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Showing Original Post only (View all)U.S. generals enjoy a lifestyle befitting a billionaire (WP) [View all]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/petraeus-scandal-puts-four-star-general-lifestyle-under-scrutiny/2012/11/17/33a14f48-3043-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.htmlPetraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Greg Jaffe, Published: November 17, 2012
Then-defense secretary Robert M. Gates stopped bagging his leaves when he moved into a small Washington military enclave in 2007. His next-door neighbor was Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, who had a chef, a personal valet and not lost on Gates troops to tend his property....
Of the many facts that have come to light in the scandal involving former CIA director David H. Petraeus, among the most curious was that during his days as a four-star general, he was once escorted by 28 police motorcycles as he traveled from his Central Command headquarters in Tampa to socialite Jill Kelleys mansion. Although most of his trips did not involve a presidential-size convoy, the scandal has prompted new scrutiny of the imperial trappings that come with a senior generals lifestyle.
The commanders who lead the nations military services and those who oversee troops around the world enjoy an array of perquisites befitting a billionaire, including executive jets, palatial homes, drivers, security guards and aides to carry their bags, press their uniforms and track their schedules in 10-minute increments. Their food is prepared by gourmet chefs. If they want music with their dinner parties, their staff can summon a string quartet or a choir.
The elite regional commanders who preside over large swaths of the planet dont have to settle for Gulfstream V jets. They each have a C-40, the military equivalent of a Boeing 737, some of which are configured with beds. ...
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"...they shouldn't be THAT much nicer than the enlisted men and women who also sacrifice."
CrispyQ
Nov 2012
#10
I don't think anyone should be allowed to attend West Point or the other service academies until
byeya
Nov 2012
#3
It may inflate their sense of invulnerability and prompt them to careless actions.
Overseas
Nov 2012
#19
These are the same imperial satraps who lost 2 wars in ten years. (That has to
coalition_unwilling
Nov 2012
#17
I don't see a problem with them being able to summon a string quartet or a choir
Hippo_Tron
Nov 2012
#22
And THAT, my dear friends, is where the military budget can be cut to the bone.
loudsue
Nov 2012
#24
Why is it just now "coming to light". Are they that good at keeping their lifestyle secret?
rhett o rick
Nov 2012
#28
"Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them." Napoleon Bonaparte
Tierra_y_Libertad
Nov 2012
#36