Joint chiefs fight Congress to screw the troops
Stars & Stripes reports that the Joint Chiefs of Staff faced off with Congress yesterday, standing firm for cost of living reductions, slashing commissaries and housing help while hiking health care costs to troops and retirees.
Also Tuesday, all members of the Joint Chiefs testified in a rare gathering before the Senate Armed Services Committee to warn of the dangers of a shrinking defense budget and press for support of a 1 percent pay-raise and reductions to commissary, housing and health care benefits.
In addition to the 1 percent pay raise, the DOD proposes cutting subsidies to base supermarkets from $1.4 billion to $400 million annually, reducing housing allowances until servicemembers pay about 5 percent for residences and utilities, and consolidating what Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. James Winnefeld called a “bewildering” Tricare health care system.
From the JCS website;
The military needs Congress to step forward and help, Dempsey said. “Our recommendations have lacked congressional support — notably, our request to reduce base infrastructure and retire weapons systems that we no longer need and cannot afford,” the chairman told the senators. “In the meantime, we are continuing to hemorrhage readiness and cutting further into modernization. [This means] risk to the performance of our mission and risk to those who serve continues to grow.”
Dempsey told the senators that all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all of the services’ senior enlisted leaders support the three departmentwide principles to rebalance military compensation.
“First, we’re not advocating direct cuts to troops’ pay,” Dempsey said. “Rather, this package slows the growth of basic pay and housing allowances while reducing commissary subsidies and modernizing our health care system.”
Second, military leaders will ensure that the compensation package allows the services to continue to attract and retain the quality people needed, Dempsey said. “We’ll watch the way the force reacts, and if it reacts, we’ll be back to you with recommendations on how to adjust,” he added. “But we have to take that step.”
Finally, Dempsey told the Senate panel, savings from this will be invested in force readiness and modernization.
Yeah, and invested in new golf carts at the Fort Meyers golf course. This group of the joint Chiefs will go down in history as the worst. The troops depend on their leaders to stand up for them, but this crowd can’t get off their knees. And, there’s enough blame to go around for Congress, too, which won’t grow some cojones and demand across the board cuts to all agencies in the Executive Branch instead of just one.
Category: Big Army
Instead of telling Congress to look elsewhere to save money, other than on the backs of those who already give so very much to keep this country safe they gladly roll over and play lap dog for their “boss” at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Political puppets disguised as military leaders. May they rot in hell.
Something is seriously out of whack when the Joint Chiefs help to dismantle the military.
I could fix the budget without cuts to troop benefits or base PXs and Commissaries (which I may have spelled incorrectly…)
1) Cut pay for leaders. Ever hear of ‘leaders eat last’, or does that only apply to Field Grade?
2) Cut benefits for the admiralty and generals.
3) Ditch the F35. It’s a stupid idea.
4) More competition in military contracts. From the outset, everyone knew who was going to get the XM110 contract. It wasn’t a surprise, and the ‘testing’ was, by and large, a farce.
5) Stop. The. Camouflage. Bullshit. LOOKING AT YOU, BIG ARMY. No more huge committee: look to SF and infantry units for your next issue camo.
6) Cut assistance to congress. No more free flights on Air Force craft.
7) Cuts to every executive agency in equal measure.
I wonder if these 7 steps would put us in the positive for a bit?
Ya know, I remember when Odierno was nominated for Army CoS, there was a joke about his recent history of being the guy to come in and close a unit. The joke went something like “I don’t know if Odierno is the right guy for this job, because I’m pretty sure we want to keep the Army”. I’m starting to think it was part of the reason he was appointed.
This.
After 21 years, my son just got out. He could have stayed for 40 in his field (UAV’s) but chose to leave. He says it ain’t the Army he joined. While obozo is doing all he can to force us to be become an insecure country, the chiefs were supposed to warn him about that. The worst group of chiefs ever? – without a doubt.
The Chief’s are using the Sr NCO’s also: “…and all of the services’ senior enlisted leaders support the three departmentwide principles to rebalance military compensation.”
Well, Duh. The Rocker-Knockers wouldn’t even be allowed back into the Puzzle-Palace to clear out their desks if they disagreed with thie Boss in public.
This is why the Corps needs Mad Dog Mattis. He would have told the others they are so full of shit its leaking out of their ears.
I remember when I was first commissioned, my platoon sergeant told me that, as long as I didn’t screw up the troop’s chow and pay, I’d be fine. My company commander told me that, as long as I remembered that officers eat last and didn’t bitch when chow for the day was two omelet MREs, I’d be fine. I listened and I did fine.
I’m sure that all of these guys got the same kind of brief, but sometime after getting drivers to take them the five miles from their government housing to their offices, head of the line privileges, executive dining rooms in the Pentagon, and helicopter rides to avoid traffic, they managed to forget all of it.
The GO/FO corps needs to collectively take a hit in pay and benefits to make sure that the juniors aren’t taking the hit. I don’t expect that any of them will have flashbacks as 2LTs/ENSs and think about what they would have done as junior leaders, but it sure would be nice.
