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Ive been reading all kinds of articles and heard many stories starting from sequestration to current budget cuts. Ive heard Marines having to pay for printer paper and ink, toilet paper, and trash bags for their units during sequestration and now major unpreparedness due to lack of funds for maintenance of equipment or training opportunities, not even being able to go to the range. What's happening to your unit? Any stories that show the effects of the budget cuts?
Only half of non-deployed Marine units were at an acceptable level of readiness last September due to the long-term budget cuts known as sequestration, the Pentagon announced this week.
Budget
Training
Posted 12 y ago
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At the begging of this year the Navy finished up an aggressive "Force
Shaping" (really force reduction) and over shot the final end strength
number by 7000 Sailors. I know from Navy Personnel Command briefings that the
Army is seriously looking into this event also and I see Robert's comment here about the Coast Guard starting their journey down this road. I just hope that everyone else learns from our misstep and follows a tighter plan to "reshape" the other branches. The biggest hit I have personally seen is with training. We are having a hell of a time getting the ammunition required to keep our armed watch standers qualified according to our current Force Protection Instructions. But I still find myself in the middle of a meeting every quarter with the topic of funding that has mysteriously just become available that we must spend right away. It would be nice to get a grip on this.
Shaping" (really force reduction) and over shot the final end strength
number by 7000 Sailors. I know from Navy Personnel Command briefings that the
Army is seriously looking into this event also and I see Robert's comment here about the Coast Guard starting their journey down this road. I just hope that everyone else learns from our misstep and follows a tighter plan to "reshape" the other branches. The biggest hit I have personally seen is with training. We are having a hell of a time getting the ammunition required to keep our armed watch standers qualified according to our current Force Protection Instructions. But I still find myself in the middle of a meeting every quarter with the topic of funding that has mysteriously just become available that we must spend right away. It would be nice to get a grip on this.
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SCPO John Lambert
Sorry, I thought I looked over my post a little better then I did before posting it... "beginning"
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We're already cutting back on training, and reducing admin support. We've also been told that an aggressive reduction in force plan is being developed and by the end of FY14 we will be selecting and directing people to go to the house.
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SCPO John Lambert
Good luck with the Reduction in Force program. I hope you guys come out of it better then we did in the Navy.
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I just had a deployment cancelled because Big Army deemed it cheaper to send an active unit in our stead. That really ticked me off. So I believe its happening. I can't speak for active component, but budget cuts put me on the back end of a 5 year rotation. Not cool.
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I think most of these tales are just that; tall tales. This is the second drawdown/budget cuts I have gone through in my career and have yet to see this stuff actually happening. Perhaps it is a case of my career field always being well funded or perhaps it is just not really happening; but I think it is nothing more than an urban legend. Like Bigfoot and the Chupa-cabra.
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GySgt (Join to see)
Definitely not a tall tale, the Corps is cheap and that's why you may hear people say about the Corps that we "do it better with less." I don't know how many times I've seen units have no funds for the little things and Marines bring in their own stuff to take care of business.
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I am surprised that you haven't received more responses to this discussion as I know many friends and colleagues that have had to come out of pocket for supplies and many have told me of training materials and projects being cut and cancelled as well.
Hope you get more input from current AD SMs with some truth and reality in what they are facing.
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GySgt (Join to see)
I am curious as well, I haven't seen the crunch yet in the reserves but I haven't been in it to really see if it's impacted the little time reservist have to train anyways.
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