Defense Chief Warns on Military Pay

Wall Street Journal ^ | 05/25/2011 | JULIAN E. BARNES And NATHAN HODGE

[Old Teufel Hunden]

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...

[mmercier]

I have a friend who has spent 5 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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.

[AnyStreetFL]

n times like these, even sacred cows are gonna have to be cut. As nasty as that sounds, it’s a must.

I always enjoyed watching "Muffie & Buffie" sitting on their behind and pander to save a dime at the expense of those who risk life and limb.

[New Jersey Realist]

I know how to reduce the military budget - fire the Commander-in-Chief!

[AFret.]

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)

[W. W. SMITH]

Gunny Its even worse, gross inflation in the upper ranks.

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.

[Darksheare]

Hey Gates, lead by example.
I’m certain you don’t need that cushy pension or benefits that exceed those given to soldiers.

[W. W. SMITH]

I meant to add a disclaimer: I am a retired Chief Petty Officer.

[sternup]

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.

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...

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"A gater freighter, Navy crew of 700 to 800 with over 100 E7s, 8s and 9s."

Chief, is that a fairly recent phenomena? I don't remember in my day that many chiefs and master chiefs running around on the ship.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"late 20 year olds with E7 and above insignia...early 30s 0-6s....not like that in my day..."

This may sound like age discrimination, but at least in the Marine Corps you can't acquire the knowledge and experience needed to be a Gunny by your late 20's. Just my humble opinion...

[LibsRJerks]

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.

[matginzac]

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!!!!!!!

[sternup]

maybe I'm just an old and bit disgruntled NCO that it took almost 9 years to make E6 in the AF...darn good ERs...just in a career field that was a tough jump from E5 to E6....made E5 in 3 years, but after that was pretty slow going for me.... NOW, I see a lot of big time rank on some very young faces..especially women, on my commissary and exchange trips, maybe they are just older than they appear to someone in their mid 60s....hell, I remember we had a WAF in the AF that was a Bo Derek lookalike...E9, maybe 30-33 years old...now that was a gal that got 6 down and two up REAL QUICK..her station?..89th Airlift Wing..Andrews AFB aka SAM...Motto..."Experte Credo"..."Trust one with Experience"

She added a whole new meaning to "6 down and two up"...

[notatard?]

and on...
and on...
and on...

[W. W. SMITH]

I retired 24 years ago. My son is a Navy JO. I visited his first command 5 years ago, that is when my observations where made.

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.

[notatard?]

-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?

[stevie_d_64]

Re-enlistments/retention is going to go into the toilet now...

I bet its all a part of the plan...

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"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."

Reminds me of a saying we had. Too many chiefs, not enough indians. In the navy, it has more meaning... : )

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"hell, I remember we had a WAF in the AF that was a Bo Derek lookalike...E9, maybe 30-33 years old"

Okay, Bo Derek look alike, we might have to make an exception for her... : )