Posted on 05/25/2011 4:39:17 AM PDT by AnyStreetFL
The coming round of Pentagon budget cuts will force lawmakers to consider reducing military pay and benefits, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, raising an issue that could prove politically sensitive in a time of war,
In what was billed as Mr. Gates's last major policy speech, the outgoing Pentagon chief said the government would have to "re-examine military compensation," consider altering the retirement system to bring down costs, and address spiraling health-care costs.
Trimming Pentagon spending, Mr. Gates said, "will entail going places that have been avoided by politicians in the past."
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says a steep decline in military spending may force the Pentagon to abandon some missions, minimize the armed forces and possibly limit America's role in the world.
Military pay has risen steadily in recent years, as lawmakers have sought to reward troops for repeated, long deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Health-care costs have also ballooned, expanding to $50 billion a year from $19 billion a decade ago.
Mr. Gates's previous efforts to trim compensation costs failed. The defense secretary, who has served in the administrations of both Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, tried to raise health-care premiums or co-pays for military retirees, but lawmakers were loath to raise expenses for military families during wartime.
But growing pressure on lawmakers in recent years to deliver big reductions in the federal deficit have persuaded defense planners that Congress may be willing to take a new look at military compensation.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Sleaze ball government after military pay ping!
Easy fix, Republicans just say NO
If Congress decides to cut military pay and benefits will they cut their own?
If President 0bama signs off on it will he accept cuts in his pay and allowances?
There is one and ONLY 1 thing the Federal Gov’t is supposed to do:
Provide for the common defense.
All else can be done away with.
EPA: Gone
Funding for NPR: Gone
HHS: gone
the list goes on........
Maybe we should get millions off the freaking dole first.
How many of you get a “raise” just because you choose to have another child?
Those on welfare do.
The first step: no more money no matter how many more kids. Make ends meet, the rest of us have to.
Also: Don’t allow immigrants to immediately qualify for welfare. If you come here and can’t make it, you are welcome to go on home.
Eventually phase it out all together. Let the “needy” go to churches and private charities.
No military pay cuts until the sleazeballs in congress and the white house have their pay cut!
How about cutting them before hurting the trigger-pullers?
The coming round of Pentagon budget cuts will force lawmakers to consider reducing military pay and benefits, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday
OK. Start with YOUR salary Gates, then move on to the General Staff etc. I’ll bet millions can be cut before a real soldier ever loses a cent.........
One word: Obamacare.
This is the payoff of every socialist scheme since 1920: weaken the governments and military establishments of the Main Enemy capitalist West.
This is the Cloward-Pivening of the DoD.
Clearly room for pay cuts at the top grafes both officer and enlisted!
In the case of enlisted, the E8/E9 (supersgts) was a farce from the gitgo, i.e. 1960...
The original pre-1960 7 enlisted pay grades was good; if just a question of more pay an increase could have been effected t/o the enlisted ranks, especially those who do the work—privates, corporals, and buck sergeants!!!!!
Semper Fidelis
Gunny G
aka: Dick Gaines
1952...1972
*****
In times like these, even sacred cows are gonna have to be cut. As nasty as that sounds, it’s a must.
Hear, hear
Billions of stimulis pork doled out to keep union jobs and pensions paid for off the backs of taxpayers.
But....we are supposed to cut the military pay and benefits.
The country is a total disaster.
Oh man, you went after the sacred cow of the DOD lol. There are some good DOD Civs but there is a reason they have the reputation they do.
“Now, what is Congress, the President, his cabinent, Czars, government workers and welfare scum going to sacrifice? I earned my benefits after over 20 years service Mr. Gates. What are you going to sacrifice for our currently serving troops? “
************************
THEY’re not going to do zip-point-sh!t! As always...and it will stay thataway as we go the rest of the way down the sh!ttube!
All politicians (those in all walks of life) are scum—this is why the FFs were so harsh on them—their “quotes” are well known (but not enough well known, apparently)anduntil/if we the sheeple take over and rule the scum with an iron fist will things change.
You’re probably right Gunny. They’re going to do zippo. One thing you mentioned previously that other services can probably take a cue from the Marine Corps is that I believe most of the other services are way too top heavy. A way of attracting people to different specialized fields is faster promotion. Overall, the Marine Corps is pretty light at the top, even today. A large majority of Marines still lie in the Sergeant and below category. As it should be. The people that do the work.
From one old Gunny to another, Semper Fi...
I made more than him as a carpenter.
No one shoots at me, and I never had to be put into a position where killing another person becomes necessary.
