Great way to thank our service men/women....

[BaiHu]

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/deep-military-cuts-begin-as-congress-dawdles-1.205929

Oh, and that won't have an impact on our economy, b/c there's no big spending contracts that require the use of high and low end labor in the military :p

[Kyle Reese]

The FSA isn't going to see a dime taken out of their handouts, I'll wager.

[NickA]

This will really hit hard here in San Antonio, and me personally if construction projects are canceled (military construction has literally saved us over the last few years). Thanks, Congress!

[Odin Bravo One]

This HAS already hit hard. Since about last October.

And anywhere there is any military presence will feel a lot of economic pain as no money is spent by the military in and around those communities.

The sad thruth is that we are better off to go to sequestration than to have yet another BS extension. The automatic cuts are less than what we are working with now, and are clearly identified. We know exactly where we will take the hit, and how it will affect as a whole. As it stands now, we are using "continuing resolution" monies, which don't necessarily have a budget attached to them, leaving the organization no way to know how to prioritize their spending. The money is filtered in here and there, and most of it based on a mountain of paperwork justifying the need. And no one knows which will be approved, and which won't. And if it is approved.......when can we expect it?

I have been through downsizings and budget cuts, fiscal constraints, etc. before. It stings a bit, but at the end of the day, damage is minimized and the end result is still a functioning organization, 99% capable of conducting their mission.

This does not sting. Instead of sting, it's more like getting kicked in the junk by Mia Hamm wearing plated toe cowboy boots. I don't venture to guess the embarrasingly lower capability numbers........sad, and scary.

[TGS]

Bonus monies are being talked about being dropped. Apparently the young men are no longer worth giving a bonus to, as part of a new contract. Guess they just haven't earned it? Still in the negotiating phase, and final impacts are unknown. But that it is even a topic on the table at all, with a nation into it's second decade of war..............? Apparently there is no where else to make cuts.

Well, this one has been going on a couple of years. Even my brother didn't get a reenlistment bonus a couple years ago.....and he's a nuke in the Navy. The Corps had dropped them a couple years ago as well, IIRC.


No money for weapons accessories or repair parts. None. All purchases are at full stop. Guns are being put back together with parts taken off of other unserviceable weapons until they get one working. Some inspection failure weapons are being given "exceptions", and kept in service.

Oooo...ouch. I'm glad we decided it was smart to purchase M4 carbines for everyone, not that their service life/parts replacement schedule is dramatically shorter than other platforms. Of course, that whole lifespan thing is just a non-starter dreamed up by bean counters and internet commandos, because when a part breaks you just replace it. Oh....wait...............I'm sure the M4 will fair just dandy through this.

[Drang]

...

Here is an example of how bad we are hurting for money............since October.........

Bonus monies are being talked about being dropped. Apparently the young men are no longer worth giving a bonus to, as part of a new contract. Guess they just haven't earned it? Still in the negotiating phase, and final impacts are unknown. But that it is even a topic on the table at all, with a nation into it's second decade of war..............? Apparently there is no where else to make cuts.

Travel budget reduced by 30%. Short of it.......it means training is being cut out, personnel are being cut from certain training events, training events are being cut short, etc.

Lost 40% of our annual ammunition allotment. That one is not so bad. Because everyone knows shooting is not a perishible skill.

No money for weapons accessories or repair parts. None. All purchases are at full stop. Guns are being put back together with parts taken off of other unserviceable weapons until they get one working. Some inspection failure weapons are being given "exceptions", and kept in service. Accessories (EOTech, ATPIAL, Night Vision, etc) are in such short supply that many units go all the way through their core training blocks without having the allotment they are supposed to. Meaning, they are not training at all like they are going to be expected to fight.

I have an F250 truck that hauls a 20' trailer full mission essential training equipment to Kentucky. The truck went in for maintenance, and was found to have a structural issue that needed to be repaired before I could get my truck back. Asked for a stand in, just to get through the upcoming training. No. There are none to give. 20 vehicles sitting, out of commission, because there is no money for spare parts or repairs. ...

