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Gates Pitches Military Pay Cuts
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 2011-05-25 | Julian E. Barnes & Nathan Hodge

Posted on 06/12/2011 4:30:21 PM PDT by rabscuttle385

WASHINGTON—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."

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: biggovernment; dod; gates; military
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To: rabscuttle385

Over one hundred thousand IRS employees and these idiots want to cut military pay and benefits.

Enough is enough.


21 posted on 06/12/2011 4:48:08 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Tony Weiner - Internet Flasher)
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To: SatinDoll

We should be leaving Germany, Eastern Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and forget about going to war with Syria!

Bring the military home, now. We can’t afford to be the world’s police force.


Well the bases in europe do help US national interessts.
They are not there to defend Europe...
They are there so the US can use it´s force in regions near by like the ME.
Just for example without the base in germany the US would not be able to fight the war in Afghanistan and iraq.
If this wars have been in US interesst is a different topic.
But fact is if you want to be able to project force around the globe then you will need forreign military bases.


22 posted on 06/12/2011 4:49:04 PM PDT by darkside321
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To: rabscuttle385
The U.S. military should be defending the United States, not other countries.

Agree...It's been an utter disaster...Costing thousands of lives, costing us trillions, not to mention we're broke, trillions in debt to Communist countries, with an economy on the brink.

23 posted on 06/12/2011 4:49:45 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Doogle

What congress should do this week is pass a bill that guarantees that all military votes have to be counted before an election could be certified.

Give it a catchy acronym and push it for 2012. Force Reid to pass it and Obama to sign it.

Those senators running for reelection will have no choice but to sign onto it.


24 posted on 06/12/2011 4:50:27 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Sarah Palin, the only candidate to be vetted by the NY Times, the Washington Post and NBC.)
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To: rabscuttle385

Go on, work to enrage these trained soldiers by making it even harder to support their families.

That’s a mistake no sane man would make, but we are taking about the sotero regime.


25 posted on 06/12/2011 4:52:03 PM PDT by Dr.Zoidberg (Warning: Sarcasm/humor is always engaged. Failure to recognize this may lead to misunderstandings.)
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To: ScottinVA
There is nothing worse for America than this embittered socialist manipulating the system from within.

Obamasalute-1sm
''The buck stops anywhere but here.'' -- Barry Soetoro

26 posted on 06/12/2011 4:53:06 PM PDT by BobP (The piss-stream media - Never to be watched again in my house)
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To: Colonel_Flagg; rabscuttle385

>>Our heroes deserve every dollar and benefit a grateful people can provide<<

Here’s a novel idea. Create a list, with the most important things on the top, such as, oh say MILITARY PAY on top, then the least important things on the bottom, such as health care for illegals, Congresscritters’ pay, the NEA, NPR, and the entire HEW.

Start funding from the top. When the expenditures total the taxes collected, stop at that line item.


27 posted on 06/12/2011 4:54:44 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012)
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To: dragnet2
trillions in debt to Communist countries

The irony is that a primary beneficiary of our "defense" is a certain Communist (in name only, at this point, but that doesn't matter much) country in east Asia.

This problem with radical Islamists could have been solved by cutting off their flow of funds. The bastards derive their power from their oil exports to the West; if we used our own natural resources and refused to give them access to our technology, none of this would have ever been a problem.

28 posted on 06/12/2011 4:55:35 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 (Live Free or Die)
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To: ExGeeEye

Sorry to tell you that you don’t even receive a casket. My father was in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and I had to buy his coffin and pay for the funeral. All you get is a plot, a headstone and a flag. PERIOD.


29 posted on 06/12/2011 4:57:07 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet ("We didn't lose Vietnam. We quit Vietnam." ~Gen. Al Haig)
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To: freedumb2003
health care for illegals

The only thing that the illegals should be getting is one-way tickets back to their countries of origin, billed directly to the governments of their countries of origin.

30 posted on 06/12/2011 4:57:22 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 (Live Free or Die)
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To: rabscuttle385

Talked to a lot of my fellow Army pilots about this. With nearly 100% of my friends and co-workers polled, it’s nearly unanimous: If this happens, we all walk. We all get out when our current commitment is finished.

We have talked at length about how the country has asked for more and more out of each of us, and we continue to meet the demand, and now that the country is getting to the point it doesn’t need us, they are ready to toss us to the wayside.

I have payed for this country’s needs in years away from my wife and two children. YEARS. I perform a high-skill, high-stress job (AH-64D pilot)as flawlessly as possible in order to expedite my country’s goals. I don’t get compensated nearly the amount that my civilian counter-parts (aviators) do. Now, they want to pay me less.

They are wanting to cut our tuition assistance benefits as well. Just as I finally find time between deployments, constant training, and a family to attempt to finish my bachelor’s degree. Figures.

