I, sir, am a member of the United States Navy and have been for 39 years. I simply thought a small amount of fact might benifit this thread. Yes, I am a military supporter if that qualifies me as a statist apologist in your mind.
A member of the government's Senior Executive Service (SES) receives bonus money in this range every year, each and every one of them. It has nothing to do with true performance, just a sham way to increase salaries. Also, a member of the SES is chosen for executive qualities, not subject matter expertise and is supposed to be rotated to various jobs often in their career. There are two types SES, those that rise through the civil service and those appointed by the president. The latter group, called "C" appointees, receive even higher average bonuses. My immediate supervisor, a deputy counsel, recieved 25K last year and her boss, the counsel, received 30K in bonuses. One was a level 4 and the counsel a level 5, the top level being level six. The pay of the SES is capped at about 133,000 dollars by statute even though a SES step three makes this much and the pay scales for the SES 4-6 go much higher. The bonuses are a way around the caps.
A member of the government's Senior Executive Service (SES) receives bonus money in this range every year, each and every one of them. It has nothing to do with true performance, just a sham way to increase salaries. Also, a member of the SES is chosen for executive qualities, not subject matter expertise and is supposed to be rotated to various jobs often in their career. There are two types SES, those that rise through the civil service and those appointed by the president. The latter group, called "C" appointees, receive even higher average bonuses. My immediate supervisor, a deputy counsel, recieved 25K last year and her boss, the counsel, received 30K in bonuses. One was a level 4 and the counsel a level 5, the top level being level six. The pay of the SES is capped at about 133,000 dollars by statute even though a SES step three makes this much and the pay scales for the SES 4-6 go much higher. The bonuses are a way around the caps.
Yes, of course we have simulated without satellites and other electronic systems. A very recent war game surprised the blue forces when the red oposition communicated with motorcycles rather than the electronic communication net. But remember that our high power and pulse power RDT&E are classified.
