are the dems gonna cut the military?

[thomasbrooks07]

I am enlisting in the military between now and september. Today I was talking with my dad and he said that if oboma or clinton are elected they would cut the military budget and troups levels massively. I know that bill cut the military when he was in office and if hes one of hillarys main advisors it could happen again. My dad also said that oboma would like to slash combat MOS's and the military as a whole by 1/3rd to pay for his health care plans. I am going in either the army or marines and I am planning on going combat. Right now I am mainly leaning towards Cavalry Scout, or Airborne Infantry. I am also considering the MP and artillery MOS's. I am kind of worried that the next president could screw with my career. My whole life I have wanted to be a soldier and i'm going in for a career 35 or more years. Should I be worried about the next person in office pulling another "for the good of the service" or would the current world climate make that impossible to pull off by even the most liberal nuts?

[troy2000]

The troop reductions made during the Clinton years were planned, scheduled and set into motion during the Bush Sr years; it's a little misleading to simply call them Clinton's cuts.

9/30/1988: 2,138,213
9/30/1989: 2,130,229
9/30/1990: 2,046,144
9/30/1991: 1,986,259
9/30/1992: 1,807,177
9/30/1993: 1,705,103
9/30/1994: 1,610,490
9/30/1995: 1,518,224
9/30/1996: 1,471,722
9/30/1997: 1,438,562
9/30/1998: 1,406,830
9/30/1999: 1,385,703
12/31/2000: 1,384,338

Pentagon spending also increased between 1990 and 2000, rather than diminishing.

[TXplt]

Don't let it trouble you. They're not able to do this. 8 of my 20 yrs. of service was under the bill klinton regime. Although he did his best to gut our capabilities (I believe), and it was at times a bit strange to work for a c in c who I believe was a complete bold-face liar (and thus no one I recall could respect) it was still very much a proud time to serve and we all accomplished the mission. Work hard and you will do well. Serve proudly, and thank you in advance for your service to our country.

[nathangdad]

. . . will not leave Americans tolerating a defense department of
unimaginable size that has not brought a resolution to
Afghanistan and Iraq after five years.

Look for pressure to have a smaller military in manpower with
advances in weaponry. Fewer pilots and more remote control
planes. Fewer ships but with the Navy's new modular weapons
concept to tailor a ship for a specific mission. Less artillery but
more and smaller GPS missiles. Fewer infantry but more robotics.

There will be a place in the military for the physically fit but
your best strategy will be healthy with a flair for quickly learning
technology. Your best college degree will be a B.S. in Electrical
Engineering.

[TXplt]

Originally Posted by nathangdad

. . . Your best college degree will be a B.S. in Electrical

Engineering.

Didn't do me any good--wound up flying airplanes

Seriously, I think the training and personal discipline you'll develop in the military is potentially worth alot more than college. I'd go to college too, though. There are good programs to put away $ to do this while you're in.

[troy2000]

BS degree? Reminds me of the old boy who said, "well, I sent my boy to college for four years, and he come back with a Bs degree. Well, everybody knows what that stands for...so I told him, "son, you can do better than that," and sent him back to try again. This time he came back with an Ms Degree: 'more of the same.' But was he satisfied? No. He went back to school, and didn't give up until he'd wrangled a Phd out of 'em: 'Piled higher and deeper!'

[patrick70]

[quote=nathangdad;506377]. . .
Look for pressure to have a smaller military in manpower with
advances in weaponry. Fewer pilots and more remote control
planes. Fewer ships but with the Navy's new modular weapons
concept to tailor a ship for a specific mission. Less artillery but
more and smaller GPS missiles. Fewer infantry but more robotics.

You'll be all right,they still need people.Just keep your head up in "basic training" its just a routine. But it sounds like that movie terminator,might not be so far fetched.

[jerry]

Build ups and tear downs are a fact of life in the military. They paid me to get out in 94. I went back in, now I owe basically an interest free loan when I retire. Grahm Rudman act was the first big push I remember, Reagan was president then. Any education will pay off in the service.

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by jerry

Build ups and tear downs are a fact of life in the military. They paid me to get out in 94. I went back in, now I owe basically an interest free loan when I retire. Grahm Rudman act was the first big push I remember, Reagan was president then. Any education will pay off in the service.

