Are U.S. Military Benefits Booming?

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WNU Editor: The related article to this story is here. If you scroll down to the comments section .... it is clear that the vast majority of those who commented do not share the Washington Posts' assertion that military benefits are "booming".

1-Percent Pay Raise Proposed For U.S. Military

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel meets with troops to thank them for their service at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, April 25, 2013. DOD PHOTO BY Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Outcry Erupts Over 1-Percent Pay Raise Proposed For Military -- Stars and Stripes/USA Today

Military families and their advocates are battling an Obama administration proposal to limit troops' pay raises to 1% in 2014, the lowest increase in half a century.

The raise comes at a time when forces will still be fighting in Afghanistan.

"We're sending the wrong message to the ones who have worked the hardest in our country by the multiple deployments and family separations," says Michael Hayden, deputy director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, no relation to Michael Hayden, said Obama is committed to "a sacred trust" with military members, but needed to reduce the pay raise, partly to offset congressional refusal to cut spending on "outdated weapons system."

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My Comment: What a great way to lower morale.

Mismanagement In The U.S. Stryker Program?

A U.S. Stryker Vehicle Rolls Down A Farm Road Near Khan Bani Sa'ad Iraq On March 1, 2008. Steve Lannen/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT

DOD Inspector General Finds $900 Million Stockpile Of Stryker Parts -- McClatchy News

The Army program charged with keeping thousands of eight-wheeled Strykers running over the past decade had its eye so much on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that it neglected to keep its books.

It accumulated nearly $900 million worth of Stryker replacement parts - most of them in an Auburn warehouse - with much of the gear becoming outdated even as the military continued to order more equipment, according to a Defense Department Inspector General report released late last year.

Take, for instance, the $57 million worth of obsolete infrared equipment the Army has not installed in Strykers since 2007. It lingered at the Stryker warehouse until the Inspector General called attention to it last year.

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My Comment: The sad part of this story is that one cannot help but feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Inside America's Incredible Military Arsenal

Gears of War: Inside America's Incredible Military Arsenal -- Time

From high-tech stealth bombers, to the latest night-vision rifles and assault helicopters, the U.S. armed forces have the most sophisticated military hardware in the world. Here are some of the niftiest pieces of equipment used in recent missions from Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya to the Osama bin Laden raid in Pakistan.

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My Comment: A lot of stuff. Well worth the time to take a glance.

Sequestration Could Force U.S. Army And Marines To Cut 200,000 Troops

Budget Cuts Could Force Army And Marines To Cut 200,000 Troops -- Weekly Standard

Many conservatives and Republicans are greeting the looming sequestration spending cuts with a collective yawn. "The much-ballyhooed 'sequester' is a cut of $85 billion in a nearly $4 trillion federal budget. Good, let’s do it," writes one contributor to National Review Online's symposium on sequestration.

It's true that sequestration is a tiny cut to total federal spending. But it is also true that sequestration is a major cut to defense spending.

According to the House Armed Services Committee, the 2011 Budget Control Act (the law that imposed both spending caps and sequestration) will force the Marine Corps to shrink by 25 percent--from 202,000 Marines to 145,000. What's more, "by the end of calendar year 2013, less than half of our ground units will be trained to the minimum readiness level required for deployment," Marine Corps commandant James Amos testified to Congress this month.

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Previous Post: The Gutting Of The U.S. Army

My Comment: Repeating a comment I made 2 weeks ago ....

.... I made a prediction about a year ago using the British template of sudden and drastic budget cuts to balance the books on what such a scenario may play with the U.S. military. In short .... I predicted a 30% - 50% cut in the U.S. military. Sadly .... it looks like this scenario is something that even General Odierno is beginning to realize may happen.

Budget Cuts Will Mean The Closure Of U.S. Bases Worldwide

Lajes field. Wikipedia

Panetta Reassures Portugal On Azores Islands After U.S. Downsizes Decades-Old Base There -- Washington Post

LISBON — The Pentagon’s era of austerity is starting to pinch some remote corners of the globe, including a volcanic island in the mid-Atlantic.

The U.S. military has decided to greatly scale down Lajes Field, an air base in the Azores Islands that for decades has served as a refueling station and rest stop for long-haul flights. Almost 1,000 U.S. troops and their family members will come home by the end of next year, leaving behind a bare-bones crew to service the occasional flyby.

The move will save an estimated $350 million over a decade, a tiny fraction of the $500 billion in cuts the Pentagon must make during that same period. But ripple effects are already being felt in the Azores, a Portuguese territory, where 700 civilians depend on the base for their livelihoods.

