Another military 'surge?'

I guess the entire world would grind to a halt without the services of Uncle Sam's military:

President Obama has expanded the very small group of top aides who are given the privilege of taxpayer-funded personal drivers — who take them from their house to work and back home again each day — to include two top political advisers.

The Bush White House did not give the same privileges to any of its political advisers, according to former Bush administration officials. There is a record of the Clinton White House doing so once for two months, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller.

Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, both senior advisers to the president, have been given the luxurious and prestigious perk of being picked up at their homes and driven to work or around town throughout the day in government vehicles chauffeured by military drivers, according to a list of those given the benefit provided to The Daily Caller by the White House.

A larger group of the president’s top aides – anywhere from 40 to 50 who fit the title “commissioned officers” – have access to drivers and cars from the White House motor pool throughout the day. But they must drive themselves to and from the White House when they come to work and go home.

Hagin said that during the Bush administration “there were people lobbying for portal to portal,” most of them from agencies outside the White House, such as the State Department.

“It’s a big status symbol and it is nice.”

Well, sure. But at a time when we're bogged down on multiple fronts in the War Against Crazy Jihadists Who Hate Us For Some Unfathomable Reason, wouldn't the services of these "top notch Army personnel" be better utilized somewhere else? Talk about mission creep...

Is traffic on the Beltway really so hazardous that contract civilian drivers aren't up to the task??