Hell, we probably wouldn’t even need to cut they’re individual benefits if we cut the damn Number of general officers down to a reasonable level.
Hell, we probably wouldn’t even need to cut their individual benefits if we cut the damn Number of general officers down to a reasonable level.
First, what Josh said, ditto. During WWII, the US had something like 3000 GO for over 3M in service. Now, it’s something like 3000 for 500K.
Tell you what, sir, if it’s so damn easy, you take a SPC’s pay for a few months, or even a 1LT’s pay, including the attendant level of perks, and make it work. Maybe a sensing session or two would be worthwhile, as long as permission to speak freely was in writing…
I agree with Jonn. The worst collection of Joint Chiefs this nation has ever experienced. They are self serving, selfish, out of touch ass holes. Cutting the troops off at the knees yet again. I read their recommendations and they seem to be walking contradictions. They want to cut benefits, reduce pay raises and yet maintain a well manned standing force.
“Second, military leaders will ensure that the compensation package allows the services to continue to attract and retain the quality people needed, Dempsey said. “We’ll watch the way the force reacts, and if it reacts, we’ll be back to you with recommendations on how to adjust,” he added. “But we have to take that step.”
How do you attract and retain the best when you are cutting their guts out with a knife in the back.
First the cuts need to start at the top. Why are we paying over $400,000 a year, when everything is already paid for? Clothes? = free. Utilities? = free. Cars? = free. When’s the last time the POTUS paid for groceries? Also, why is there no mention of a TriCare surplus, that went to “other things” and what the hell is “modernizing our healthcare system” supposed to mean? Is that smoke up our asses?
The president does in fact pay for his food/groceries.
I’m not going to dispute that wrt the general point, but isn’t there a separate fund for state dinners and the like?
Maybe they’re positioning themselves to take over the VA once Shinseki leaves.
Spending too much on manpower? Push for a small reduction of manning requirements. Then, start identifying the dead-weight shitbags and quickly push them out. Looking around the office, I can see a few folks that don’t seem to pull their weight in any substantial way. Give everybody that’s left a small bonus for having carried part of that other guy’s pack for the last forever. I think that’d go over well.
Also, here’s an idea, slow down the rotation cycles for certain types of positions. It costs money to move people around, and in some slots the military types are just starting to get really good by the time it’s time for them to transfer.
Leaving the topic of personnel, how about looking into contracting requirements. We’re paying tons to contract out some minor construction work when there’s a seabee base an hour down the road that could do everything we need over a weekend with labor and equipment that DoD is already paying for. Reservists would love a bus trip and government is paying lodging anyway. But that’d be taking money from the locals they say…
They won’t cut the F35 project but they want to get rid of the A-10. I got an idea for them. Instead of more Blackhawks, how bout those gyrocopters from the 1930s. Cheap, easy to produce, they can carry a pilot and maybe put an M-16 across his lap. With new electronics, this could be the tank killer of the future. Man am I pissed at these guys! Never saw so many educated men in one place doing the dumbest things in harmony.
They aren’t doing dumb things for “themselves” because they will be getting high paying jobs after they retire. They aren’t concerned about the military at this point.
I would also add that these men were selected to match Obama’s wants and desires, not what’s good for the military.
They are supposed to be there to tell the SECDEF and POTUS what they NEED to hear, not what they WANT to hear. But, from what I’ve seen since 2009, anyone who says what they need to hear, ends up “retiring.”
“In the meantime, we are continuing to hemorrhage readiness and cutting further into modernization.”
In other words, we want our new cool toys, support and services for the troops be damned.
What a bunch of tools.
“Modernizing” the health care system. Yeah, right. Going to “modernize” it until our promised benefit goes away. Dempsey is a cock sucker. A spineless cock sucker. And he is aided and abetted by a collection of 4 star politicians who are just as worthless.
General Amos is the worst Commandant I have ever seen. Instead of doing what a Commandant should do and fight for a reasonable approach to sustaining the Marine Corps, Amos worries about the tough issues like whether the Marines should have their sleeves up or down. Or exerts command influence over an investigation into urination on murdering muslim scumbags. Or fires two outstanding general officers over an attack on a base where they did not even have command authority.
It is sickening to see the institution where I spent my adult life held hostage by a bunch of men who are willing to sell their souls to an administration who is using them instead of doing what is right.
And you can be sure that after General Amos retires this year, he will write a book telling how he fought Obama every step of the way for “his” Marines.
The first thing out of their mouth at one of these meetings SHOULD be something to the effect of, “Hey, when is your meeting with DHS and DHHS since they have bigger budgets than we do? They are coming to ask for pay cuts too right?”
If Hagel had any balls, he’d be publicly asking how much of a budget cut every other department chief is lobbying for. But, he was chosen by Obama to be the coward who will lead the charge to take money from us and give it to the lazy who let others do the work so they can do nothing.
Um… I’m just going to leave this here.
http://visual.ly/death-and-taxes-2014-us-federal-budget
I’ll leave this here then too.
http://www.heritage.org/multimedia/infographic/2013/08/federalspendingbynumbers2013/page-9-chart-2