We Soldiers are all weighing the possible outcomes in the balance.....and Army life is beginning to lack more and more.

Pay us less. Change our retirement program that we signed up under. Cut our benefits. Make us pay Tricare premiums. Keep asking us to deploy for years of our lives.

Do these things, and the country will find itself without an Army.


31 posted on 06/12/2011 4:59:02 PM PDT by Nathan _in_Arkansas (Shut the deuce up!!! I'll do the fighting!!!)
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To: darkside321
Well the bases in europe do help US national interessts. They are not there to defend Europe...

Not there to defend Europe? I spent time in Europe in the military and it was exactly the reason we were there. Now it's our interest to be in Europe because of interest outside of Europe? What are we defending? Considering our navy and long reach weapons, specifically what interest is that? BTW, in war, an airport can easily and quickly be seized and utilized.

32 posted on 06/12/2011 5:00:09 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: rabscuttle385; SatinDoll
The U.S. military should be defending the United States, not other countries.

Didn't you see all the code pinko marchers against obama for getting us into an illegal war? The posters portraying him as the Devil or Hitler? The hippies, commies and SEIU people blocking traffic in major cities demanding an end to the illegal war since it was the black man bombing the brown man?

And of course, we all saw the National Order of (ugly) Women protesting outside the halls of Congress, DEMANDING that that serial sexual harasser Wiener be removed and expunged from the rolls, just as they demanded it when bill clinton used his position of power to intimidate a young girl years ago.

Oh, wait. None of that happened, did it?

33 posted on 06/12/2011 5:00:23 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012)
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To: Dr.Zoidberg

What are the recuiters seeing with the class of 2011? Is the class of 2007 re-uping or bailing out. Is repeal of DADT hurting miliary recuiting and retention?? I haven’t heard a word about this. Of course 0’b wouldn’t tell us if a disaster were underway.


34 posted on 06/12/2011 5:04:02 PM PDT by Waco (Nominate Palin or forget 2012 you lost)
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To: rabscuttle385

“spiraling health-care costs” wouldn’t happen if we didn’t send our people over to defend a bunch of people that really don’t give a dam. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m getting sick and tired of being told we have to be there. We don’t HAVE to be any where in the Middle East. After ten years, we need to end this thing and end it now. Take all Nukes out of the Middle East and let them do what they want to each other.


35 posted on 06/12/2011 5:05:20 PM PDT by RC2
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To: Nathan _in_Arkansas

>>We have talked at length about how the country has asked for more and more out of each of us, and we continue to meet the demand, and now that the country is getting to the point it doesn’t need us, they are ready to toss us to the wayside.<<

All gave some, some gave all and now the government wants to give less.

I don’t blame you for wanting to walk. If the administration values stupid things like colostomy bags for illegal aliens or funding the anti-American propagandists at NPR over your service, then let barry the zero’s two kids take up the slack.

And thank you for your service. The only thing I can materially do is ensure a real Conservative gets elected in 2012 (be it Mr. Cain, Gov. Palin or maybe one of a few others).


36 posted on 06/12/2011 5:05:49 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012)
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To: SatinDoll

“We’re bankrupt.”

so cut out the entitlements: social security, medicare, medicaid, the newly created obamacare...


37 posted on 06/12/2011 5:12:43 PM PDT by ari-freedom (All we are saying....is give the military a chance)
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To: rabscuttle385
The military won't complain much. They won't be happy and it will hurt recruitment and retainment - but they will suck it up and march forward with banners flying.

On the other hand, if we tried this stunt on all the myriads of parasites and mooches sucking on the federal teat, the cities would burn and the howls of "racism" would drown out all else. So, we'll screw the military again and continue to feed and nurture the parasites. We'll continue to pursue "peace in our time" that way for just a while more, yet.

What could possibly go wrong with a beautiful plan like that?

38 posted on 06/12/2011 5:14:17 PM PDT by Gritty (The Public Sector has become an army of occupation, socialism's occupying army -Daniel Greenfield)
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To: Waco

I honestly don’t know.

I would assume the open gaying of the ranks would do a lot to kill recruitment and retention, but maybe the hordes of san fran flamers rushing to enlist have been enough to offset any losses.


39 posted on 06/12/2011 5:14:49 PM PDT by Dr.Zoidberg (Warning: Sarcasm/humor is always engaged. Failure to recognize this may lead to misunderstandings.)
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To: ScottinVA
Yeah...don’t rein in welfare, unemployment or entitlements.

What about billions of dollars of foreign aid to countries that hate us, countries that consistently vote against America in the UN and countries with leadership that badmouths us?

40 posted on 06/12/2011 5:14:49 PM PDT by MamaDearest
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