Amen. I was part of a large group offered a ninety-day early out in 1973, even though my job was rated 'critical' and there was a war still going on.

[HARDERTR]

I wouldn't worry about it. There are a TON of soldiers in right now that will be more than happy to let you have their job, thanks to stop-loss. When they start making cuts, they will first let the folks out that want out. Honestly, that's probably a 10-15% of the force right now. THEN, they offer early retirement..another 5%+ gone. We need new meat to fill the ranks.

You'll be fine. There will always be a need for MPs and scouts. Tankers and gun-bunnies will probably take some heat, mostly because we won't be focused so much on "traditional warfare" for much longer.

Any particular reason you're limiting your choices to "going combat"?

[mitch_mckee]

Originally Posted by thomasbrooks07

I am enlisting in the military between now and september. Today I was talking with my dad and he said that if oboma or clinton are elected they would cut the military budget and troups levels massively. I know that bill cut the military when he was in office and if hes one of hillarys main advisors it could happen again. My dad also said that oboma would like to slash combat MOS's and the military as a whole by 1/3rd to pay for his health care plans. I am going in either the army or marines and I am planning on going combat. Right now I am mainly leaning towards Cavalry Scout, or Airborne Infantry. I am also considering the MP and artillery MOS's. I am kind of worried that the next president could screw with my career. My whole life I have wanted to be a soldier and i'm going in for a career 35 or more years. Should I be worried about the next person in office pulling another "for the good of the service" or would the current world climate make that impossible to pull off by even the most liberal nuts?

Once Obama or Clinton surrenders to al Qadea, we won't need as many troops and the Demo-rats can divert more tax money to buying votes.

Why do you think Hamas endorsed Obama?

[LarryO1970]

Originally Posted by mitch_mckee

Once Obama or Clinton surrenders to al Qadea, we won't need as many troops and the Demo-rats can divert more tax money to buying votes.

Why do you think Hamas endorsed Obama?

Heck, even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he preferred Obama. Now that says something...

[Rave]

Probably be fewer troops and more high tech toys,more money in that for big business too under the Republicans.
If the Democrats get in they will probably do what they always do,cut,cut,cut.

[Rambo]

The military budget has always been up for grabs by the President and Congress. Nixon signed us all a pay raise one year and then cut our enlistments another year. SOF magazine still reports stories of soldiers not getting enough equipment, ammunition, GPS devices, flak vests, etc. from the Reagan years through Clinton and into the Bush(current) years. Even Veterans benefits get cut by Republican presidents. It's all politics and nothing is sacred when it comes to budget time.
If Obama gets in, I feel he won't be starting any more wars. Hillary will probably start one just to prove how tough she can be. McCain will keep us into wars until the cows come home. Take your pick.........and by the way, best of luck in you in your military career choice.

[Rave]

Originally Posted by Rambo

The military budget has always been up for grabs by the President and Congress. Nixon signed us all a pay raise one year and then cut our enlistments another year. SOF magazine still reports stories of soldiers not getting enough equipment, ammunition, GPS devices, flak vests, etc. from the Reagan years through Clinton and into the Bush(current) years. Even Veterans benefits get cut by Republican presidents. It's all politics and nothing is sacred when it comes to budget time.
If Obama gets in, I feel he won't be starting any more wars. Hillary will probably start one just to prove how tough she can be. McCain will keep us into wars until the cows come home. Take your pick.........and by the way, best of luck in you in your military career choice.

Dam good post there Rambo!

[mitch_mckee]

Originally Posted by Rambo

The military budget has always been up for grabs by the President and Congress. Nixon signed us all a pay raise one year and then cut our enlistments another year. SOF magazine still reports stories of soldiers not getting enough equipment, ammunition, GPS devices, flak vests, etc. from the Reagan years through Clinton and into the Bush(current) years. Even Veterans benefits get cut by Republican presidents. It's all politics and nothing is sacred when it comes to budget time.
If Obama gets in, I feel he won't be starting any more wars. Hillary will probably start one just to prove how tough she can be. McCain will keep us into wars until the cows come home. Take your pick.........and by the way, best of luck in you in your military career choice.

Might I point out that Bush did not start the war.

I suppose you would prefer the Bill Clinton doctrine of retaliating against al Qadea by attacking an asprin factory of blowing up an empty tent.

