The Beltway Commandos don’t speak for the boots on the ground.
Via Allen B. West
As you all know, I served in the US Army for 22 years. When I first entered active duty we still had “pay day activities” and pay officers. I remember the days as a young lieutenant dressed in Class A uniform, issued a .45-caliber sidearm and a personal guard with M16 rifle and we went down and signed for a briefcase of cash. Soldiers would line up to receive their pay — this was before direct deposit, so now I am dating myself. The troops would stand there after they reported, “Sir, PFC Jones reporting for pay” and watch me count out their pay and present them with their pay stub. If there was one thing troops liked, it was pay day.
And so a recent story in Military.com really has me scratching my head. According to the story, “Senior Pentagon officials told Congress last Tuesday that troops are willing to sacrifice portions of their pay and benefits if it means keeping and improving the training and equipment needed to do their jobs.
Personnel officials from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and the Department of Defense met with the House Armed Services’ Military Personnel subcommittee to talk about cuts to pay and benefits the Pentagon is proposing for its upcoming budget. These include a smaller pay raise — 1 percent raise, an average 5 percent reduction in housing allowances, and higher health care fees for some retirees.