Under New Recommendations Military to Have Pay and Benefits Cut

Mike,

I came after reading it on Virginia's blog. Looks like another genius idea of our government

Saunders - I firmly believe without being the genius that many of us are when it comes to economics these days, that Defense Spending is an appropriate discussion to have when looking to save ourselves some money as a Country.  That written, I also agree with Paul's first sentence above. 

But what I don't agree with is cutting benefits or the income of those who have served loyally and honorably.  However, I have known some of the folks who are in that game and they take advantage of things the same way the poor take advantage of a Food Stamp to buy a bag of chips.  The only difference is, one works (off and on) at your local grocery and one has the popular achievement of being able to serve our country, even if they only did 50 push-ups (over three days) and passed out because of their asthma.  And then got discharged ... and collect monies for the rest of the damn life without working again.

Entitlement comes in all forms.  If one wants to cure it, cure it ... across the freaking board.  I love my military buds, but don't hold them any more or less accountable than the ones hiring for their services.

@Jason Sardi - Perhaps I do not understand your comment.

Anyone who enlists in the military at this point in time can count on being sent overseas without much notice, or with any clue of how long their time there WILL be extended.  They join and serve with faith that their extreme sacrifice and that of their families will be rewarded, If they come home, with the benefits that they were promised. 

One of our family friends recently died at 57 years old.  He had painful lumps in his chest and stomach that you could see on the front of his shirts - shrapnel.  Lumps in his legs - shrapnel that had grown into the muscles and tendons.  He was a tunnel rat in Viet Nam - crawled on his belly in the dark, wounded, but still fighting with his hands and a knife through wet unknown areas full of traps and mines.  He volunteered to go, not drafted, and signed up for another 2 year 'term' and went back to Vietnam.  A true hero.  Damaged.  He finally applied for benefits when he was 45 years old, after much encouragement from family.  He did not feel he deserved it - his buddies died in those tunnels.  He finally got partial disability when he was 55.  Died from complications of internal injuries 2 years later.

My son in law just got out of the army.  He was sent to Iraq.  Twice.  Re-enlisted.  Sent to Afghanistan for 6 more months, which turned into a year.  A year of watching friends die, a year of worrying about himself and his family.  When he came home, the Army immediately put him in training for his next tour.  We talked him into leaving the army.  He is damaged, in anquish.  He is not the person who went over there.

My other son in law is still in the Navy - 10 years.  His last tour was in Afghanistan, extended 4 months.  He lost 40 pounds in his first 2 months over there.  They ran out of food often, the remote bases were too hard to get to, and too dangerous for food drops.  He is home, but doesn't talk about it.

My husband is a Vietnam Vet.  He doesn't talk about it without crying.

I do not know your 'folks' who are taking advantage of the system.

I do know my folks who are not.  They are honorable and deserving of any benefits that they get, including but not limited to the benefits that they were promised when they joined.

Please do not take this offensive attitude and lump the lack of character and feelings of entitlement of your folks with my folks.

I am a Navy wife (retired) and an Army mom, so this issue hits close to home.  Nothing will change wrt how our military is viewed until we get some "right" thinking mentality in the White House.  Until then, it's just going to be more of the same.  I hope Americans are now awakened to the fact that their vote has consequences. 

Virgina _ I also have a friend who was a tunel rat in Nam. He got out and after tree months reenlisted for two more years. He is a great guy who can fix anythin but by 10 AM he starts drinking, by 2 pm he is difficult to get along with  and by 8 PM completely obnoxious. Has vever even been to a VA doctor, won,t take any help.

    I work with areservist who is getting ready for his third tour in Afghanistan. He is the nicest sweetest Christian man, but the all of a sudden he snaps and becomes down right scary.

    Only an administration like the current bunh of socialist BOZOs would try to cut the budget by cutting pay and benefits for our military. I consider my self  a spiritual God fearing Christian and try  to honor the two greatest commandments but there is a part of me that hopes the Lord has a special xtra hot place in hell for our current president.

