Posted on 07/11/2014 4:37:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
Some members of the armed services, all of whom are currently deployed in war zones, will soon be notified by the Defense Department that they will be involuntarily discharged from the military at the end of their current tours. Why? “Budget cuts.” It’s as simple as that. Shockingly, too, hundreds of Army captains have already been handed the devastating news, according to the New York Post, and more officers are expected to get it, if they haven't already, soon enough.
For obvious reasons, this is an outrageous and heartless way to “thank” combat veterans:
What is astonishing is that the Defense Department thought it would be appropriate to notify deployed soldiers — men and women risking their lives daily in combat zones — that they’ll be laid off after their current deployment.
As one Army wife posted on MilitaryFamily.org, “On some level I knew the drawdowns were inevitable, but I guess I never expected to be simultaneously worried about a deployment to Afghanistan and a pink slip because my husband’s service is no longer needed.”
Awful. To put things in perspective, the government wasted some $100 billion last year alone on frivolous expenditures, and yet it can’t even wait long enough to lay off combat veterans until they’re out of harm’s way? The author describes the Defense Department’s handling of this situation as a “stunning act of callousness.” True. But I’d go a step further, and say its actions are a stunning act of cowardice. This is no way to treat American combat veterans.
And yet, as we’ve seen with the unfolding VA scandal, and now this, combat veterans are often forgotten and mistreated by the same government that purports to represent them. It’s not fair and it’s not right, and Congress should be doing everything in its power to ensure these men and women are taken care of after they retire. Right?
People are commenting on something that may not be true.
de facto conditioning
They started doing this s### while we were still in Vietnam. I was in a helicopter company in spring 1972 & nearly half our pilots were RIF’d & sent home.
Two weeks later the NVA invaded South Vietnam on three fronts called the Easter Offensive. Those of us pilots remaining were flying our @zzes off.
Then there was a RIF in 1973 that targeted regulars for the first time since the War of 1812 it was said. Sixty days notice & o-u-t. The best combat officers were gone.
They did the same right after WWII. Huge cutbacks with officers enroute to new duty station being handed a discharge notice at the main gate & told to turn around.
But this time it’s different. There is some genuine evil afoot from the Prez to the SecyDef. I think they want to change the military culture from within & are eliminating those who are outspoken over social media which wasn’t there in previous wars.
As always the combat arms branches are the hardest hit. The ones who fought the hardest are separated into the civilian world with only their tactical skills. Shameful.
Found this from two days back - must be the piece that was referenced in the article.
http://nypost.com/2014/07/09/sending-pink-slips-to-a-war-zone/
Same way I see it. Last bunch of folks I would want to piss off.
Ah, well, if it’s only a rumor - and not true - then I retract my remark, sort of.
Is “budget cuts” the new term for “illegal aliens”?
You figure with over 1000 Captains and 500 Majors (Army) victims in this round of RIF there are going to be some getting their separation orders while on deployment.
The purge in the AF starts this September.
Even that article from the ComPost doesn't reference any returning GI's being laid off, but a (fuzzy) statement that Captains are being let go, a wife complaining about what will happen after her husband is no longer in the military ... and more statements that could have been just strung together to make a story
It's damned shame ... a bright and likeable guy like me .. reduced to abject paranoia and distrust of his government and the media ...
Thank-you for your service.
We need to revise the “pink slip” campaign to be sent by citizens to every member of congress from the voters on this issue. The slips would say, in no uncertain terms, support our military or consider this notice as a vote against you in your nex election.
A few million of these might get their attention.
vaudine
The RIFs carried out by Truman, Nixon & Bush 41 were normal drawdowns following cessation of hostilities. And the cutbacks were usually excessive in all cases.
This time the civilian leadership actively hates the military, in my opinion. They see in the uniformed servives an enemy culture that must be defeated in the name of “progress”.
Before I retired in 2011 I saw that hatred in the eyes of the CoC photo on our chain of command board, with its misplaced flag lapel pin.
The eyes have it still. Totally weird expression.
http://www.arcent.army.mil/about-us/leadership/chain-of-command-—centcom
soebarkah endorsed
Same photo from 2009. Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43, even Clinton took photos with genial smiles.
Not this POTUS. He had to be told to wear a flag pin & it’s on cockeyed.
There's lies in this - major 'Department of Defense' lies ... many, many layers of lies.
As noted, I was referring to civilian leadership from the Commander in Chief down to the defense secretary. Congresspeople may make the military’s life miserable, but they don’t exercise command.
I remember well the 1974 elections with the libs taking over Congress & then cutting off South Vietnam’s aid which led to its downfall in spring 1975 followed by Cambodia & Laos. After which many in Congress declared Southeast Asia to be better off under communism.
Clinton was a draft dodger but he wasn’t stupid. Obama’s brain is locked into third world globalism that declares America the main enemy in the world. Slick Willie let the liberals in Congress be tarred as hating the military while he wore bomber jackets.
I think we agree that reductions in force are always painful for those affected, and that there must be some way of letting them down easy without a sudden pink slip.
But I maintain that this POTUS has made it personal. He is not part of the broader American culture & considers himself its adversary. IMO Obama is gleeful over this latest RIF.
Sometimes it’s like the hateful days of the late 1960’s never really ended. Maybe because so many former campus crazies are now in our Congress & corporate boardrooms.
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