Gates is an Obamanoid.
Oh. Big cuts...never mind.
I do agree with Gates that parts of the military, especially weapns acquisition, are bloated. Not just by Govenrment, but by support contractors (Beltway Bandits). There is also a lot of churning with big $$ acquisition programs that makes them more expensive because they are NOT adequately funded in the first place. This seems like an oxymoron, but its true. In most cases, military healthcare is pretty bare bones. Lastly, Obama is lavishing spending on other parts of the budget, but he expects the miltiary to do more with less.
I think what he is referring to is TRICARE, not VA healthcare. TRICARE is the medical program operated by the DOD, somewhat similar to an HMO, that provides care for military retirees and active duty dependants. DOD absolutly hates having to pay for the healthcare for retirees and would love to palm it off on the VA. TRICARE rates are set by Congress, not the DOD. A few weeks ago, the Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and head of the Coast Guard, all testified before Congress on cost of health care that the DOD must pay for retirees. All argued that the rates must be increased. The CNO, who is shortly to retire, stated that his annual premium for TRICARE Prime, the program most like an HMO, for both him and his wife, is $485.00. Granted, compared to other programs, that seems very reasonable. But the average retiree is not a 4-star admiral with no children. The average retiree is an E-6, with 2-3 dependant children, entering the job market in his/her early 40’s. Their retirement pay is not as much as many would think plus they are frequently starting out again at the bottom of the employment chain. Many need the reduced cost of health care just to make ends meet. Hopefully, we have some strong support in Congress to ensure that the military retirees don’t get screwed over in this overall government budget debate.
I wonder if the big cuts will be included in the VA. Personally, I’d like to see some big cuts in the HHS and ED.
We are setting ourselves up for another WW, but this time the bad guys have more big guns than we do, and similar delivery systems, so we’ll not be able to fall back on what was once our main defense: We are physically separated from the world’s major belligerents by vast bodies of water. That used to buy us time. That buffer no longer exists.
We knew this was coming. Massive cuts to the DoD and border security plus massive tax increases, all to pay for Obama's new social programs.
This government is a big F joke.