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My Comment: The Portuguese should not worry too much .... this country has already shown interest in the old U.S. base.

Update: DoD To Delay USAF Personnel Reduction at Portuguese Base -- Defense News

What Are The Perks That A Four-Star General Has In The U.S. Military

Petraeus Scandal Puts Four-Star General Lifestyle Under Scrutiny -- Washington Post

Then-defense secretary Robert M. Gates stopped bagging his leaves when he moved into a small Washington military enclave in 2007. His next-door neighbor was Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, who had a chef, a personal valet and — not lost on Gates — troops to tend his property.

Gates may have been the civilian leader of the world’s largest military, but his position did not come with household staff. So, he often joked, he disposed of his leaves by blowing them onto the chairman’s lawn.

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My Comment: Does anyone want to bet that these perks will not be touched by any current or future defense budget cuts.

Is There A Benghazi Link On Why A U.S. General And A U.S. Admiral Were Relieved Of Their Commands?

View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.

Navy Commander Under Investigation -- NBC

A local Navy commander is returning to his homeport in Washington state mid-way through his deployment following an investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment, Navy officials confirmed.

The commander in question is Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette, commander of the San Diego-based USS Mobile Bay and two North Island-based helicopter squadrons that are deployed with the Stennis Strike Group.

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My Comment: My post on General Ham being replaced is here. I personally doubt that there is a Benghazi link .... there is no evidence that has come to my attention to say otherwise .... but the timing is certainly raising eyebrows.

Were Radioactive Chemicals Secretly Sprayed By The Military In St. Louis During The 1950s And 1960s?

Did U.S. Military Secretly Aerial Spray St. Louis With Radioactive Chemicals? -- AllGov

African Americans living in St. Louis housing projects may have been subjected to radiation-laced spraying by the U.S. military during the Cold War.

In an effort to study how biological and chemical agents might spread, the U.S. Army conducted “Operation Large Area Coverage.” The project consisted of spraying zinc cadmium sulfide, which was not considered harmful, across various parts of the country.

But in the housing projects of St. Louis, which the Army considered a “slum district,” the spraying included radioactive particles, according to sociology professor Lisa Martino-Taylor. The spraying took place from February 1953 to January 1954 and 1963-1965.

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Update: Did U.S. Military Secretly Aerial Spray St. Louis with Radioactive Chemicals? -- Yahoo News/Live Science

My Comment: Apparently the amounts that were used were not significant .... that cigarette smoking will cause more exposure to products like Cadmium than these tests. But .... it is still disquieting that this info is only being released now .... and only through someone's diligent work and research. Makes you wonder (again) on what other military experiments were done that that we are not aware of.

Is This The White House's Plan To Downsize the Military?

Downsizing the Military - A Disgrace -- Lisa Wexler, Huffington Post

Yesterday two very lovely women came by my booth here on Radio Row, where I am broadcasting the show live from Tampa for the RNC. I was told they were military wives and something terrible was happening to them. When I heard their story, I initially did not believe it. When you hear it, you won't believe it either. And I fervently hope that you will contact your elected representatives immediately to do something about it. Because it is a disgrace.

What is happening is that close to 3,000 enlisted men and women are being downsized from the navy. That's right -- downsized. Not fired due to performance, or transferred to another station. They have been given their walking papers in the middle of their stints and told to find something else to do. Go find another house, another job, another health plan.

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My Comment: This is outrageous .... and you know that if sequestration kicks in next year .... this situation will be even worse for our military families. Read it all.

101st Airborne Marks 70th Anniversary

Band Of Brothers For 70 Years: Heroic 101st Airborne Division Celebrates Anniversary As Paratroopers Remember The Soldiers Who Gave Their Lives For America -- Daily Mail

Thousands of soldiers and veterans are coming together this week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the legendary 101st Airborne Division.

The group of elite paratroopers, considered a 'cut above the rest', was created on August 16, 1942, and first saw combat on one of the most crucial days in U.S. history - the D-Day invasion of France.

The 101st Airborne Division and the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 82nd Airborne Division would go on to redefine war strategies from World War II to Vietnam to the Middle East.

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Update: Storied 101st Airborne marks 70th anniversary -- AP

WNU Editor: This story will be updated on August 16 .... the 70th anniversary day on the creation of the 101rst.

The U.S. Military's Failed 15-Year Quest To Develop The Perfect Radio

The Army's cancelled Ground Mobile Radio cost $6 billion to fail.

How To Blow $6 Billion On a Tech Project -- Ars Technica

Military's 15-year quest for the perfect radio is a blueprint for failing big.