It is easy to be shot at, killing a person is not so easy... It damages the spirit. Such situations change ones person, generally not in a positive way.
I know how to reduce the military budget - fire the Commander-in-Chief!
Obvious posturing..nothing will come of this.
Gates is sending a message to stop approving and funding programs the military doesn’t want. They cannot to pay the troops and pay for some new advanced weapon we don’t need.
congress must choose...and the military votes..this is not rocket science.
“No Bucks, No Buck Rogers” ( The Right Stuff)
A gater freighter, Navy crew of 700 to 800 with over 100 E7s, 8s and 9s. Numbers for a crew this size should be 12 to 15 E7s, 3 E8S and one E9. The chiefs mess should take as members, gold hash mark E6s.
Hey Gates, lead by example.
I’m certain you don’t need that cushy pension or benefits that exceed those given to soldiers.
amen to that...one trip to the commissary or exchange during the week will prove that...late 20 year olds with E7 and above insignia...early 30s 0-6s....not like that in my day...
Great, America. And I’m talking mainly here to the ones who vote Dem and who belong to unions and other left wing useless groups. YOU go, then. YOU leave YOUR family for years at a time, move 10 times in 20 years, and/or sit and wait for YOUR dad to come home or not.
YOU provide for your OWN defense, then, if you are not willing to compensate your military.
We’ll see how far that goes.
Amen -
The average pay for an experienced Navy SEAL is around the $50K range...shameful!
How much do HHS, Dept of Ed, HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie heads make?
SHAMEFUL!!!!!!!
She added a whole new meaning to "6 down and two up"...
and on...
and on...
and on...
In addition to the inflation I saw very little in the way of leadership among the Chief ranks. They view themselves as professional techs and for the most part sit around writing reports on this and that, in other words looking busy.
My son, after listening to me for twenty years, reported to his first command thinking that his Chief would help train him. To my abject embarrassment he had to correct and chew out his chiefs, three of them, constantly. To many Chiefs now act like useless E6s.
-How about cutting them before hurting the trigger-pullers?-
Because the trigger pullers report for duty, do their job and live (and die) on what ever scraps the current congress deigns to toss their way (besides, they’re just ignorant grunts anyway s/) - the civilians have a union to make sure the steak and caviar keeps coming their way in ever larger portions - after all, they are educated and enlightened and deserve more, right?
Re-enlistments/retention is going to go into the toilet now...
I bet its all a part of the plan...
Provide for the common defense.
All else can be done away with.
EPA: Gone
Funding for NPR: Gone
HHS: gone
the list goes on........
EXACTLY! The list sure does go on! Congress can cut funding to all the foreign countries who are our enemies, and my favorite would be to get rid of the Department of Education!
I want this shouted from the rooftops! The Federal government has been out of scope on its responsibilities for over a century, and it’s time to reel them back in.
That being said, let us also remember that many programs lauded by Americans will and should be cut under this moniker unless understood to be necessary for defense: i.e. NASA. However, as I recall, NASA started off as a private entity before the Fed subsidized and eventually subsumed it, no?
If only your words could become reality. Can you imagine how wonderful this Nation would be again?
NASA is one program that does not use very much of the overall budget, and in my opinion is definitely needed for National defense.
The many accomplishments of the program have also given much to society. I once had a very lengthy list of all the contributions NASA has made to improve our lives.
I’m of the same mindset, really. NASA’s the practical R&D department for the military, esp. with rocketry and space defense. I don’t see them as mutually exclusive. If anything, NASA should become another branch of the military, but how to do that would be logistically interesting.
Right on brother!
After four years active USAF duty, I did 33 years as a DOD CIV and my daughter (two deployments to Qatar and Afghanistan)is following in my footsteps. As a civilian I got sent to Vietnam a couple of times, trod a lot of dusty streets in the middle east, served all over Africa and Latin America. I put in a lot of unpaid hours. I hope nobody will begrudge me my pension.
Ron Paul is the only one who will do it. The others like democracy over a Republic.
How about all you freaking commies go live in Cuba or Venezuela?
The military is only TWO PERCENT of our population. But they carry the greatest risk, the put their lives on the line. LEAVE THEM ALONE _ you already tried to freeze them for 3 yrs - and make the wounded pay for their own medical expenses if they had a working wife - even if that wife had to quit work to care for her wounded husband - but had COBRA.
What a bunch of puling pukes, WAshington DC stinks from the odor - and that includes a lot of RINOS.
EXACTLY!
We need to crash DC computers with emails saying JUST THAT
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