Mullen throws us under the bus
Parachute Cutie sends us a link to one of Admiral Mullen’s last public appearances as he nears his retirement in the next few weeks. Apparently, he’s going out with a bang – a bang across the bow of the Good Ship Military Retirees;
Personnel costs have soared 80 percent over the past 10 years, Mullen said. In addition, health-care costs skyrocketed from $19 billion in 2001 to $51 billion this year and are projected to reach $65 billion within four years.
“That is not sustainable,” he said.
The full compensation package needs to be examined, Mullen said, including retirement pay, housing allowances, bonuses, health care and other benefits.
“There are going to have to be some changes,” the chairman said. The challenge is “to do it in a balanced … and fair way.”
The “fair and balanced way” is to keep your promises to the force. If that means cutting compensation to Congress, SSI and the million other ways that we could save money…do that first.
I personally know of someone who gets SSI because he was caught smoking pot at his job and now he can’t find work because no one will hire a pothead. That’s after years of rehab and half-way houses…for pot.
I wonder how many able-bodied people are on the same type of compensation. But it’s easier to just cut and gut military compensation – of people who completed their social contract.
It’s always been my opinion that Mullen was an up and coming shitbag and now you know.
Category: Veterans Issues
You left off the “again” at the end of the title.
Why has personnel costs exploded, perhaps because of the addition of thousands of new personnel, activation of National Guard and Reserve personnel? Perhaps, the paying of retired pay to disabled members maimed and injured from fighting in two wars. Not sure but somehow I think they may have something to do with the rise in costs.
Ditto for the rise in health care costs, more personnel, more entering with families, small but nagging injuries from constant deployments and train ups before deployment. Perhaps, the increase in the numbers of flag rank and SES positions. These assholes always want to hit retirement and healthcare first. I went through this bullshit under Jimmy “peanut head” Carter and I saw the hand writing on the wall with Bill “I never inhaled POS” Clinton, that’s why I retired all the donkeys think about is the poor lazy slobs who won’t get off their collective asses and look for a job.
DaveA: spot on
Adding to the list:
R&D, development, and deployment of life-saving measures that keep joe alive from place of wounding/injury to Landstuhl to Wounded Warrior unit.
R&D, development, and deployment of quality-of-life tools (artificial limbs, service dogs, and so on) for wounded/injured warriors.
Uniform changes. Holy Crap!!! All the uniform changes!!! We had perfectly good BDU and DCU, but that just wasn’t good enough!!! Fortunately, Mullen was able to get the costs of uniforms passed on the joes, while he pockets a hefty uniform allowance.
Death pay. Paying out SGLI. Re-up bonuses. Recruiting bonuses. Special Pay. And worst of all: TAX-FREE PAY! (gives Dems a case of the whirling sh*ts every night)
The cost of letterhead paper for every Army organization that changes its name with the arrival of a new GO/SES.
Training/Re-training: each new gizmo, widget, and wonder tool requires a new training package, contractors, and updates to way things are done at brick-&-mortar schools, NETT, or correspondence courses.
Mullen, by his onesome, could have saved the taxpayer tens of billions of dollars by simply enforcing the acquisition laws, rules and regulations. Instead, again, he throws us all under the bus.
Yeah and let us not forget that Mullen supported the repeal of DADT. How much is all this training going to cost? Also they are considering issuing ID cards to “partners.” How much is that going to cost? How much is the legal wrangling going to cost now that they want to fight for more bennies?
In a time when everything is supposed to be “fair,” how about that gay guy or lesbian who served honorably under DADT and are now looking to have their retirement cut?
This assbag has been throwing us under the bus from day one. I was raised by Beirut Marines as an enlisted 0311 and then by Desert Storm Army tankers when I became an Armor Officer. Both groups were around long enough to remember the hollow army and the way you couldn’t get shit for parts until Reagan was elected and stuff began to flow in. In the late 90’s all we did was slap on the occassional coat of CARC paint on ratted out M1’s and sweep the motor pool. I’m not friggen going back to that because Obama or whoever can’t find the guts to cut what needs to be cut.
Don’t forget that the military is top heavy with more four stars now when the Viet Nam war was being fought with half the number of active duty. The Washington Post had it as up 13% from 1996. Also how many civilians of all GS levels are employeed by the DOD and are they needed?
We have civilian FRG and safety positions at BDE level..I still can’t figure that out.
Mullen is the poster boy for all that is wrong with the American military’s senior uniformed leadership. He reeked of duplicity and cluelessness. Casey too.
Here’s an idea for Admiral Mullen – set your own example. Ask the Navy to cut your retirement benefits immediatley.
to be on the JCS you have to be a political animal. Sadly we have lost our warriors in favor of politicians. We lost James Gavin in favor of idiots like Westmoreland. I’m not really an AF buff, but Robin Olds strait up told Johnson to get the f**k out of Vietnam. When asked how he said bluntly “win it”. That dude had more balls than a god damn rodeo. but because he was so honest he never got past BG.