Read that -- twice -- and all I could think was "This is where I came in."
(And I missed the worst. BASD 28 AUG 1980. )

[BaiHu]

Sean,
Once again thanks for your "on the ground" assessment and thanks for your service...that goes for everyone on this forum who is in LE or MIL as well.
All of you folks would be first on my list to pay taxes to if only I could choose :mad: The first people I'd take off the list is the fat cat f*%ktard plutocrats.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[fuse]

The sad thruth is that we are better off to go to sequestration than to have yet another BS extension. The automatic cuts are less than what we are working with now, and are clearly identified. We know exactly where we will take the hit, and how it will affect as a whole. As it stands now, we are using "continuing resolution" monies, which don't necessarily have a budget attached to them, leaving the organization no way to know how to prioritize their spending. The money is filtered in here and there, and most of it based on a mountain of paperwork justifying the need. And no one knows which will be approved, and which won't. And if it is approved.......when can we expect it?





We had the admiral in charge of us (I am about as non-combat as possible, to be clear) come and talk about money, jobs, potential sequestration and the like. He basically said the above, although he, being a frickin admiral, certainly stopped well short of saying sequestration would be preferred at this point.

My organization has been under a hiring freeze for over a year. Things are getting difficult.

[Kyle Reese]

Here's another way to "thank" them. Cut their pay!

http://washingtonexaminer.com/panetta-to-propose-military-pay-cut-after-obama-raised-federal-officials-pay/article/2520741

[BaiHu]

Here's another way to "thank" them. Cut their pay!

http://washingtonexaminer.com/panetta-to-propose-military-pay-cut-after-obama-raised-federal-officials-pay/article/2520741

Where is the our-vets-will-end-up-choosing-between-heating-their-homes-and-eating-cat-food crowd?

[Drang]

What, you thought they'd cut foreign aid? Welfare? Congressional "fact finding" trips to Tahiti and Dominican brothels?

[Odin Bravo One]

Here's another way to "thank" them. Cut their pay!

http://washingtonexaminer.com/panetta-to-propose-military-pay-cut-after-obama-raised-federal-officials-pay/article/2520741

Oh well.............whatayado?

Marry a Sugar Mama. Highly recommended COA!

[JRB]

It's already my assigned Army Reserve unit really hard.

Last month we all shuffled through an EST2000 facility to 'practice the fundamentals', as we're scheduled to shoot for qualification in the next month or two. Higher wanted to see a range qual scorecard from everyone - even the 1SG and CPT. They said we're doing the EST so we can get more 'first-time gos' when we qualify because we won't have as much ammo as we're used to.

Turns out the reason we all handed in scorecards is because THAT was our "qualification". There's no live ammo available right now for REMF Reservists.

There's no money for new equipment either, we've got guys wearing Gulf war era K-pots, only new entry soldiers fresh out of AIT have new ACH's and such. Virtually everyone that have been homesteading various NCO ranks and cannot or will not get promoted further are getting shuffled into the IRR or forced to retire. Same for a lot of E4's that never wanted to be E5's in the byzantine new-CO-every-year clusterfuck that is our unit.
Anyone that's flagged for PT test failures, med board, psych, etc. - are all getting put out with a quickness. As the unit shrinks (has gone from ~300 assigned to ~210 assigned in the past 6 months) a lot of specialized MOS's in the maintenance platoon are getting labeled as excess and getting forced to re-class to much shittier MOS's in order to even stay in.

While I've had plenty of regrets about going Reserve long before this, I have a feeling that this is just the beginning.

[TGS]

It's already my assigned Army Reserve unit really hard.

Last month we all shuffled through an EST2000 facility to 'practice the fundamentals', as we're scheduled to shoot for qualification in the next month or two. Higher wanted to see a range qual scorecard from everyone - even the 1SG and CPT. They said we're doing the EST so we can get more 'first-time gos' when we qualify because we won't have as much ammo as we're used to.

Turns out the reason we all handed in scorecards is because THAT was our "qualification". There's no live ammo available right now for REMF Reservists.

