Posted on Jan 15, 2015
A letter to our "leaders" about Military Compensation
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As a communal leader and veteran I feel I must speak out about recent cuts to compensation for active duty troops and veterans, as well as increases in costs for all military, active duty, retired and veteran.
Much to the embarrassment of this country we have far too many active and veteran troops living in poverty. Many E-6 and below on Active Duty receive Food Stamps or other assistance, because their pay is too low to cover their costs of living.
The last 25 years have seen an unprecedented amount of military operations. From Desert Shield/Storm to Bosnia to Iraq and Afghanistan, we have myriad troops who have had as many as ten or more combat deployments. The levels of physical and mental injuries to troops are unprecedented.
Yet you continue to put the consequences of bad budgetary decisions on the backs of our troops. This year, that includes cuts to the Basic Allowance for Housing, a 1% cost of living raise for troops and up to a 60% increase in the cost of prescription medicines.
I understand that there are severe budgetary issues at play. Nonetheless, the military, we who “Go in harms’ way”, should not be made to bear the brunt of these issues. There are many ways to cut Defense spending besides personnel budgets, and there are certainly other things that can be cut in Federal spending, that haven’t been cut yet due to priorities for local constituents, lobbying, etc.
You have frozen the pay for General and Admiral Officers. Yet, this freeze is both inappropriate and insufficient. It is inappropriate because General and Flag officers also deploy in harms’ way. It is insufficient because there are far more leaders in the Federal Government whose pay has not been affected.
I urge you, no I beg of you, please restore the compensation for active duty, retired and veteran troops. If cuts must be made, then please show true leadership by:
Freezing, or even better, cutting compensation for the President, Congress, and all other elected and appointed officials including Special Executive Service, GM paygrades and any other special pay grades above the standard Government Service scale.
Cut bad Defense acquisition projects such as the F-22, the F-35, the Littoral Combat Ship, etc.
Reduce the numbers of civilian and contract employees hired by DOD and other Government agencies.
Eliminate special tax breaks for certain economic sectors; especially if those sectors are showing record profits.
There are many more ways that you can cut the budget – you know them better than I do.
Bottom line, the pay and benefits for the military, active, retired and veteran, should always be the last thing on the chopping block, since you have sent us far and wide to serve the needs of the country, at our peril and not at yours.
Much to the embarrassment of this country we have far too many active and veteran troops living in poverty. Many E-6 and below on Active Duty receive Food Stamps or other assistance, because their pay is too low to cover their costs of living.
The last 25 years have seen an unprecedented amount of military operations. From Desert Shield/Storm to Bosnia to Iraq and Afghanistan, we have myriad troops who have had as many as ten or more combat deployments. The levels of physical and mental injuries to troops are unprecedented.
Yet you continue to put the consequences of bad budgetary decisions on the backs of our troops. This year, that includes cuts to the Basic Allowance for Housing, a 1% cost of living raise for troops and up to a 60% increase in the cost of prescription medicines.
I understand that there are severe budgetary issues at play. Nonetheless, the military, we who “Go in harms’ way”, should not be made to bear the brunt of these issues. There are many ways to cut Defense spending besides personnel budgets, and there are certainly other things that can be cut in Federal spending, that haven’t been cut yet due to priorities for local constituents, lobbying, etc.
You have frozen the pay for General and Admiral Officers. Yet, this freeze is both inappropriate and insufficient. It is inappropriate because General and Flag officers also deploy in harms’ way. It is insufficient because there are far more leaders in the Federal Government whose pay has not been affected.
I urge you, no I beg of you, please restore the compensation for active duty, retired and veteran troops. If cuts must be made, then please show true leadership by:
Freezing, or even better, cutting compensation for the President, Congress, and all other elected and appointed officials including Special Executive Service, GM paygrades and any other special pay grades above the standard Government Service scale.
Cut bad Defense acquisition projects such as the F-22, the F-35, the Littoral Combat Ship, etc.
Reduce the numbers of civilian and contract employees hired by DOD and other Government agencies.
Eliminate special tax breaks for certain economic sectors; especially if those sectors are showing record profits.
There are many more ways that you can cut the budget – you know them better than I do.
Bottom line, the pay and benefits for the military, active, retired and veteran, should always be the last thing on the chopping block, since you have sent us far and wide to serve the needs of the country, at our peril and not at yours.
Posted in these groups: 
Leadership
Compensation
Leadership Compensation
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 2
LCDR Jaron Matlow, this is an interesting post and you make some good points. I see the small cut to BAH as minor, but a move in the wrong direction. When I was active duty, not that long ago, BAH was pretty much a big, fat Christmas bonus every month. The only way I could spend that amount of money on housing would be to buy a VERY nice house. I currently live in a home that I am buying and my mortgage is about two-thirds of what I received for BAH when I was still on active duty in 2006. In other words, I think BAH is way too high, or at least it was for me. That doesn't mean I think it should be cut, and I do see even a one percent cut as movement in the WRONG direction.
As to pay cuts or pay freezes for the President and Congress ... That would be purely symbolic. The amount of money saved would be a drop in the bucket compared to whatever minor cuts they might make to a force of hundreds of thousands.
The acquisition program cuts are places to save "real money." Cut an airplane, a ship, or a weapon system and you'll save millions or billions.
As to pay cuts or pay freezes for the President and Congress ... That would be purely symbolic. The amount of money saved would be a drop in the bucket compared to whatever minor cuts they might make to a force of hundreds of thousands.
The acquisition program cuts are places to save "real money." Cut an airplane, a ship, or a weapon system and you'll save millions or billions.
Rabbi, Shalom! Well stated -- soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines on food stamps... Yet, Billion dollar contracts for failed projects is standard protocol. May we please connect Sir? One of the best experiences I had on active duty was a Chaplains Retreat (I wonder if that has been cut)? And met Rabbi Maurice Kaprow. He left an everlasting impression! I truly admire you and the Chaplain Corps -- so few for so many! Very Respectfully, Mike
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I doubt your statement about serving five years in Congress and getting two (?) pensions. I have read similar assertions over the years. The real deal, however, is that members of Congress are treated like federal employees when they retire. So, if they are 62 or older, they can get a pension with just five years of service - just like any other federal employee. It won't amount to much, but it's available. Here's a piece about that topic and other urban legends regarding congressional compensation:
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2013/jan/11/chain-email/can-members-congress-retire-full-pay-after-just-on/
Can members of Congress retire with full pay after just one term?
Political trends come and go, but the classics endure. Such is the case with a chain email PolitiFact Ohio received to start the new year. When we received a nearly identical version a couple of years ago, we said it could be
The civilian gs pension sucks compared to ours though. A 20 year O-5 gets $50k in retirement immediately when they retire. A 30 year GS 14 gets $40k in retirement when they turn 57 (at the earliest). They get that 401k but aside from the matching it's nothing special because we can invest in it as well. The O-5 is most likely bringing home a lot more than that GS 14. I work in the acquisition work force so I work with a lot of civilians and they can be hard workers. They can often times cost less than even a junior NCO is the long run. They are working for their country same as us they just choose to do so in a different way. I ran some numbers and a 24 year senator gets the same pension as a 24 year colonel and his scope of responsibility is greater than the colonels. Military members deserve their pay and benefits due their being skilled craftsmen or extremely knowledgeable professionals, deploying to harms way, and repeatedly moving their family but that doesn't mean cut the other public servants.
Separate topic but a military member that is on food stamps has poor money management skills or they are in a unfortunate situation (enlisted late and already have a family, got divorced and now have extra bills). I have an E6 in my office with 5 kids and a wife and he is doing just fine.