Posted on 02/10/2013 3:40:59 AM PST by SkyPilot
WASHINGTON: Rarely have such pretty slides told such an ugly story. While Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno tries to talk up "The Force of Tomorrow," Army briefing documents obtained today by AOL Defense lay out the near-term impact of sequestration, the Continuing Resolution, and unresolved overseas contingency operations needs: an enormous $18 billion shortfall for the service that will be borne almost entirely by federal workers and military readiness.
You can see the slides by clicking "download this document" (up and to the left) and read the detailed talking points here, but the highlights are harrowing enough:
Training: The Army will have money to fully train only a fraction of its total force: The 82nd Airborne's Global Response Force paratrooper brigade, units in Korea, and troops headed for Afghanistan. Everyone else will cancel everything more elaborate than "squad-level training."
That means the largest Army formations that practice together as a team will be eight-man squads. For comparison, even a football team gets to put 11 players on the field at a time – and as hard as you have to practice to win the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens didn't have to rehearse how to coordinate the actions of thousands of players working as a unit while somebody was trying to kill them.
(Excerpt) Read more at defense.aol.com ...
Those are the only choices. Even if we completely *zeroed out* discretionary non-defense spending we’re still in the hole from interest payments, entitlements, and defense spending.
Another lie....
bureaucratic lies...
It seems like everyone is a "liar" except you RFEngineer. Seven 4-star Generals who have served this nation with honor, through multiple wars, Purple Hearts, wounds, and heroism are "bureacrats" and "liars."
A letter to lawmakers signed by each member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Perhaps, rather than castigating these military experts (and that's what they are, by definition) with such inflamatory, over the top rhetoric, you should turn that penetrating gaze upon yourself.
Not all these cuts are in DoD. Fifty percent are in discretionary non-defense. There is change in more than one pocket.
Continue big spending for public school teachers, Internet spying, county master plans, idle building inspectors and the Violence Against Women Act, and generally, for enforcement against American freedoms, or our military forces will stay on strike! [Little irony and humor there.]
Who is proposing to cut spending for the new civilian fascism and increase needing spending for our defense? No one. Our nation is morally bankrupt. [Serious and sincere there.]
The Fed is buying up bonds. China still owns a large portion of them. When will the bond collapse commence? The partial repudiations of debt and “haircuts” against bond investors, as are happening in southern Europe?
There is a lot of waste in every large organization, DoD is not exempt. What I have heard is that because of the way the sequestration is written, the cuts this year have to come out of OMN dollars that are used to perform maintenance. The fiscal year is almost half over, and I’ve seen memos (not secret, distributed among the workforce) that outline how the cuts would be accomplished. All 3rd and 4th quarter depot level maintenance on Navy ships and aircraft would be deferred. If this isn’t bluster and actually happens, what happens to the fine folks that work in the shipyards and at the Naval Aviation Depots? These are the guys that know how the complicated systems work and can repair them. Are they sent home? Will they come back? Will the brains of the outfit be back or will you be left with second stringers to get things going again? Who knows? It’s a pretty large impact when you disrupt regular workflow at this level. Not saying it can’t be done, but that there is a lot of uncertainty as to what the actual future impact will be when you try to turn it on again.
I agree that cuts need to be made across the board, not just DoD. Sequestration is like taking a chain saw into surgery. And it’s being done because our elected officials can’t balance a checkbook or pass a budget that can be passed down and planned for at a lower levels.
No, that isn’t all the options! There are thousands of federal agencies that can be cut, furloughed, or closed completely, and there will be little difference in how the nation proceeds. Some of those czars of Obama’s could be finding the double ups, the waste, the no longer needed programs that could be cut.
The military, Medicare, and SS does not need to be at the top of the list. The Dems do this on purpose. They know it touches nerves of the American people.
“They are lying, and you are repeating the lies.”
KMA
There are ways to reduce spending and this method isn’t even close to the best way.
The ONLY place they are cutting spending is defense. Heck they are even giving more money to sworn enemies and welfare.
So pucker up and KMA
If that is found unpalatable, the Dept of Ed, and Dept of Energy, the TSA, the DEA, FBI, ATF, HHS, and EPA are an acceptable start; none of the above are found in the Constitution. FHA, Sect 8, WIC, 0Care, and a whole host of gov't entitlement programs need to go. From there, take a look at some of the nonsense that is foisted on the military, such as "green" vehicles and such. - Reducing the deficit.
