Posted on 08/12/2010 7:59:31 AM PDT by pabianice
A military member must go through many personal upheavals during their 20 years of service, and their spouse and family must suffer through periods of unemployment and/or off their usual career track to follow them.
What job in the private sector makes you sign years long commitments without any indication of where they will send you and your family?
This is actually a good thing.
When the crunch comes, the military will more readily remember the part in their oath about “...enemies foreign and DOMESTIC....”
And the people say....{{{silence}}}....
This country always betrays it’s honorable men and women who serve their country—always.
It started with the first promises made to the Continental Army on pay and property in return for their sacrifices and hasn’t stopped.
And yet these remarkable men and women continue to step up to the plate. THERE are our leaders for tomorrow but first we have to get by the traitors in DC.
If they touch the retirements of my Dad, who served two tours in VN, and his friends, they are in for a serious blowback.
Well, most of them, really.
The only certainty is that, if you advance to the home office, you know where that will be.
But, in the military, you know that, too.
That’s what happens with an “up or out” system, and a profession that is definitely for people below the age of 50!
The military selects healthy people, trains them to respond to constant crises, expects them to follow any order 24/7 for 20-30 years, expects them to risk being killed, expects them to kill, makes and keeps them them as healthy as possible to do that job, then finally releases them out to pasture when aging hips knees eyes and ears can’t respond anymore the way a crack troop needs to respond.
And now obama wants to complain that they live too long and cost too much.
Democrats, Advocacy Groups Blast Cuts to Food Stamps to Fund $26B Aid Bill
...aid for unionized teachers and government workers.
Sorry but it is not ‘quite just’.
I agree with you that military life is a big committment, but you CHOOSE that committment.
I think they should be compensated differently in many ways. Where in the private sector do you get more pay for the same job only because you are married-vs- single? Try to do that in a private company.
Many jobs in the private sector have much less securty- (you are guarnteed 4 years steady income in the military) in the private sector you can be fired tomorrow.
You CHOOSE to make a long term committment in the miltary- no one forces you. Becase of that you dont deserve retirement at age 38, with a potential 40-50 years retirement pay for 20 years service.
The life expectancy is vastly different than it was when these rule were made. I am 100% pro military- I just think we need to look at the pay of all govt jobs.
“who in the private sector gets to work 20 years then retire? at age 38? with full pension?”
Uh, cops and firemen? and many other state, and local, govt jobs.
I don’t think you want 50-60+ year olds serving in combat, in any significant numbers.
Besides, if it is such a good deal, it is available to any healthy male or female. Go sign up. Check it out.
In almost all civilian jobs, you can transfer your 401K when you leave—its portable. In the military, you get zilch if you leave voluntarily (e.g., you don’t like the transfer they’re giving you).
I will believe it when it happens. It will never go into effect.
Because we are/were volunteers. We "knew what we were getting into when we signed up", so we deserve the problems and disabilities we have as a result of our service. /s
Neither are the federal workers, whose salary+benifits are twice the rate of those in the private sectors.
And if they decide to relocate me, I can quit my job. The military doesn't offer that option.
Got a link to the actual article?
Maybe not.
The caliber of people who CHOOSE that career will go down in direct proportion to how unattractive you make a career in the military.
This isn't a difficult concept.
Did you ever serve? Any close family members serve? What experience/perspective do you bring to this?
For myself, four years USAF. It wasn't the career for me, but I can tell you, it wouldn't have been the career for many of my brothers in arms if not for the 20 year retirement.
F that you overpaid hacks.
It’s your wages and golden retirement we can’t afford.
DoD civilians fall under federal employees. Cuts in DoD civilian workforce benfits/COLA/raises also apply to all federal agencies because retirement calculations, COLA, step increases and raises apply Federal wide and not by agencies. The military and specialties are separate. Post Office is also separate. Most DoD and federal workers who are honest about reality know that cuts and freezes will be coming in Fiscal Year 2011 and beyond. Many of the old timers remember post Vietnam and the Carter years.
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