Gates Recommends $78 Billiion in Defense Cuts

The VFW ^ | Jan. 7, 2011 | Teresa Morris

[katiedidit1]

Excellent post..one of the best I have ever read in regards to this urgent topic. Agree with your cuts but toss in billions in foreign aid along with it.

[F1reEng1neRed]

Ha! Guess I would’ve known that had I read it! You’re right, they should be able to that and more.

[GailA]

DoD Budget 2012: Pay and TRICARE
http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/01/tricare-fee-outlook-for-2012/?wh=wh

he Sec­re­tary of Defense, Robert Gates, is mak­ing the rounds talk­ing about his pro­posed FY2012 bud­get. Although cur­rently light on details, the news seems good for mil­i­tary pay and ben­e­fits, but, not-so-good for mil­i­tary retirees who rely on TRICARE.

Mil­i­tary Pay and Ben­e­fits — Defense Sec­re­tary Gates plans to cut troops in order to cut costs. The troop level cuts are not to start until 2015, but this does reflect Gates’ ear­lier state­ments about look­ing at cut­ting troops before cut­ting pay and ben­e­fits.

TRICARE – On the other hand, Sec. Gates has stated that he is seek­ing changes to the military’s TRICARE med­ical pro­gram, not­ing that fees have not risen since the pro­gram replaced CHAMPUS in 1995. He said he is propos­ing mod­est increases to fees for working-age mil­i­tary retirees.

[OldGoatCPO]

You are absolutely correct, it is the Vietnam and Persian Gulf War vets that will be hurt the most. I have a friend that was injured in Nam. He remained on active duty despite damage to his foot. The VA was not as accurate in assessing injuries when he retired as they are now. He could barely walk by the time the TRICARE approved surgery. He still has a low VA rating and cannot afford an increase in TRICARE.