The worst part is that no one gets ahead without the senate liking them. You don’t get liked if you don’t polish their nobs (or tweek their nipples or whatever they’re into these days) You DON’T get ahead by telling the truth. Sadly they need a huge dose of truth. how many 4 stars would piss away their careers in a pointless gesture, that won’t really do anything (they’ll do whatever they want anyway)?
“The worst part is that no one gets ahead without the senate liking them. You don’t get liked if you don’t polish their nobs (or tweek their nipples or whatever they’re into these days) You DON’T get ahead by telling the truth.”
Sadly, that’s the truth.
There’s kind of a senior officer template, and it ain’t what it used to be. Yes men get ahead.
I suppose that’s no different than any other career field. If you work in any type of hierarchy, it never helps to piss off your bosses.
Still, I’ve noticed that officers who have committed to a career are often the most obseqious of all. Whatever the buzzword of the day is, they’ll just keep repeating it ad naseum. If the buzzword is “diversity”, you can bet they won’t be able to speak for two minutes with that word falling out of their mouth. “Diversity” is just an example. It might be “force protection” or whatever.
A certain type of person gets promoted: The ball-washer. So it should come as no surprise that we have a lot of ball-washers in positions of power.
It kind of makes me wonder how guys like Patton got where they were. But I guess it was a different nation in those days.
What has happened in the last 10 years that could explain people having to actually use their healthcare benefits? Oh, I dunno, how about 2 fucking wars you prick. He is an asshole for even thinking we wouldn’t notice the time periods he is comparing.
Notice that 4 star clown isn’t giving up any of his bennies. Gotta be hell wearing those knee pads for that long.
Flip side to his leaving is, he’ll probably end up at a think tank or lobbyist firm and really rake in the dough.
I have seventeen and a half years in the U.S. Army, four deployments and the fifth one on the horizon. So far I think I have honored my end of the the contract. Why can’t the United States Government honor their’s? Do they think I’m living a life of luxury? Hell even if I make it to retirement I’ll still have to find another job.
I’m sorry, folks…I get to use my favorite phrase to describe the Admiral. Buddy fucker, extraordinaire. As PC says, cut your own goddamn benefits, SFB.
Ben in #11: “It kind of makes me wonder how guys like Patton got where they were. But I guess it was a different nation in those days.”
Patton was nearly court-martialed and was put on the shit list several times for his antics. Many in the press hated him, but always looked forward to him speaking, so they could use every word he spoke against him in the newspapers. PC was starting to creep in, back then, especially with some of the commie “journalists” like Duranty. Patton concentrated on winning the war, not winning in the halls of DC. Casey, on the other hand, showed how much of a true ticket puncher he was when immediately after learning of the Ft. Hood shooting said “I hope we don’t lose our diversity over this”. He was more concerned with PC bullshit than the troops at that very moment. That’s when you realize what the person is actually made of and what type of leader they are.
#12. Well said, the first thing I thought of. Thanks.
Another HUGE part is Big Navy forcing through an agenda of shipbuilding an acquisition that is at odds with everything the Navy stood for. The LCS & DDG-1000 programs are not needed and are a waste of tax dollars and resources that ought to be pursued as a capital offense. The Little Crappy Ship couldn’t fight off a fleet of shit river Filapina vendor boats. It’s hull can be holed by a .50 cal, for frig’s sake and it will burn through it’s entire fuel load on high speed in less than 24 hours.
The DDG-1000 is a destroyer in name only. This frankenship is the size of the Graf Spee, and won’t be able to get out of it’s own way. the design includes technology and features that aren’t even available yet, but it’s already under construction. I can see it from where I type this, and the Navy has ordered 3 more.
No, the DoD budget is screwed, blued and tattooed because the leadeership has yet to find some assmaggot project that it won’t put money down on. DoD has a buying jones like those addicts of the Home Shopping Network. they can’t help themselves.
What needs to happen, and I hate to say it, but it’s true: We need to find some lawyers and put together a class-action lawsuit against the military & congress. That’s probably the only way that this will be resolved satisfactorily.
I have an appointment with the VA today. I suspect my blood pressure isn’t going to be too low after all this morning’s nonsense. 🙂
It’s not all on the Iraq/Afghanistan vets, either. Caseload due to this group accounts for less than a 5 percent increase.
Where the vast majority of costs are being incurred in the healthcare system are from the dwindling number of octogenarian and older WWII/Korea vets as well as the Vietnam veterans who are now reaching retirement age in bulk. Think those groups aren’t also going to be placing a demand on the system?
Oh, and don’t even think of trying to cut their benefits that they too have earned.
Here is a thought for Mad Mikey Mullen: shitcan at least 199 flag rank useless fucking officers. That would save on average 5 million a month, for a total of roughly 60 million a year. And get rid of dead weight the military does not need anyway.
As for increased health care costs, well no shit. Would that have anything to do with 10 years of war and its detritus, the wounded? Mullen has once again proven that he is a suckass buttmuncher who has no intelligence for the realities of the service nor any concept of the obvious.