Thanks for the article Don.
Note: I have a semi-rant, semi-told ya so, at the end of the quote from the article. That misses the most important point. If you're a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Coast Guard, Reserves, National Guard or DoD Civilian you need to act now. Get your affairs in order. Resumes, finances (including savings) and if you haven't done so then start putting out feelers to potential employers. When this hits its going to come like an atom bomb. I've talked to too many people senior to me that have gone through a reduction in force (RIF) and its nothing nice. I'll b blunt too. They're looking for a certain mix to get to how the force should look so people that deserve to stay will be forced out and non-hackers will be welcomed. The job market hasn't recovered despite what the news media says so consider this another wake up call. Plan accordingly guys...even the worse doesn't happen you'll be better for it. It won't be a one time cut but several and that enlistment certificate in you "I Love Me" book means jack squat.
via Stars and Stripes.
1. This decision is already made. The Service Chiefs talking about defending the number of troops at a certain level are full of shit and they know it. That's all for consumption by the troops, vets and retirees. Hagel is allowing this talk to give them cover.
2. Additional evidence that the massive troop cut is reality is a story that I saw the other day that stated that SOCOM would freeze instead of expand the number of boatspaces in their organization. You can't expand if your pool is shrinking.
3. Hagel talks of modernization but he is in essence talking about the F-35. Only. Every other capability will definitely erode under this plan.
4. The service chiefs have no allies to rally support from. Many (myself included) despise them. Others disagree with many of the social experiments that they're pushing. A few more are just plain deficit hawks and want to see cuts in spending. All spending. To include defense.
5. Expect your Tricare rates to rise, your VA copays to increase, and a serious reduction in the rate of your increase due to the cost of living. Obama care must be paid for and the DoD is the bank.
6. Told ya so.
I'm ready to punch walls. This Bush Jr, is as flawed as his thinking on globalization, the housing market and allowing banks to consolidate. Now we have Obama following those policies. It would be laughable if it wasn't happening right in front of me.
The US will become a big Germany. A military thats good for parades only and can't deploy anywhere. Our military downfall is in full speed mode and we have two administrations to blame for it.
Note: I have a semi-rant, semi-told ya so, at the end of the quote from the article. That misses the most important point. If you're a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Coast Guard, Reserves, National Guard or DoD Civilian you need to act now. Get your affairs in order. Resumes, finances (including savings) and if you haven't done so then start putting out feelers to potential employers. When this hits its going to come like an atom bomb. I've talked to too many people senior to me that have gone through a reduction in force (RIF) and its nothing nice. I'll b blunt too. They're looking for a certain mix to get to how the force should look so people that deserve to stay will be forced out and non-hackers will be welcomed. The job market hasn't recovered despite what the news media says so consider this another wake up call. Plan accordingly guys...even the worse doesn't happen you'll be better for it. It won't be a one time cut but several and that enlistment certificate in you "I Love Me" book means jack squat.
via Stars and Stripes.
Whether to favor a larger military or a smaller but more modern one still seemed to be an open question in July, when Hagel laid out a range of options outlined a four-month study, known as the Strategic Choices and Management Review, designed to help the Pentagon navigate sequestration.A few things.
Following one possible approach outlined in the study — one aimed at protecting programs like the Joint Strike Fighter and missions such as the long range strike and cyberwar capability — active duty ground forces would be severely cut. The Marine Corps could drop to 150,000 troops, while the Army could shrink to between 380,000 and 450,000 troops, rather than the current plan of 490,000 by 2017. The same approach could also lead to the elimination of up to three carrier groups, according to the study.
1. This decision is already made. The Service Chiefs talking about defending the number of troops at a certain level are full of shit and they know it. That's all for consumption by the troops, vets and retirees. Hagel is allowing this talk to give them cover.
2. Additional evidence that the massive troop cut is reality is a story that I saw the other day that stated that SOCOM would freeze instead of expand the number of boatspaces in their organization. You can't expand if your pool is shrinking.
3. Hagel talks of modernization but he is in essence talking about the F-35. Only. Every other capability will definitely erode under this plan.
