Barrett’s letter to his Marines
After a couple of days of being criticized for his performance in front of Congress the other day, The Marine Corps Times reports that Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett tries to explain himself to his Marines, if they can hear him from under the bus, where he tossed them.
Basically, he’s saying “suck it up, cupcake”. According to the Military Officers’ Association of America, the gouge into an E-5’s pay after Congress gets done is going to be about $5000/year. What would you sacrifice to spend $5000 a year less than you are now? The sergeant major writes in his letter that Congress was concerned about the troops and the impact that cutting their pay and allowances would have on the Corps’ readiness and the sergeant major’s response didn’t reflect the realities of their intentions. It wasn’t helpful at all – well, except to his continued employment.
He could have told Congress to look elsewhere for their cuts to spending, that cuts to personnel costs will damage recruiting and retention efforts. He could have told them that the brain drain of the Corps would be so bad that they’ll never recover from it. But, the sergeant major’s response was “we’ve never had it so good, so yeah, slash the shit out of us so we’re all poor and go back on food stamps before we forget how”.
Category: Marine Corps
Interesting letter. “I didn’t say the things they are saying I said. So let me say it again.”
Another “Beltway Bandit” that has earned the title of “Blue Falcon”…
“I got mine, screw you guys.”
Well, admittedly, it’s been a few years since I was an E-5, but if they had taken 5K out of my pay when I was, I would have had to live in a cardboard box. That is, if I could have afforded one.
Nice try at backtracking there Sgt. Maj.. But the record is out there for all Marines to see and its not pretty.
You’re a a current administration selection and you are doing exactly what they want, which is, IMO, destroying the readiness of our military to further domestic dependence on government assistance.
Is there any reporting on what the CSM of the National Guard said? He used to be my PSG back when I was an old 1LT.
You’re a a current administration selection
“You’re a current administration lackey”.
Fixed it for you.
Since I am still currently a Guard member and have pretty much self-identified myself (should CSM Conley see these comments) I couldn’t write what I really think without facing discipline.
Funny how they can never consider cuts to welfare, Obama- phones, funding for the National Endowments for the Arts, guaranteed student loans (even when they know they can never be repaid), ETC. ETC. ETC.
Yeah-he talks about “if we don’t cut…”, but then he never discusses all of the other stuff that can (MUST) be cut. He knows what his political masters have decreed and he has taken his marching orders.
What a fucking asshole. “I know you might be killed, but it’s more important that we save money” is what I take away from his mealy mouthed explanation. Sorry SOB.
I’m sorry, did he say “generous” compensation/benefits entitlement ? I’m sure he only meant his own. It’s clear he’s out of touch with what it means to be a junior enlisted person.
Sounds a lot like when President Obama put out a video to say that he never said “You didn’t build that”. And this apology/explanation will be just as well received as Marine Scout Sniper Duke’s apology yesterday.
Two thoughts:
1) Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of blue falcon group-think fuckery that leads to their benefits being slashed in service and their benefits being gutted out of service.
2) When your choice is between terrible pay in service and the possibility of unemployment out of service. Which one will you chose? The Corps has you by the balls.
Our course he has never had it so good. He is the Top dog in the Marines?
What about the rest of the corps?
Jeesh!
Hey SgtMaj, here’s a money-saving suggestion for you: ditch the civilian Family Readiness Officers that every battalion/squadron and larger command has and go back to a collateral duty FRO.
Then, when you’ve done that, submit your retirement request.
If you’d like any other suggestions, you know where to find me.
Faith: broken. That is all.
This dickbag just can’t stop. If you have to explain yourself more than once there might be a problem.
It all comes back to one thing. This administration hates the military so much that it has complteted nuetered the Officer Corps ( colonel and above) and the Sr Enlisted who want to stick around better play the game. It’s either Bite your lip and shovel the PC shit down hill or retire at Battalion Level with 20-22 years in at most.
He said nothing in his letter. I read it and I re-read it and he explained nothing of his testimony. Nothing but platitudes and bumper-sticker slogans.
Every administration has it’s boot lickers.
Now he’ll be remembered as the sellout who told his Marines “I GOT MINE, SCREW YOU, ME FIRST!!”.
