I spent 30 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve starting in 1969 (the Vietnam Error whoops Era) and retired in 2000. Since I moved onto Reboot in 2009 I have spent a great deal of time in military marinas in the United States and have visited military installations overseas. Every time I hear the political blather about how the US Military is the best equipped best trained best military in the world I cringe. Rules of engagement that let terrorists live while killing our own people Drink one drink and get cashiered out of the service. Look too long at a woman and get cashiered out of the service. Every month we hear about pay cuts, benefit cuts, troop reductions to pay for the "important" programs in the minds of the President and many members of Congress. How do the 'troops" feel? You might find this article both enlightening and frightening.
USA Today reports on Army morale
The headline: The majority of soldiers are pessimistic about their military career.
Fair winds and following seas :)
Cruising my 1995 Catalina 42 MK II sailboat with my cat XO, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the open ocean world cruising life.
I'm about 7 years away from retirement and I think they about nailed it. Listen to politicians and the media the military is all jacked up, but we are just representative of the culture at large. For now the best policy is to keep your opinion to yourself, fly low, and just make to to retirement before they break all their promises to you.
ReplyDeleteDon't even start me on how personnel costs are eating the military alive when you have the Joint Strike Fighter as only one example of acquisition waste.
Your comment about the JSF hit a nerve. How many super sophisticated airplanes can we afford to purchase when we are fighting guys with Jeeps and AK47's? It is a matter of economics - we can't afford a $100,000 missile every time we need to kill someone with a $200 weapons investment.. I have the same concern about our Navy fleet. Their defensive measures are a joke. Sure, they can take out one or two incoming missiles. But what about 50 or so at the same time? If you look at WWII combatants they were bristling with anit-aircraft guns. Now we have a couple of CIWS? Give me a break.
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