Repealing the 16th Amendment and taxing consumption vice production would help increase the tax base in a non-punitive manner.....also insuring the illegales "pay their fair share" too.
For good measure, repeal the 17th Amendment so that state legislatures pick their Senators, which will go a long way to cut down on fed.gov using the purse strings to bully the states and enabling the states to actually retain their rights under the 10th Amendment.
No need to undercut the one expenditure under the Constitution that defends to the death all other rights (for those of you quick to point out the 2A, enumerating our God given unalienable right to keep and bear arms, costs the taxpayer nothing as this is an individual right and expense; it is not an expenditure).
Bullshit, typical lib speak. How about cutting the EPA, DEA, and all the other money eating programs that are so dear to our politicians. How about Congress taking a pay cut, how about the fraud of Welfare, money to countries that hate us? Providing defense of our Country and securing our borders is provided in the Constitution, where is it said we should provide men and money to defend other countries? I’m sick of these scare tactics from both parties .
“Seven 4-star Generals who have served this nation with honor, through multiple wars, Purple Hearts, wounds, and heroism are “bureacrats” and “liars.””
If they are saying that a less than 10% cut in the defense budget is “gutting” they are not telling the truth and they are not soldiers anymore, they are bureaucrats.
And not one of them will quit over this like you claimed.
I’m interested in how “truth” correlates with JCS.
“Perhaps, rather than castigating these military experts (and that’s what they are, by definition) with such inflamatory, over the top rhetoric, you should turn that penetrating gaze upon yourself.”
They are trading on their former expertise to try to leverage higher budgets so they get a “revolving door” executive slot at a defense contractor - like most of the rest of their “stars on their shoulder” buddies do when they retire.
For some reason, very few generals have a genuine sense of honor anymore. I don’t know why, but their actions speak louder than your fan-club.
“There are ways to reduce spending and this method isn’t even close to the best way.”
When your ox is being gored, it’s never the best way.
“The ONLY place they are cutting spending is defense. Heck they are even giving more money to sworn enemies and welfare.”
You think I don’t want everything else cut too? Start a thread on other cuts. This is a DoD cut thread. I’ll participate.
But just because Defense takes a bigger cut than “something else” doesn’t mean we cut nothing.
“So pucker up and KMA”
Pull your pants up and get your face out of the federal feeding trough. There is work to be done.
“Sequestration is like taking a chain saw into surgery”
Agreed, but that’s all we have to cut off the gangrenous appendage of government right now.
We have to cut something one day. I’m quite sure we’ll get no cuts and “avoid the sequester” like we “avoided the fiscal cliff” and “avoided the debt limit disaster”.
“Pull your pants up and get your face out of the federal feeding trough. There is work to be done.”
Actually I work in the cmomerical sector you ignorant ass.
“Actually I work in the cmomerical sector you ignorant ass.”
You certainly don’t act like it.
After reading many of your posts, I believe you have "issues." Your animosity towards the military runs deeper than a concern over discretionary spending. I don't know if you feel you were burned in your career, a contract, or whatever. But I hope you get over it.
“Your animosity towards the military runs deeper than a concern over discretionary spending.”
You represent the error in thinking - probably deliberate in your case. You think if one does not participate in hyperbole and hysteria regarding minor reductions in military spending representing “gutting” that somehow you are against the military and the common soldier.
Your foray into armchair psychology is best turned towards yourself. Why would you accept obvious glaring lies by the military bureaucracy and supposed “conservatives”? The first one you re-tell is the figment of the “$500B cut”, over 10 years, of course. Then you claimed “2,000,000 jobs could be lost”, and then you claim that somehow General officers on the JCS are “thinking of quitting” over this complete farce of a spending reduction.
How deluded must you be to parrot this ridiculous drivel?
Further, what you fail to recognize, even though I told you, is that honesty in budgeting and capability will PRESERVE military capability for the long-term. Lying and hyperbole now only represents “crying wolf” - so when the time comes for significant cuts our armed services will have some remaining credibility when they object to them.
We should have brought everyone home from Afghanistan 10 years ago.
Afghanistan and Iraq. We win the war in weeks then spend 10 years trying to win the peace. Send the military to win wars. You want peacemakers send the Peace Corps.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.