Absolutely agree.
If there is one segment of society that has sacrificed, it is the military. Many of them have endured years away from their families. Loneliness. Deprivation. Hardship.
The proposed decrease in the military pay raise should not go into effect.
Neither should the $600 Billion in Sequestration cuts. The military is 17% of the budget, yet must absorb 50% of the cuts.
I have posted this before, but one of the best articles out there on this subject has been published by the Heritage Organization.
Don’t Gut Our Military: $150 Billion in Commonsense Proposals to Prevent Sequestration
The military is now dealing with carriers that have to return to port, not enough money to pay for fuel for aircraft, not enough money to train, not enough money to pay for existing contracts, not enough money to pay it's own civilian workers, and not enough money to pay for upgrades to weapons systems.
Entitlements are almost completely exempt from Sequestration. This is a Faustian bargain. We cannot pretend to cut 3/3rds of the budget while "exempting" entitlements and welfare (which consume almost 63% of all Federal dollars spent).
Our nation deserves better. Our military deserves better.
The Fiscal Cliff "deal" just gave away $200,000,000,000 (200 Billion) for extensions in unemployment benefits (again). We have spent almost 3/4 of a Trillion dollars since 2008, paying millions upon millions of Americans not to work. This is madness. BOTH parties whole heartily agreed to fund that. It wasn't even an argument.
Don't look for the Republicans to come in and save that day to hold off these assaults on military pay or the Defense budget.
If Congress and Obama weren't planning on cutting the legs out of Defense 1/2 through the fiscal year, and continuing the Sequestration cuts over the next 10 years, Panetta would never have had to propose this.
Look in the mirror America. Anyone who is not out there defending the military from our current budget assaults is part of the problem.
In recent weeks and days, Ryan, Bohener, and Cantor have become cheerleaders for cuts....any cuts....at any price. Even if our nation's military suffers.
Where are the leaders in the GOP? We used to have them.