There's no money for new equipment either, we've got guys wearing Gulf war era K-pots, only new entry soldiers fresh out of AIT have new ACH's and such. Virtually everyone that have been homesteading various NCO ranks and cannot or will not get promoted further are getting shuffled into the IRR or forced to retire. Same for a lot of E4's that never wanted to be E5's in the byzantine new-CO-every-year clusterfuck that is our unit.
Anyone that's flagged for PT test failures, med board, psych, etc. - are all getting put out with a quickness. As the unit shrinks (has gone from ~300 assigned to ~210 assigned in the past 6 months) a lot of specialized MOS's in the maintenance platoon are getting labeled as excess and getting forced to re-class to much shittier MOS's in order to even stay in.

While I've had plenty of regrets about going Reserve long before this, I have a feeling that this is just the beginning.

Wow.

How the eff do you guys still have any Gulf War era stuff, like PASGT helmets? Are you in the one forgotten unit that didn't get new gear over the last decade? lol. Not even the training commands have that stuff anymore, from what I gather.

[JRB]

Wow.

How the eff do you guys still have any Gulf War era stuff, like PASGT helmets? Are you in the one forgotten unit that didn't get new gear over the last decade? lol. Not even the training commands have that stuff anymore, from what I gather.

It beats me. Last year our S4 got us a bunch of ACH's & Camelbaks, so there's only a handful of guys still in K-pots and we don't have any more guys stuck with canteens. Yes, as recently as last year guys were still running training missions using 1qt canteens if they didn't want to or have the money to buy their own Camelbak.

We're far from the only reserve unit that's been stuck with gear like this, and been getting told repeatedly about getting 'some new trucks soon' or 'some M4's soon' etc etc. Everything rolls downhill and we seem to be at the bottom of the hill, and shit is the only thing that makes it to the bottom. Everything higher up cherry-picks all the good gear and leaves us with the hand-me-downs and leftovers.

We're still actively using M998's, M1038's, and M923A2's. Some of the M16's in our arms room would be coveted collector's items if they were on Form 4's and not beat to shit. We've got several H&R - made A1's that are arsenal overstamped A2 conversions, even at least one GM Hydra-Matic A1 overstamp. I wish I could tell you more about the situation, but suffice to say that it is truly abysmal, and this current economic situation is only going to make things MUCH worse.

[ezthumper]

Wow.

How the eff do you guys still have any Gulf War era stuff, like PASGT helmets? Are you in the one forgotten unit that didn't get new gear over the last decade? lol. Not even the training commands have that stuff anymore, from what I gather.

I was active duty until just after Desert Storm, and I had an M-16 with a "vine catcher" and Our M-60's were Vietnam issue.....and we worked with priority A resources.

[Odin Bravo One]

I had every intention of doing one more enlistment.

However, given the state of the civilian leadership, and their lack of action to produce anything worth a shit for this country, I have lost all confidence in their ability to execute commander's intent, provide for the common defense, or live up to their end of the agreement.

I will have to "wait & see"..............however, if when the decision has to be made in the next couple of months, if there is not a drastic change back in the right direction, I will have to be leaving for good. Unlike the flag officer ranks, I am not willing to stand idly by and watch the deterioration of best military force in the history of the world be destroyed by morons. Nor am I willing to continue to watch our civilian leaders, lawmakers, and politicians turn our young men and women into dead young men and women solely due to their overwhelming incompetence, and gross ignorance.

[Jay Cunningham]

Don't blame you one bit.

[Odin Bravo One]

Well right now, a very powerful reason (for me) to hang on for a few more is that I don't want my transfer to the Reserve's signed by the current CINC/POTUS. But that is not likely to be enough to keep me in. I don't have a crystal ball, but I foresee some very serious retention problems in the 10%.

[Kevin B.]

I go over 19 years in May. I fully intended to drop my retirement packet until I was presented with an opportunity that I knew I would regret turning down. One more deployment.

When I get back, I am hanging it up. Too many reasons to leave. Not enough reasons to stay.

[Kyle Reese]

I go over 19 years in May. I fully intended to drop my retirement packet until I was presented with an opportunity that I knew I would regret turning down. One more deployment.

When I get back, I am hanging it up. Too many reasons to leave. Not enough reasons to stay.

Stay safe & watch your 6. It's a shit show over there.

[Kevin B.]

Great.:rolleyes: I am something of a shit magnet.

[SeriousStudent]

Stay safe & watch your 6. It's a shit show over there.

Indeed, be careful and come home safe. You have earned your retirement and then some.