Sure, we can leave the war, but the war will not leave us. Fight them off shore of fight them here, that is the choices.

[patrick70]

Originally Posted by Rambo

If Obama gets in, I feel he won't be starting any more wars.

Yeah,the enemy will walk right in.I think alot of people underestimate the middle east

[tlarkin]

It really depends on what you want to do. My boss is the Director of TIS (Technology and information Services). Back in his day he worked DOS security on computer systems. He joined the AirForce and could have done DOS security but decided to fly high speed fighter jets instead (can't blame him, I bet those are bad ass to fly).

Anyway, my point being there are definite career paths that can lead outside the military. The military actually runs a pretty tight computer network system which is attacked constantly from outside hackers. Since the USA has no jurisdiction is say China or Russia, or anywhere else they can't stop or regulate what hackers do.

I have read through the NSA security guide for securing operating systems and I must say that working computer security for the military would most likely land you a pretty nice paying job in the private sector after you do your time.

Of course that is one career outlet. If you wanted to stay in the Military as a career you may have a harder time with cuts. However, it is just like any job in the real world as well. Corporate downsizing happens all the time. Sprint, which their HQ is in my city, has downsized immensely over the years. I was hearing of guys that had been there over 30 years just up and laid off. It is very hard to get back into the same pay scale somewhere else after making your mark with a company for 30 years. Most companies don't hire top level positions, they make you work entry or middle management and then work your way up.

I would worry more about your benefit and pension cuts than anything. I would also suggest that while in the Military you train for some sort of skill set that could transfer over into the private sector. You may change your mind and not want to go down the Military path. I changed my mind several times in my early 20s of what I wanted to do. I honestly still don't know what I want to do, I just do what I know, which is technology.

[JBS]

Originally Posted by Rambo

The military budget has always been up for grabs by the President and Congress. Nixon signed us all a pay raise one year and then cut our enlistments another year. SOF magazine still reports stories of soldiers not getting enough equipment, ammunition, GPS devices, flak vests, etc. from the Reagan years through Clinton and into the Bush(current) years. Even Veterans benefits get cut by Republican presidents. It's all politics and nothing is sacred when it comes to budget time.
If Obama gets in, I feel he won't be starting any more wars. Hillary will probably start one just to prove how tough she can be. McCain will keep us into wars until the cows come home. Take your pick.........and by the way, best of luck in you in your military career choice.

First...I do not profess to be a political expert. I am sick of politics and politicians. And against my better judgment, I gotta say this. Rambo, pay raises, cuts in benefits and cuts in enlistments are not the doings of a president. The congress is responsible for that. Granted, a president can influence their decisions a little by leaning one way or another, but in the end...it's congress that makes it happen. If it's a decision that the people like, the president takes credit. If it ain't so popular with the people, the president takes the blame. Nixon said he would stop the Viet Nam war, and he did. Remember what I just said about congress vs the president? OK, Nixon got credit for that. Unfortunately, noone remembers that part. The best times for veterans and military was under Ronald Reagan. The worst times for the military and the veterans was when jimmy carter and bill clinton were in office. The list is too long to write when it comes to how shitty both of them were to the military and veterans. jimmy is almost forgotten for what he did to ruin the military, but bill's presidency is recent enough that his deeds are well remembered by those that had any involvement with the military or DVA. Between hillary, obama and mccain, not one of them is worth a damn, for one reason or another...be it the Second Amendment, war, or health care or any one of a number of reasons.

Lastly, let me say this...When in hell did it become the function of the United States Government to provide health care for everyone in America? The best I can remember is, it started when bill was in office and hillary decided that her project was to have the government provide health care for everyone. So, she got on her white horse and proceeded to make it happen. She failed, but through the media, she slowly got her idea implanted into the minds of most of the people. Now, everyone just takes it in stride as part of life that the gummint is supposed to give us healthcare. I personally do not believe that it is our government's responsibility.

It is in a socialist state, though.

None of this took root until bill and hillary were in the white House. Rant Over

[GlockMeister]

I've heard it's one thing Obama wants or would like to do. And in the hopes of someday pretty much demilitarizing the U.S. as well. With his so called former Reverends fascist anti-American and anti-Government views, one has to be concerned and wonder?