This'n'That; June First #1; Pay Atrocity

owe-bama To Cut Military Pay!
    The Soros/Jarrett/owe-bama has its own way of showing appreciation of the military:  They cut their pay!!  In recent years, military pay has come along way; when I entered the Air Force--in 1964--the basic entry pay was a whoppin' $62.50 per month; per MONTH!!  Yup, a whole $750.00 per year; per YEAR!!
(Point of Reference: in 1965, a BRAND-NEW Chevy Impala 2dr hdtp, 327, 4-speed cost: $3,352.10!!  That's every penny of nearly 54 MONTHS' pay at 1964 rates.  At today's rates, a $20,000 car would equal 13 months, 3 weeks' pay.  Presidential pay, 1964: $100,000; current: $400,000)
    Presumably as a spending-cut measure, owe-bama has Defense Secretary Robert Gates trot out and announce that the regime would have to re-examine military pay, military health care benefits and the military retirement system.  Remember, Secretary Gates is on-his-way-out and has nothing to lose with this announcement.
    Military basic pay and allowances--and to a lesser degree, health care and retirement benefits--have had a tremendous impact on retention rates of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen... and women.  Back in the early-to-mid Sixties--with the Viet Nam War looming--retention rates were in the less-than-20%-of-first-termers, area (as I recall-I can't find any statistics from earlier eras).  In the current era, rates aren't that dismal, but bad enough that the Defense Department is concerned about maintaining competent, educated, trained fighting forces in every military branch. 
    We've all seen them on the network newscasts; the grunts "humpin'" around with their packs and weapons; completely covered in long pants, long sleeved shirts, heavy boots and all kinds of crap hanging from their belts, packs and helmets.  Hell, those packs alone, outweigh our oldest teenaged child!!  Add to the weight--the blowing sand; the sticky-sweaty bodies; the ubiquitous insects; the strategic mission demands; concerns for relatives and friends 'back-in-the-world;'  these folks--the young and the not-so-young--earn every penny they're paid!!  They're not the super-fit members of Seal Team-6; the Army's Special Forces; the Army's Ranger Battalions--they're the military version of you and me; just average grunts "going to work" every day; doing the necessary heavy-lifting while not asking anything more than their superiors honor the contracts they have with the forces in general.
    The next time your in a 'big-box' home improvement store--like Lowes' or Home Depot--check the nametags until you find a department manager.  This civilian--a mid-level manager--would be comparable to (pay grade: E-5) an Air Force Staff Seargeant; an Army Sergeant; a Marine Sergeant; a Navy and Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class, both having 6 years experience.  I've worked at one of the aforementioned BBS, I know that they're paid considerably more than the military basic pay of $31,442.40 annually.  Search out the store manager.  This guy or gal makes around $70-80,000 to manage the store and it's personnel.  In my opinion the store manager position would be comparable to an Army Company Commander, a captain who--after ten years' service--has a basic annual pay of around 75,000 bucks.  It would seem to me that--much like the civilian workforce--the upper echelons of the miltary have had their annual pay creep up to civilian standards alot faster than the mid- and lower- level soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
    The store manager--unlike his military counterpart-- does not have the daily concerns of life-and-death!!  The military manager bears the responsibility of feeding, clothing, housing, transporting and insuring the safety of their charges!
This desire by the SJo regime to financially placate the opposition partially on the backs of the military is unconscionable!!  The military--for the most part--go "above-and-beyond" on a daily basis!!  The military pay scale should be defended at all costs; should not be a part of the 'chess match' that is budget negotiation.
    As with the 'Texas vs Mexico' disaster assistance; with the Joplin, Mo disaster vs a weekend round of golf, the threat of military pay cuts very well may be based on their collective voting records.  The military--as a class, on average--vote republicRAT or the most conservative plutocRAT on the docket.  This might very well be their undoing-paywise!!  A recent Gallup poll reveals that just 37% of military members support the SJo regime's policies!!
Til Nex'Time....
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/pentagon-military-pay-obama/2010/05/09/id/358485
http://www.gallup.com/poll/147839/Military-Personnel-Veterans-Give-Obama-Lower-Marks.aspx?version=print
http://www.military-money-matters.com/support-files/2011-military-pay.pdf
http://www.militaryfactory.com/ranks/index.asp
http://www.yayanetwork.org/enlistmentcontract
http://www.corpsman.com/2009/06/new-enlistment-contracts-for-all-services-please-read/