Sorry Mike, just wanted to respond to Virginia.

Hi, Mike. I didn't realize you served in Vietnam... thank you for your service. It's typical of military members to not brag about their service, and be humble about sacrifices they and their families made.

I share Virginia's indignation. Military personnel benefits (active duty and retired) are often the government's whipping boy when it comes to defense cuts, yet the government still commands them to sacrifice life and limb for this country.

Many civilians have no understanding of what military life is, and have no idea what the penalties and benefits are. 

I love what our military can do and what it has accomplished.  That said, the military does game the system, it has a system that allows career minded officers to punch tickets up the ladder.  And although there are hundreds of thousands of vets from many wars that we as a country have not fulfilled our promises with, there are many in service that end up in Washington, just going through the motions with each admistration.  Every part of our federal system needs an overhaul.  I normally disagree with Sardi on many ways, but he is right, everything is on the table.

Saunders - Yup, I meant Mr. Walker's sentence.  And I heart you.  I've written it before and will reiterate it again, you get it.  And I love learning from you, sometimes it hurts when I am wrong ... but every once in a jeweled moon I may get it right.  I feel bad even commenting on this post because I never was in the Military ... though I dare say at the tender age of thirty-four I'm not nearly the antagonist I was then, but I never got called, only solicited.  There is a difference.  I'd go, though.   Especially now ...

@ Virginia Hepp -  Maybe you didn't understand my comment.  I'd be one of the last, if not THE last, to take away income, benefits, etc, from those who do what needs to be done so you and I can banter on this or any other forum.  Somehow, your last sentence "Please do not take this offensive attitude and lump the lack of character and feelings of entitlement of your folks with my folks." seems to point out that my comment  was in any direction to yourfolks.  I can assure you that wasn't and isn't the case.  Sorry you find it offensive.  Actually, I'm not.  Because I wasn't talking about you or your family or your friends.  I was talking about the inevitable stuff that goes on with any type of Hero Worship that goes on that I have witnessed.  Did you ever notice how all the "Libs" consider the Military Bad Guys and Gals and the "Conservatives" see them as the the second coming of Willis Reed if you are a New York Knick Fan, yet NONE of it makes total sense.  You know your family far better than I and I certainly won't pretend to judge them.  I'm just saying that Entitlement comes in all forms.  In all forms ... yours may not fit those forms.  I don't think my experiences do either, however I'm pretty sure it happens.  And that was the only thing I was trying to point out. 

I just want to know why Congress and whoever is in it drink bottled water at my expense. If I want bottled water, I buy it and bring it with me when I go out and put extra bottles in my car for my clients. Amazing.

Jason, if you want to serve it's an all volunteer military. You still meet the age requirement by the Army, Army Reserves, Army National Guard, Air National Guard, & Naval Reserves. Don't wait to get called, walk in any recruiting office, they will welcome you with both arms. Just don't expect the benefits they promise you to be available once you're in, and when you get discharged.

Let's be clear...Admiral Mullen said 'all items are on the table'...as they should be.  The US outspends militarily every other nation on the planet COMBINED!  Even if we cut the DoD budget in half, we still outspend the next 5 biggest countries defense spending....COMBINED.  It's high-time we get the DoD (and the political hawks) to grasp the realities of a world in which the US should not be the global policemen but also can't afford to be.

"We're at the point where … we have to present 'here are options to execute this,' and those are then decisions that the president has to make," Mullen explained. "So we haven't gotten to the specifics of [whether] the White House supports X, Y and Z."

I agree that pay and benefits should be last thing cut...the story has Mullen saying we shouldn't take the 'easy way out.'  The writer hypothesizes that he meant a cut to pay and benefits.

You are correct they are the one group of Americans that never get what they truely deserve.

Hi Mike -it is pretty amazing the things we want to cut versus the incredible waste on other Pork programs