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The "peace dividend" ain't paying dividneds any more. We need 5 more divisions. Period. End of story. The democrats and Americans want to sacrifice? Well they can sacrifice by paying the Regular Army guys with good wages and a return to the old GI bill and by cutting spending on illegals and shirkers.

There is never a "peace dividend." Something always comes along after all these so called cuts and we pay for it. Many of us felt after Gulf War I when the cuts started, and they started sending troops home to the USA and not back to Germany and cutting divisions, that it was a very bad move. We felt that at some point, sooner or later, we were going to pay for it. And, we have. We have over extended our people, they are doing long deployments without enough time to refit and rest up. Some on 3d or 4th tours to Iraq. EVERYTIME we cut forces and equipment, it costs more to bring it all back when we need it again. The so called LEADERSHIP in D.C. continue to make the same mistakes, decade after decade. They just never, ever learn.

Many of us felt after Gulf War I when the cuts started, and they started sending troops home to the USA and not back to Germany and cutting divisions, that it was a very bad move. We felt that at some point, sooner or later, we were going to pay for it. And, we have. We have over extended our people, they are doing long deployments without enough time to refit and rest up. Some on 3d or 4th tours to Iraq. EVERYTIME we cut forces and equipment, it costs more to bring it all back when we need it again. The so called LEADERSHIP in D.C. continue to make the same mistakes, decade after decade. They just never, ever learn.

And that was the second time in my adult life we've gone down that road. I got "Clintonsized" (laid off) myself due to the consolidations in the defense industry driven and encouraged by The Impeached One. Might happen again, the outfit I support in the Army is going to cut contracts by 10%, and that was *before* the 'Rats won the election, we were told about it on election day. Meanwhile my division lost a major (to us) contract that we were the incumbent on (not a support contract, we'd done the development of the first phase, and then somebody underbid us on the second phase) leaving about 1/2 the folks on "overhead". We'll find the fallout from that next week, I hope, but that's back at the home office, the contract I'm on is good for next calendar year anyway).

Now the "Rat's are going for the third round in my adult life. I don't forsee a rosy future for the military, the defense industry that supports it, or for the country itself.

But the country will get Military quality health care. Lucky us.