In 1997, the Defense Department began its quest for the perfect family of radios: software-defined radios that, like computers, could be reprogrammed for different missions and could communicate with everything the US military used. Digital signal processing could adaptively use available radio spectrum based on the needs of the moment, turning soldiers, tanks, planes, and ships into nodes of a broadband radio-based network.

The goal was to solve radio problems like this one in Afghanistan, detailed by the Center for Public Integrity in January 2012. Soldiers who watched an ambush forming on a ridge nearby found themselves limited by the hugely variable needs of their many radio systems:

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My Comment: A text book case on how NOT to run a military research and development program. Sober reading .... especially when one looks at the billions that have been squandered on it.

US Sec. of Defense Panetta Warns U.S. Soldiers On Behavior

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta answers press questions after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, and Filipino Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin at the State Department in Washington, D.C., April 30, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Defense Chief Leon Panetta Implores U.S. Troops To Avoid Misconduct -- L.A. Times

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta made a personal appeal to American troops Friday to refrain from misconduct -- a pointed response to the recent publication of images of soldiers urinating on corpses and posing with body parts, behavior that has complicated the war in Afghanistan.

In a speech at Fort Benning, Ga., Panetta was blunt in his assessment of the breakdown of discipline, saying these incidents “show a lack of judgment, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of leadership.”

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More News On US Sec. of Defense Panetta Telling U.S. Troops To Avoid Misconduct

Panetta: Troop scandals hurt US Afghan mission -- AP
Panetta warns Afghanistan-bound U.S. soldiers on behavior -- Reuters
US military orders troops to fall in line after misconduct -- AFP
SecDef to troops: Don’t be knuckleheads out there -- DoD Buzz
Top military leaders call for increased focus on discipline -- Stars and Stripes
Panetta Warns Military Over Cases of Misconduct -- New York Times
Effects of misconduct threaten war efforts, Defense Secretary Panetta warns -- MSNBC
Officials troubled over behavior of U.S. troops -- Army Times

U.S. Military Policies On Prostitution Facing Greater Scrutiny

U.S. Military Faces Scrutiny Over Its Prostitution Policies In Wake Of Colombian Sex Scandal -- National Post

No one talks tougher against prostitution than the U.S. military.

Even in countries where prostitution is legal, military personnel violating a seven-year-old Department of Defense policy against paying for sex face up to a year in jail and dishonorable discharge if caught.

Officers and troops are taught about the links between human trafficking and prostitution. They also face country-specific instructions at bases like the U.S. installation in South Korea, where the policy describes prostitution as “cruel and demeaning.”

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My Comment: Having a policy is one thing .... not enforcing it is another. After the recent U.S. Secret Service prostitution scandal .... I expect this enforcement to be increased .... at least for the short term.

Pentagon 'Embarrassed' By Colombia Summit Prostitutes Scandal

Colombia Summit Prostitutes Scandal 'An Embarrassment' For The U.S. Military -- BBC

Claims that Secret Service agents and military personnel hired prostitutes in Colombia are an embarrassment, the US military's top officer has said.

"We let the boss down," US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told a Pentagon news conference.

Secret Service and military staff have been questioned over allegations of misconduct on the eve of President Obama's visit for a weekend summit.

Eleven Secret Service agents have been suspended and sent home.

Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters on Monday that the number of military staff involved could be more than the five originally reported.

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More News On The US Military Prostitution Scandal

More military personnel might have been involved in misconduct before Obama’s trip -- Washington Post
Pentagon: More personnel possibly involved in Colombian sex scandal -- Christian Science Monitor
Pentagon says more US troops may be involved in secret service scandal -- The Guardian
Pentagon 'Embarrassed' by Alleged Misconduct in Colombia -- Voice of America
US military 'embarrassed' over secret service scandal -- AFP
Pentagon Expands Personnel Probe in Colombia -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Pentagon investigating 10 military members in Colombia scandal -- L.A. Times
US military 'embarrassed' over secret service scandal -- AFP
Embarrassed Pentagon Expands Probe of Personnel in Colombia -- Bloomberg

Report: The U.S. Military Should Focus Growth On The Navy And Air Force

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta addresses U.S. and international troops on Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, Oct. 7, 2011. Panetta thanked the troops for their service. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

Report: US Should Place Its Bets On Navy, Air Force -- DoD Buzz

And now, music to the ears of the light and navy blue services: The U.S. should take a strategic risk and put its chips on naval and air power in the 21st century, according to a new report by a top D.C. think-tank. It should make the the assumption that the Western Pacific and the Middle East, in that order, will be the two key regions of the future, which means ships and aircraft should get an edge over ground forces, the authors say.

