I read an article at Military.com today that has absolutely infuriated me. It seems that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking officer in the military, Admiral Mike Mullen was quoted as saying yesterday that members of the armed forces will very likely see cuts in pay and benefits over the next twelve years as the military tries to come up with $400 billion in cuts to meet President Obama’s proposed budget spending cuts that are expected to largely come from the Department of Defense.
Admiral Mullen told reporters yesterday that expenses must be trimmed and that, “"Two of the big places the money is, is in pay and benefits, and so when I say all things are on the table, all things are on the table.”
Despite the fact that our Commander in Chief seemingly has at best an apathetic attitude towards our military, and at worst an outright disdain for them, I would hope that he would see the necessity of providing for and taking care of those heroic folks that have sacrificed so much in their lives by volunteering to serve and protect our nation in the military. It is not like such men and women are getting rich from their government paychecks they receive for military service. Further, these folks are sometimes put in harm’s way or support those good folks that are. They damned well earn every cent they receive and every few benefit they are afforded. They have truly earned these already pitifully inadequate paychecks and benefits.
Our President wouldn’t dream of making cuts to the welfare rolls and social safety net, despite the fraud and abuse that is rampant throughout the system there. No, these folks are all reliable Democratic constituents by a large margin. Never mind that there are many folks not working that could be doing so that receive any variety of tax payer funded benefits. Cutting out the waste and fraud in this venue is taboo and strictly off the table to President Obama and the Democrats evidently.
On the other hand, since the military has traditionally been far more conservative in its voting predilections, cuts made there won’t come back to haunt President Obama and the Democrats as badly in the long run. Never mind that we have THREE wars going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya that is severely straining our military as it is. Far be it to fund one of the few items that the federal government is actually CONSTITUTIONALLY mandated to fund.
Indeed, I am certain there is some waste and unnecessary things that can be cut in the Department of Defense, but it strikes me as a slap in the face to those very folks protecting us to now tell them that their meager pay and benefits will be cut. Why don’t we start with cutting all civilian government employees’ pay first? Why don’t we cut pay and benefits for each and every one in the Executive Branch, including the president, and everyone in the legislative branch? If one wants to further save money from cuts to the DoD, why don’t we start by stopping the asinine social engineering the left has championed and the millions upon millions of dollars that will have to be spent to accommodate folks in our new gay-friendly military?
The military is there to protect and defend America and its freedoms and to ensure that its interests that make those freedoms possible in the world are never put in jeopardy. It is an insult of the highest caliber to deny those sacrificing to do so with even less than what they already are given in exchange for a honorable life of service. President Obama and Admiral Mullen should be ashamed of themselves accordingly!
