Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man put up an excellent post HERE on how badly we are screwed by the latest debt shenanigans…
But there IS more to that story where the military is concerned, and it’s NOT good…
These extracts are from various news stories both online and dead tree.
The White House has already ordered the Pentagon to come up with about $400 billion in savings over the next 12 years, a reduction that would slow the growth in defense spending to about the current rate of inflation.
The larger and more painful cuts of an additional $600 billion would be triggered only if Republicans and Democrats cannot come to an agreement on a second round of spending cuts in the next four months.
“You could reasonably make those cuts as long as you were willing to rethink our military strategy, not allow for any sacred cows and cut ruthlessly,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, an influential defense think tank with close ties to the Pentagon.
On Monday, almost no one was advocating such big reductions, totaling as much as $1 trillion over the next decade, in defense spending. “The president does not – has not called for – and would not support these kinds of cuts in defense spending,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Republicans warned that the cuts would be catastrophic to the U.S. military at a time of growing threats to the nation.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has been struggling to even come up with the $400 billion in cuts over 12 years that the president requested. “I don’t think the Defense Department has fully accepted the new budget environment,” said a senior U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing budget negotiations. “They are acting as if the $400 billion cut is the maximum and pushing back. But congressional plans seem to have gone far beyond that.”
To find $1 trillion in savings, the White House would have to make major changes to its current global military strategy, under which the Pentagon should be able to fight two wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan simultaneously.
Scaling back that requirement would allow for big cuts to the Army and Marine Corps, which collectively have grown by about 92,000 men and women since 2001 and would probably have to shrink at a minimum to pre-2001 levels. In shrinking the force, Congress would be betting that the Afghan war will wind down as planned and that the country will not be drawn into any big, costly counterinsurgency wars in the next 10 to 15 years.
Now here are a couple of statements that are counter to the above…
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, President Obama’s nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned last week that proposed cuts as high as $800 billion to $1 trillion to the military budget would be “extraordinarily difficult and very high risk.”
“If they would exceed $400 billion, we would start to have to make some fundamental changes in the capability of the Marine Corps,” said Gen. Joseph Dunford, assistant commandant.
The bottom line is that a $1 Trillion cut would effectively gut the military, and I am at the point that I believe the Democrats will purposely screw this “super congress” up to the point that no bills will pass and they WILL force the cuts to the highest level to gut the military to support their entitlement programs and damn the rest of the world or our mutual aid agreements…
And here is the letter from all the Republicans on the HASC to the President. After you read it, I’ll be interested in your comments…
Especially the last sentence on page 1 and the following paragraph on page 2…
Carter – Gutted the military and then abused the corpse.
Clinton – Gutted the military to fund research into chubby interns
Obama – Gutting the military so that he can continue to pay off his primary constituency.
Yeah, we’re boned.
I served during the Carter fiasco and well remember us pointing empty guns at each other and shouting “BANG!” and having instructors score it as either a kill or a miss.
I bowel-movement you not.
Then comes Uncle Ronnie and pass the gravy and give me seconds and thirds on the ammo and jet fuel and scuba tanks (with real air in them, imagine that) and money not just to train, but to DO something.
I’ll venture that over 90% of every elected official in this entire country should be taken out, indicted, tried, convicted and summarily imprisoned or given capital punishment for what they have done to this once great nation.
The people of America are still great, but the institution of America will never recover.
All we can do now is hang on, try to survive until it’s time for the crematorium or graveyard.
Crap like this is why I continue to pour concrete in the line in the sand I drew after 9/11.
Those who have never stood in harm’s way simply do not get it. I’m grateful to those who empathize and support our security efforts, but the political ones still cannot be trusted.
If we couldn’t trust someone in our military unit, we got the hell rid of them. If there is someone in my business I can’t trust, I get the hell rid of them.
But where our nation and government is concerned, we don’t get rid of them. . . WE FREAKING KEEP RE-ELECTING THEM!
I’m all for going back to poll-taxes, literacy tests and proof of being a property owner before being allowed to vote.
I’m sick of the stinking parasitic non-achievers breeding themselves into the majority and sucking the rest of us dry.
–AOA
We cannot allow him to be reelected.
Turns my stomach to see pictures of him with his hands on a Medal of Honor. No disrespect for the recipients, not their fault he is CinC. He IS determined to destroy our way of life.
DB- I was there, lived through it…
AOA- Concur 100%… Saw the same things in the Navy.
WSF- Agreed!
When I heard about the “trigger” I almost crapped myself.
Well, let’s see. NASA is Dead, which the DemaCommies always hated; they plan on forcing Gun Control down our throat, using “Executive Orders”, because they always hated the RKBA; and now, through the Magic of “Bi-Partisanship”, this “Super Congress” will gut the Military, which the DemaCommies have always hated.
Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao are Laughing it up in Hell.
Who knew that “The New Soviet Man” would have come from Hawaii?
Every time I think I’ve heard it all this loser-in-chief surprises me. The sad part is that he keeps getting away with it.
Nov. 6 2012 cannot get here soon enough.
Small wonder the Ruskies are issuing an Obama stamp. No. Really!
