gym, it needs to be asked: might couldn't they use the Bally's Total Fitness, a block-and-a-half from TSA headquarters, instead?
- Christian Beckner
© Copyright 2024 Military.com. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request here.