4. The service chiefs have no allies to rally support from. Many (myself included) despise them. Others disagree with many of the social experiments that they're pushing. A few more are just plain deficit hawks and want to see cuts in spending. All spending. To include defense.
5. Expect your Tricare rates to rise, your VA copays to increase, and a serious reduction in the rate of your increase due to the cost of living. Obama care must be paid for and the DoD is the bank.
6. Told ya so.
I'm ready to punch walls. This Bush Jr, is as flawed as his thinking on globalization, the housing market and allowing banks to consolidate. Now we have Obama following those policies. It would be laughable if it wasn't happening right in front of me.
The US will become a big Germany. A military thats good for parades only and can't deploy anywhere. Our military downfall is in full speed mode and we have two administrations to blame for it.
The DOD comptroller says that as much as $41 billion must be cut this fiscal year because of sequestration.
ReplyDeleteF-35 -- FY 2014 (millions)
RDT&E
USN -- 1,046.8
USAF -- 849.3
Procurement
USN -- 2,778.9
USAF -- 3,582.3
Spares 187.3
Total 8,444.6 = $8.4 billion
So the F-35 program consumes roughly one-fifth of the expected max cut, for R&D and 29 aircraft.
And it's really higher, when sustainment and other hidden costs are added in.
i don't have the expertise or the patience to do it but an article on the cost to bring all these early aircraft up to speed needs to be written. quite honestly i've been waiting for Sweetman, Airpower Australia or Eric to do it...way outside my realm but from what i gather thats going to be the next sticker shock for everyone involved.
DeleteRight -- Eric has a Carter speech up at Hill AFB which will profit from fixing what they didn't get right in production.
Deletefrom the Pentagon--
ReplyDeleteWhat FY 2014 President’s Budget Seeks to Accomplish
•Act as good steward of taxpayer dollars
•Implement and deepen program alignment to new strategic guidance
•Seek a ready force
•People are central
•Fully fund responsible drawdown in Afghanistan
http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2014/FY2014_Budget_Request.pdf
Considering the ideologues and corporate sell-outs we elect as politicians, it is clear that it is too much to ask for someone competent in foreign relations and defense.
ReplyDeleteWe're done as a super power.
We'll send F35s into harm's way, they'll get mauled and we'll be left wondering why we lost the war.
yeah you're right. i don't believe the theory of war that they're pushing will work. we're facing or soon will face enemies that fly stuff almost as good as our own. this sensor fusion they're talking about will only slow down decision making and allow the enemy to get inside our loop.
Deleteinformation overload will be the cause of death for many in the future.
someone said the F-35 pilot will know who killed him moments or more before they die and they're right. this isn't a war winner. the whole thing is a PONZI SCHEME.
i so hate military leadership right now its palatable. if the troops knew what was coming they'd leave in droves now.
Air strikes, drones and commando raids is the only the US military will be capable of and it will fail miserably.
Deleteeven the SOCOM Olympics the current Admin is sponsoring is misguided: You cannot kill your way out of war. Our foreign policy is just big DICH board.
Killing is incidental, not the purpose of war.
Few (excepting Solomon) speak of one of the main causes of US decline. Corruption, meaning doing the wrong thing in exchange for compensation, is endemic at all political levels. It's particularly bad at the lower state levels and at the top levels of the administration, especially the Pentagon with its sweetheart sole-source cost-plus contracts. Nobody with any influence mentions it but it's a killer parasite on our system and currently the F-35 is the finest example.
DeleteI'm struck by the current lack of criticism in the media about the trillion-dollar F-35 program. I look at the media in other countries, and there is some notable criticism but in the US virtually none, except on a couple blog sites such as this one.
ReplyDeleteEven the usually big talkers like Sweetman, Winslow, Thompson, Spinney, Collins, Galrahn and others haven't made a peep recently. The chief F-35 tester Dr. Gilmore testified totally negative on F-35 in June and hasn't made a peep since. All we get are the program PR releases with first-this and first-that, and absolutely no discussion of the myriad of problems this program has including cost, reliability and performance. The top-level review by Kendall recently to look at cost and performance -- nada. Only "Lockheed set to increase production" of this turkey, and the inference is that everything is okay.
It isn't.