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/02/54099467.html
I remember the 70’s the “malaise” after Vietnam, when we didn’t have any pride as a nation. We were mocked in the 70’s and the early 80’s. I Appreciate Reagan, he gave us our pride back, refunded the military after the time of carter 1.0 when doing social stuff and letting the bureaucrats have control. Now we are in the time of carter 2.0 and the cycle of history repeats. I just hope 2.0 gets the same 1 term as the origional. I don’t think we can survive as a republic if he gets reelected. I have espoused the position more than once that we need a “starship trooper” option. Only those that have served can vote.
45- YOU??? Trust me, you were NOT alone…
Les- Good point… dammit
Tim- Agreed!
Stretch- Sad ain’t it…
MrG- I’m about to the point of agreement… or ONLY those who pay taxes get to vote…
China and Russia are obvious bad players on the stage.
War on 3 fronts makes the headlines when there is a blank spot open from whatever stunt the latest drug addled shithead pulled.
With the collusion of the media and the literacy rate of our population is it any wonder that folks tend to forget that not all or even the worst of Americas enimes are foreign ?
My uncle is a CMH recipient and I can’t stand to see this bum with his hands on one either. He sends Mullen to the front and he tells his men that he doesn’t know if they are going to get paid??? A Sickening political abuse of power. Lib states will not count overseas military votes in the next election either. What rights are our bravest and best fighting for?
FD- Good point, and China IS the big dog, and has said they will kick us out of the Western Pacific…
Scott- Concur- And they are fighting for what USED to be the USA… Sigh
As an old soldier, I’m wondering how much longer we’re going to have to be in world Trouble Spots like Germany? Or England? Or Italy?
As I get older, I’m wondering why we don’t pull our forces back inside our borders and save a few bucks.
It’s not a popular thought, but it’s one I’ve been having.
Personally I do not believe a single penny should be cut from defense as long as we have soldiers in combat areas. Yes, there is enormous waste in the way government agencies are required to do their business. But the law of unintended consequences is way too dangerous to our soldiers on the ground to risk them being affected by it.
And I echo the disgust every time Obama gives a medal to a vet – he isn’t worthy of the honor of doing it.
Paw- I’m beginning to lean that way too… and I’d be looking at cutting foreign aid to other than our mutual aid partners.
PH- Concur- Acquisition in the military is TOTALLY hosed… That drives the costs up by a factor of at least 2x but we should NOT abandon our folks on the battlefield…
OK, tell me the “national interest” in having these overseas bases:
Bulgaria
Main article: Bulgarian-American Joint Military Facilities
Aitos Logistics Center
Novo Selo Range
Germany
Main article: List of United States Army installations in Germany
Iraq
Main article: List of United States Army installations in Iraq
Israel
The Dimona Radar Facility is an American-operated radar base in the Negev, staffed by 120 US military personnel.[1]
Italy
Caserma Ederle, Vicenza
Camp Darby, Pisa-Livorno
Japan
Camp Zama, Tokyo
Torii Station, Okinawa
Fort Buckner, Okinawa
Kuwait
Main article: List of United States Army installations in Kuwait
Kosovo
Main article: List of United States Army installations in Kosovo
South Korea
Main articles: List of United States Army installations in South Korea and United States Forces Korea
Camp Panzer Kaserne, Böblingen
Japan
Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa. Note: these camps are dispersed throughout Okinawa, but still under the administration of the MCB complex.
Camp Courtney
Camp Foster
Camp Gonsalves (Jungle Warfare Training Center)
Camp Hansen
Camp Kinser
Camp Lester
Camp McTureous
Camp Schwab
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Camp Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture
Australia
Woomera Air Station
Bulgaria
Main article: Bulgarian-American Joint Military Facilities
Bezmer Air Base
Graf Ignatievo Air Base
Germany
Ansbach
NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Geilenkirchen
Ramstein Air Base
Spangdahlem Air Base
Greenland
Thule Air Base
Italy
Aviano Air Base
Sigonella Naval Air Station
Camp Darby (Pisa-Livorno)
Japan
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Prefecture
Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Aomori
Yokota Air Base, Tokyo
Qatar
Al Udeid Air Base
Saudi Arabia[2]
See also: United States withdrawal from Saudi Arabia
Eskan Village Air Base
Singapore
Paya Lebar Air Base
South Korea
Kunsan Air Base
Osan Air Base
Kyrgyzstan
Transit Center at Manas
Netherlands
Joint Force Command Brunssum
Portugal
Lajes Field, Azores
Spain
Morón Air Base, Andalusia
Morón de la Frontera, Andalusia
Turkey
Incirlik Air Base
United Kingdom (tenant facilities only)
RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, Suffolk
RAF Menwith Hill, Yorkshire Dales
RAF Mildenhall, Mildenhall
RAF Croughton, Upper Heyford
RAF Alconbury, Cambridgeshire
How many hundreds of billions could be saved by not paying to protect our “allies” and bringing our troops home to protect OUR BORDERS?
Amen to that FiftyCal
This won’t succeed as a matter of fact, that’s exactly what I consider.