I worked in Army S&T for almost a decade. After the GSA travel scandal and sequestration around 2012 and 2013, we were not allowed to go unless we took a day of leave and went on our personal time as John Q. Citizen. I thought that was a little silly because we live in the DC area so it wouldn't require any hotels or airfares (just a metro ride or a short drive), and we worked for the Army and needed to learn what all the vendors were doing, and blah blah blah. I tried requesting attendance for some of my employees, but was never approved, except one year I somehow got approved to attend. I was already familiar with most of the products and systems so I thought was OK. But what I remember the most was the incredibly overpriced food.