How about a more robust reserve force?

After successfully shutting down NASA, the P-BO has trained his cost cutting gun on the military. The guy who is running a trillion dollar budget deficit every year intends to balance that budget by cutting 48 billion a year from the defense budget for the next ten years. So don’t worry Mr. and Mrs. America, the P-BO is on the case. While we go another ten trillion in the hole the P-BO is going to “save” us 480 billion.


Prediction: It’ll end up costing 3 times any savings we achieve to mobilize during the next conflict.

Defending the move the P-BO said:
“I firmly believe, and I think the American people understand, that we can keep our military strong and our nation secure with a defense budget that continues to be larger than roughly the next 10 countries combined.”
 Well, as long as he “firmly believes” that, it should be enough dissuade any aggression from the likes of China, Russia, N Korea, Iran, any country in the Middle East who would like to see Israel gone, Hezbollah, Hammas, al Qaeda, South American Narco Terrorists and the Taliban. Ooops, as the slowest of all Joes noted not long ago, the Taliban are no longer our enemy.

If you’re going to save money you have to go to where the money is. In spite of the massively expensive weapons systems we own, most of the defense cost is captured in military pay and retired benefits. So the defense brainiacs are going to cut roughly 10,000 ground pounders from the Army and Marines. Actually, that makes sense. It’s easier and quicker to train an infantryman than a fighter pilot.

It’s unnecessary, but it makes sense. Reserve units operate at a cost of about 1/3rd that of an active duty unit. Seems to me, it might be in our national interest and an economic stimulus as well, if we rolled 15,000 into the reserves to reach the same savings while maintaining essentially the same combat power.

Take all 15,000 out of the Army. Make the Marine Corps a rapid reaction force to fight and hold until the Army can mobilize and follow on to fight and win. I know. The Marines would win before the Army could get there, but you have to sell these things.

With regard to any real personnel cuts in the military, I’d start with the Pentagon and the general officer corps. About 99% of the BS in the military starts in the five sided puzzle palace and trickles down to the last private, whose response is almost always, “what stupid f^%k dreamed this BS up?”

Take the Army’s diversity program which it prides itself in and values more than the safety of soldiers at Ft Hood. Anyone with half a brain knows it’s BS. I’ll take 20 men 18 to 22 years old with high school diplomas who meet rigorous physical, mental and moral standards and train them in the military art for 6 weeks. You take 20 gay, girl, hijab wearing drug using high school drop outs and train them for 6 weeks. Then we’ll run the obstacle course at Quantico. It’s not discrimination. It’s commonsense, a virtue quite uncommon in the halls of the Pentagon.

So we’re going to dump 10,000 trigger pullers to make budget. Who do you think is going to get dumped? Hint, it won’t be any incompetent Maj Nidal Hasan types. They are too diverse for our new Army to be asked to do their job or get the hell out. And if you won’t get out, please, pretty please don’t kill 13 people for the love of Allah.

Then, to save more, the bean counters will restructure retirement and retiree medical coverage. Most say the congress will ask military retirees to contribute more toward their retirement and medical coverage.

ASIDE: Isn’t that exactly what union thugs are trying to recall Scott Walker for in WI? Has the P-BO bounced this off of Andy unionize the world Stern and Richard the dick Trumka? Will the P-BO be showing up in WI to support Scott Walker?

I have no problem with restructuring retirement and medical. Why should I?  I’m probably grandfathered. I’ve noted on this page since day one that retirement shouldn’t be paid to military retirees until age 60. As for medical, it was my understanding when joining the grand and glorious Marine Corps that medical would be provided on a space available basis for retirees, sort of like catching a military hop. Wait in line and take your chances. I don’t know when that arrangement morphed into a, we’ll pay for everything for the rest of your life program. Unless you were wounded in combat or injured in the line of duty, it shouldn’t be.