Military Spending....

[California Joe]

In the US we hear the standard mantra, Clinton loathed the military, Bush will increase defense spending etc... I have no problem with this. What I have a problem with, and maybe some of you active and reservist types can explain to me is. Is the money being spent where we need it most?

Military families on foodstamps. Pisses me the **** off.
Guys buying their own boots.
Guys paying tailors to sew better pockets on BDU's
Line troops right now not having adequate vests
GI's buying their own GPS units
I'm sure the list goes on and on....

Everyone proclaims to care about our service members but they piss away billions on useless **** when the people at the point of the spear get ****ed. Thus in essence "caring about the military by increasing defense spending" still ends up with the guys on the line not having a proper vest.

[Beowulf]

CARC Paint + NBC in general= B.S. waste of money.

[ibstolidude]

there is an easy solution..

TOSS OUT THE ****ING CARC PAINT PROGRAM!!!!!

[jizzmonkey]

Military programs for family members are getting cut, schools getting turned over to states (unless oconus), but housing is getting a lot better,
as far as equipment goes....
the new rapid fielding program is "the ****".
If you ask for it, you'll more than likely get it.

[California Joe]

What I mean is, I have no problem at all with my taxes going to defense if the guys I work with everyday don't get boned by substandard equipment or training when they're in the field or their families going without.

There's still a Navy/Marine Corps relief fund? Why should that be necessary?

[Jack Mehoff]

If you have a family with chidlren and have not reach your E-5 status then you are fubar. Honestly, i dont think the military isn't all that bad for enlisted single guys.

[jizzmonkey]

What I mean is, I have no problem at all with my taxes going to defense if the guys I work with everyday don't get boned by substandard equipment or training when they're in the field or their families going without.

The whole family going without still happens but the army at least, still has relief funds, what you find a lot of times (especially E-1 thru E-4) if they have to dip into the releif fund or AER as we call it, it was because of poor money managment, in which case we send them to money managment classes. I'm not saying its easy to live on army pay, but if you are squared away its very possible.
As far as equpment goes, 6 months ago I would have said we were sucking, but since the war kicked off, things are moving pretty fast.
I still go out and buy some of my own ****, just because I dont like some of the army configurations.

[California Joe]

As a civilian working in a Joint command I come in contact with lots of officers but the young enlisted people impress the hell out of me. They are VERY good at their jobs.

[Beowulf]

it was because of poor money managment hahaha gotta love the Dumb Private Plan :lol:

[NcDeuce]

Military families on foodstamps. Pisses me the f*** off.

There are a lot of young soldiers here that buy Escalades & SUVs that guzzle gas/new rims/all that worthless shi*. I believe the military pay is fairly low but in many cases, it was the family's inability to control spending and decide what is needed.

Financial Management 101

[California Joe]

So threre's a reason that outside every Army base I've been to there are pawn shops, tattoo parlors, check cashing joints, bars, and massage parlors.

[Jack Mehoff]

strip bars, nudie bars, eagle nest, etc.

[jizzmonkey]

I think the pawn shops have been there and always will be, kind of a stigma that has traced military installations for decades, the bars and strip clubs, I dont complain about, most of the pawn shop customers are the single JOE's that ran out of drinking money to go to those strip bars that just want spending money, thats just single military life, the older they get, the less they do that. When I was 18 in the army I used to donate blood so I could go out drinking. Now married and many years later I'm more concerned with the thrift savings plane and retirement.

[NcDeuce]

Right outside Gate 4 of Fort Campbell...
http://www.oakgroveky-tourism.com/media/photos/charliesb.jpg
The best steak this side of the Mississippi!

And right next to it is Cat West Showbar...lol I've heard this place is bad, steer clear.

Restricted to Fort Campbell troops...
http://www.campbell.army.mil/offlmts.htm

[jizzmonkey]

HEY I'VE BEEN THERE AND IT WAS COOL.

Is the Cat West still open?
and the dancing dragon

[Nawlins]

If you have a family with chidlren and have not reach your E-5 status then you are fubar. Honestly, i dont think the military isn't all that bad for enlisted single guys.


I agree there. Seems like a pretty good deal for young, single guys. But if you have a family to support it's not so good.

[SOG]

well theres a few things to consider for a man or woman married with children in mil:
1. where are they stationed? in most cases military housing is available, but the cost of living on the east and west coast is tremendous (new york, san fran, san diego, port cities etc. everything from food to gas to vehicle insurance is much more than midwest states and places like maryland and virginia. i have family out in west virginia, maryland and virginia and oregon and thier cost of living is a 1/3 to half of mine. so different military families stationed in different areas will feel that differently.

2. most of the families i see with tight money have just had kid/kids and basically money is tight because mom stopped working for a bit, thats when they apply for aid from orgs. i think once the kids grow up a bit, 3-5years old, mom gets work again and thier costs start balancing again especially if the other spouse mouse have worked thier way up the chain a bit in those years. i have a friend in the airforce on awacs and he has a 6 year old son and just had a daughter, hes doing pretty good for himself on base.

i think theres always a tight period for mil families taking this direction and when it comes down to it, theres tight periods for ay families across the US.

i think everyday, screw iraq, throw that 80 bill into the US economy, or why are we pumping all this foreign aid **** into mexico (20bill a year) and tons of other countries that are run by democracy shams etc when we dont even have half our **** in order ourselves.

[StarvingStudent47]

The dollars are there for the military. It's not that funding isn't high enough. But I think that it's being directed toward the wrong areas.

Take the OICW project. Sure, if we get it online, it will be really cool and will save some lives. But doesn't each OICW cost something like $5000 to make, not to mention R&D?

Thing is, I don't see many deaths in Iraq that the OICW would prevent. What I do see a need for is additional training, especially in urban stuff and occupation tactics. And of course morale would be better if the guys didn't have to worry about their families on food stamps!

This is the real problem I have with Bush. He talks big about supporting the military and fire departments, but he has actually cut funding for basic family and health care programs for the soldiers and firefighters on the front line. It's disgraceful.

I'd be more than glad to mail my tax cut check back to Washington if I knew that money was going towards better supporting soldiers and firefighters.