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My Comment: To focus our resources on the Navy and Air Force implies a certain threat in the future. But who and what that threat will be is not defined in this report.

U.S. General: Military Has A Disciplne Problem

Photo: Lt. Gen. Hertling

Army Commander Brands Lack Of Discipline With U.S. Troops As Potentially 'Cancerous' Problem -- Daily Mail

The leader of U.S. Army in Europe warned that soldier discipline has deteriorated to the point where it risks becoming 'cancerous'.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told a group of reporters over breakfast that only a small percentage of soldiers lack proper discipline, but he stressed his concern that it be fixed, now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and more troops are returning to their home bases.

'In some cases there are discipline problems that we have not paid as much attention to as we should,' he said, adding, 'If you allow that to go unnoticed it becomes cancerous.'

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More News On Concerns About Discipline Problems In The U.S. Military

Army General: Discipline Problem Risks Becoming 'Cancerous' -- FOX News/AP
General Calls Poor Post-War Discipline 'Cancerous' -- Military.com
Army: Lack of discipline could grow ‘cancerous’ -- Politico
USAREUR commander laments growing discipline problems -- Stars and Stripes
As wars wind down, Army general worries about troop discipline -- Government Executive

U.S. Inspector General: No Wrongdoing By Bush-Era Pentagon Officials

A television monitor in the Pentagon Briefing Room shows Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld as he responds to reporter's question during a press conference with Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq Gen. George W. Casey Jr., U.S. Army, in the Pentagon on June 27, 2005. Rumsfeld and Casey fielded questions from reporters on the U.S. military strategy and operations in Iraq. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Inspector General: Bush-Era Pentagon Officials Cleared Of Wrongdoing -- Washington Times

A three-year government investigation has found no wrongdoing by Bush-era Pentagon officials when they gave war briefings to retired military analysts who served as TV and radio commentators.

The probe by the Pentagon inspector general was a response to a 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning article in the New York Times that implied the former military officers, some of whom worked for or were defense contractors, received financial favors in return for their commentary and that they were tools in a propaganda campaign.

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My Comment: It took them 3 years to clear these officials .... 3 years! They should have done a better and quicker job than this.

The U.S. Military's Aging Equipment Is Raising Concerns

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan travels through the Pacific Ocean with other ships assigned to the Rim of the Pacific 2010 exercise, north of Hawaii, July 24, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan McCord

'Geriatric' U.S. Arsenal Needs Expensive Face-Lift -- Wall Street Journal

When Lt. David A. Deptula II, an Air Force pilot, climbed into his fighter plane at Kadena Air Force Base in Japan in 2008, it wasn't the first time a pilot named David Deptula had been at the controls. Lt. Deptula's father flew the very same F-15 when it was fresh off the McDonnell Douglas Corp. assembly line 30 years earlier.

"We have a geriatric Air Force," says the senior David A. Deptula, a retired three-star general. When flying that F-15 in 1999, he had to make an emergency landing in Turkey after disintegrating wiring caused a bunch of cockpit ...

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Update: The U.S. Arsenal Is Antiquated And Falling Apart -- Business Insider

My Comment: Max Boot comments on the predicament of having aging equipment.

US Military Raises Alert Level At Bases

The Pentagon Memorial was dedicated Sept. 11, 2008. The memorial contains 184 benches of stainless steel and granite, each representing one of the victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Army.mil

Pentagon Raises Threat Level At Bases In Advance of 9/11 -- ABC News

In advance of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks the Pentagon is protectively raising the force protection levels at military installations in the U.S.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little says that in recent days Defense Secretary Panetta approved a request by US Northern Commmand’s Gen. Charles Jacoby to raise the security level at domestic military installations. Little said the action was being done as a “prudent and precautionary measure” and was not in response to a specific terror threat. He noted al Qaeda’s past focus on holidays and milestones and that the 9/11 anniversary was specifically mentioned in documents recovered in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.

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More News On The U.S. Military raising The Alert Level At It's Bases

Military raises alert level ahead of September 11 -- Reuters
Before 9/11 anniversary, US raises alert level at bases -- AFP
Pentagon beefs up base security for 9/11 anniversary -- Stars and Stripes
Security level raised at U.S. military bases -- Politico
Security level raised at U.S. bases through September 11 -- CNN
Pentagon Raises Alert Level Ahead of 9/11 Anniversary -- Wall Street Journal
US Raises Alert Level at Military Bases -- Voice of America
Pentagon raises security levels at all military installations on eve of 9/11 anniversary -- Washington Post
Pentagon ups threat level at bases ahead of 9-11 -- AP