I truly believe there’s a special place in hell for sell outs like him. He toes the B. Hussein 0bama mantra “SCREW YOU, VETERANS, the welfare flunkies and illegal aliens are far more important to us!!”
It’s the exact same way in the Army. We’ve been sold out by our leaders. They’re all nothing but a bunch of brown nosing, pencil pushing, pogues. Chesty Puller and George Patton are rolling in their graves. Long gone are the likes of Patton who never took a government salary.
Sergeant Major,
Perhaps you should consider a post-Marine career as a DJ becuase that is some skilled spinning.
This jackass has a job. That job is to get Congress and the White House to spend every possible penny on the Marine Corp enlisted people so when they are asked to stand up for the American people, they are as ready as possibly.
His job is NOT to trim the budget — that job belongs to Congress and the White House.
This jackass is not doing his job. He is supposed to be representing every enlisted Marine and he is a miserable titanic failure at it.
Sergeant Major, you have a great job but you are executing it poorly. You will not recover from the dishonor you have brought upon yourself. Do yourself, your Corps, and your country a favor – man up and retire.
Smallest branch
Lowest quality of life by far
Smallest budget
Relies heavily on downs from other branches
After all of that the DoD’s mismanagement of funds is going to be corrected by literally taking the couple of dollars those Marines make right from them as though that is going to solve anything.
Sergeant Major Blue Falcon of the United States Marine Corps reporting for duty, Sir.
I have seldom found that senior enlisted (SGM of the USMC, CSM of the Army, etc) are rarely worth a shit.
Maybe he will take a pay cut? And live in Enlisted housing?
In my 40 years of service (20 AD/20 civil service) I only met one dipshit CSM and that was CSM Beverly Brown who retired at Dugway Proving Ground in about 94 or 95. Other CSM had the same opinion, so nuff said there. As an NCO then WO/CWO/GS12/GS13, to this day, I have only the highest regard for CSM. I’m not saying I didn’t meet some flakey CSM, but all looked after the troops. When a CSM no longer does that, he or she needs to retire or suffer death by bunga-bunga.
And how much money could be saved by cutting just one F-35, huh? ‘Cause last time I checked, those damn things cost almost as much as the carriers they’re supposed to fly from.
Not all “perfumed princes” are officers.
I hate to say this, but this is heading down the road toward reinstating the draft. Act of Congress? Sure, why not?
Oh, just so you think this is ONLY about cutting pay and bennies, there are not only trucks that can drive themselves around, and Cylon planes (drones) that can fly themselves around and land on carrier decks, there is – wait for it: a supply helicopter that can fly itself wherever with supplies, water, whatever is needed and it isn’t just on the drawing board. It’s being field-tested.
So what on earth do they need troops for?
Is he hoping some powerful Democrat’s crony capitalist buddy will give him a high-paying executive job in retirement for all this pay-cuts-are-good-for-people-risking-their-lives spiel?
So, I hear Australia is recruiting, right?
And when recruiting quality and numbers both drop off, all of these number crunching dipshits will stand in a circle and wring their hands and scratch their heads and wonder how it happened.
I halfway believed that the SgtMaj. had the best interest of the Corps at heart and he just expressed it wrong. But after reading his letter, I am not sure what the hell he was trying to say.
I do know this, you ramp up the deployment cycle with fewer troops and wear out this current force like you did in Iraq and Afghanistan AND you cut into their benefits and retirement, please do not be surprised when the results on the battlefield do not match your expectations.
You put enough bullshit into the training pipeline, you are going to start getting nothing but bullshit out.
SMMC Barrett’s Wikipedia page got butchered…something about d1ck sucking & troops so flush w/ cash, they need 3 hands to count all the money or something like that. Some funny sh1t there.
Man the SgtMaj has really lost focus of his task/job as being the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Marine Corps and someone that all enlisted should be able to look up to.
The SgtMaj must be reading to much of his own pub? Your job is not to give the answer that the politicians are looking for. The job of the SgtMaj of the entire Marine Corps is to give the response that speaks for those enlisted men and women who fall under your charge. You SgtMaj are their voice. You SgtMaj are suppose speak in their behalf and not speak from your self centered point of view.
I also agree. You should retire as no amount of explanation will ever allow you to recover from such an error in judgement.
You have to go!!!!!!!!!!