How does the political fight over military budgets affect morale of troops?

CH (MAJ) William Beaver — Fri, 22 May 2015 11:17:08 -0400

As elected officials in Washington debate over the defense budget, and it becomes unclear as to whether they support savings more than Servicemembers, how does this affect morale of the troops? Do you feel Washington has your back? Or are they more concerned with saving money by cutting budgets, programs and personnel? What say you?

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made May 22 at 2015 11:21 AM

1LT Nick Kidwell — Fri, 22 May 2015 11:21:54 -0400

It has always had a negative impact on morale, especially when it means they have less training consumables, their ranks are getting thinned, and they are once again being asked to do the same mission with fewer resources.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 22 at 2015 12:02 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 22 May 2015 12:02:36 -0400

"Do more with less."

That's all troops see. How can morale not be affected.

For most troops, we are running on "barely enough." There is not a surplus. There are no overages. Waste happens elsewhere.

So when they start talking about cutting budget, they are talking about cutting things that directly affect them. We're not talking about losing "luxuries." What luxuries? We're talking about losing necessities. We're talking about more items coming out of our own paychecks. More things we buy ourselves.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 22 at 2015 12:15 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 May 2015 12:15:40 -0400

I can only speak for myself . In my years of service 70's to 90's . It had a very negative effect on me and to the job I had to do and the training that needed to be done.
The troops around me had such poor morale It impacted me .
Cut backs only leave the troops weak and broken down feeling that they do not matter to the Government and people they are there to defend.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 22 at 2015 12:35 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 May 2015 12:35:17 -0400

Not really. The politicians are under pressure to balance the budget and cut spending. There are only three things available to us to help us accomplish the mission. People, resources, and processes. They have made it clear we won't get anymore people and we won't get anymore resources (i.e. money) so the only variable that can be changed is our processes. If there is room for improving our processes then they should be pushing us to make improvements. If we reach a point where we can't improve processes and the mission can't be completed with less resources then the politicians will need to swallow that pill from our military leaders and pony up more money or decrease our mission scope. Either way I don't see any need for decreased morale, just innovative thinking and good communication.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made May 22 at 2015 7:18 PM

CW3 Kevin Storm — Fri, 22 May 2015 19:18:33 -0400

Washington have our backs?, roflmao. Wartime: Give the troops more pay! War's over, cut benefits, troops cost too much. Save the boondoggle weapons programs, cut the amount of troops. Restructure Retirement (Again) . When it comes to cutting programs, only the ones in their opponents districts, as long as it brings home the bacon.