wtf?

[unhappycamper]

unhappycamper note: Since the ‘Pentagon’ (Righthaven LLC? Gannett?) has ‘requested’ that I only post one paragraph from articles on Army Times, and Airforce Times, To keep in that same (new) tradition, I will also do the same for for articles on Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, stripes.com and military.com.
To read the article in the military's own words, you will need to click the link.

Read all about Fair Use here. It sure is beginning to smell like fascism.

unhappycamper summary of this article: Well Mr. Gates, the United States military is consuming 58% of all discretionary finding in the 2011 budget.

At a trillion dollars a year, the Department of 'Defense' is the low hanging fruit.




Gates: US Must Sustain Military Might
November 18, 2010
American Forces Press Service|by Linda D. Kozaryn

"If you cut the defense budget by 10 percent, which would be catastrophic in terms of force structure, that's $55 billion out of a $1.4 trillion deficit," he said. "We are not the problem."

[no_hypocrisy]

1. "Must"? If we don't "sustain" our "military might", what happens?

[Le Taz Hot]

2. K & R n/t

[w8liftinglady]

3. the problem is...where do you think they'll cut?

the barracks,the military housing,the military schools,the BX/PX,the streets and parks,the family programs....oh,they'll find SOMEWHERE.

[Sirveri]

5. One of the big things that has been floated lately is retirement.

Right now a person who puts in 20 can retire and draw a pension at age 38. One quick thing they could do in that area is to push the collection age back to 60. They could also consolidate the NEX/PX/MX/etc into a single exchange and cut a bunch of overhead there. They also suggested closing the domestic military schools and putting those kids into the local school systems when possible. These were all floated by the fiscal commission.

[w8liftinglady]

6. I did the "floating" thing at Ft. Meade

back in the 70's.
It eventually involved building new schools in the Anne Arundel district to accomodate all of us.
I don't think the locals will cotten too much to paying for that....they tolerate the military dependents reluctantly as it is.


I guess my point is...the money pot is not going to suffer...it will be the grunts and their families...as always.

[mopinko]

7. helmets, body armor

you know, frills.

[Sirveri]

4. Just wondering what hordes of enemies are going to swarm to destroy us...

I suspect the mighty armies of Canada and Mexico are conspiring to annihilate us for our sins against their great nations. We need more weaponry designed to fight the great Soviet menace in order to defend ourselves with...

What's really funny is that the fiscal commission cochair's found 20Billion to cut, just from scrapping projects alone (V-22 Osprey, F-35B (marine variant), advanced tactical radio, a new IFV, etc...)

[Scuba]

9. We have more admirals and generals than al queda has total fighters...

...those numbers per the pentagon.

[Greyhound]

8. We could whack $120B right off the top by giving the Army back its fixed wing craft and eliminating

the Air Force altogether. It is a useless appendage that serves no purpose, they can't take or hold anything and they're so incompetent that the Navy and Marines had to develop their own air forces to carry out their missions.

:hide:

[leveymg]

10. You want to give Gen. Petraeus ICBMs?

Don't we have enough problems, as it is?

[era veteran]

15. Agree, and if there is ever a coup against this country it

will come from the Air Force & Colorado Springs.

[deaniac21]

21. The navy and marines already had their own air forces before

the usaf was even in existance.

[Bandit]

11. He LIES

The defense Budget was $780 billion last year without counting supplemental bills of which there were three. $100 billion would be closer to the ten percent figure and what was left would still be higher than any previous year in our history...

[notadmblnd]

12. Why are we payng mercs thousands per day?

When our soldiers are lucky to get 30K per year? We get rid of those people- just imagine the savings.

[w8liftinglady]

14. mercs are 75% of the work force in Iraq..not going to drain the money pit there

...too much cash flow...and what will they do back home?(I am talking 150-250 K mercs over there)

[notadmblnd]

17. maybe work on some infrastructure projects that the gov can implement with the savngs?

I mean if they had/have other skills they can do what everyone else in the US does get a job and build a life as a productive member of society. Surely it's more honest that being an overpriced hired killer? Heck, I don't think hired hit men for the mob make that kind of money.

[w8liftinglady]

18. hey-I'm not arguing with you..just stating a reality

I'd love to see them come home...my kid is one of them.


Now..when they can make more than minimum wage doing their jobs..they'll gladly come back.
more info...
http://mssparky.com/

[notadmblnd]

19. I know you're not argueing. And I was just throwing things out there

But wouldn't it be great if they could come back and be advocates for the masses? It might just give some corporate greed monsters a reason to reflect on how they treat/pay their employees.

[w8liftinglady]

20. I'd like to see that...which is why it distresses me that so many jobs have been outsourced

[druidity33]

13. progressive cuts can be made...

As strange as it may seem tea partiers may be on the side of defense cuts...

http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/pr20101110/index.html


The Barney Frank commission identified a Trillion dollars that could be cut over 10 years, and Schakovsky(?) just put out a plan with more tepid cuts. I don't know the specifics though...

:shrug:

[Octafish]

16. CIA chief Bill Case LOVED Bill Gates and appointed him to head Team B...

...to overstate the Soviet threat and justify their "defensive buildup" -- cough, cronie enrichment program. Love the guy, a real boy scout for the Secret Government-Military Industrial Complex.

Know your BFEE: Robert Gates did more than keep the doors open at BCCI

[Cherchez la Femme]

22. You're not the problem, Gates?

Gee, I rather thought you were; silly liberal me
--who thinks we don't need to have bases in so very many countries nor need to throw away billions on junk science, waste and ridiculous non-productive programs such as Star Wars and The Osprey...

I must hate 'America', not wasted tax dollars.

Damn me. Damn me to hell.

[JBoy]

23. Crack isn't the problem. It's the people using crack.