Before talking about cutting troops pay/benefits, maybe we should be cutting things like the Pentagon channel?

SSG Robert Burns — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 22:25:24 -0500

We spend $$$MILLIONS on this what I believe is a useless channel and was probably an OER bullet for someone a long time ago.

That channel among many other wasteful, useless, and unnecessary things we spend unGodly amounts of money on.

Get rid of all those things then start telling me to pay for my Motrin.

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Dec 15 at 2013 10:36 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 22:36:03 -0500

The $6 million annual budget for the Pentagon Channel is a mere drop in a huge bucket.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2013 10:59 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 22:59:29 -0500

Since I love playing the devils advocate if you had to choose between a reduction in COLA which could change when the current administration is kicked to the damn curb or have the whole retirement system cut until you are 65? Many have been pushing for us to lose all of our benefits until 65 with the general hope that most of us will be dead saving the government a lot of money.           Cuts do need to be made and upon reading the Senator who pushed for the changes said it is not as much a straight cut but a more accurate way of calculating how COLA should be paid.            Overall I would rather cut things like how many posts are out there and wasteful things that we don't need like more friggin tanks but most Congressmen/women get kickbacks for these programs so they force them on us. Well now I am off my soapbox.

Response by SSG Robert Burns made Dec 15 at 2013 11:19 PM

SSG Robert Burns — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 23:19:31 -0500

How about stop PCSing everyone every 18 months to 3 years for no apparent reason other than it's just time to go?  How much does it cost to PCS a single family?  Im going to say its a rough estimate of about 6 months of a soldiers salary.<div>Im willing to bet PCS costs closely rivals payroll.</div>

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2013 11:24 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 23:24:05 -0500

I would agree with you are this. There are many things the Army can cut. Now that the wars are pretty much done why don't we have soldiers at the gates. I know some bases do but not all of them. I know those civilians are costing why more than a couple of PFCs and a SGT. I hate to say it but the Army cutting the number of Paratroopers is a move in the right direction. We still need them trained but maintaining status on so many really doesn't make much sense. At fort bragg you used to have soldiers at Womack on jump status. A waste of money. You have medics in other units that can perform that task. I am really curious where else they are going to look. I foresee the number of overseas bases being reduced and longer overseas tours.

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made Dec 16 at 2013 1:40 AM

CW2 Joseph Evans — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 01:40:47 -0500

DoD Contractors need to go away. Joint Strike Fighter needs to go away. We can mothball a fleet. Trim the Flag Officer billets by 15-20%. Roll over tri-care into the ACA. Consolidate some of the Regional Commands. Pull US troops out of Europe and E. Asia. Require UN reimbursement for peace keeping actions involving US Troops. Stand down 2 of the 10 Divisions now that we aren't "at war" any more. Reduce Garrison unit strengths to 80%.

We could do all of these things and still be able to mobilize the most lethal military in the world against any global target in less than 24 hours and follow-on forces of 5 full strength Divisions in under 3 months, with 5 more in six months following the activation of the selective service lottery.

None of those plans will fly in the face of today's corporate empires though.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 16 at 2013 1:42 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 01:42:23 -0500

Higher level management types inside the service have a pretty good idea where waste is occurring and that culture is morphing into a smaller service. I would not be surprised to see more bases closed.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 16 at 2013 7:44 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:44:40 -0500

SSG Burns,

You may not have noticed, but the budget for DMA (the Defense Media Activities,) the parent organization over TPC and AFN (as well as various other Media outlets like Soldier's Magazine,) has been SLASHED over the last couple of years. TPC exclusive shows have been cancelled, we've lost all our local channels, and my building alone has cut or transferred over half of our personnel (with more to go.)

So maybe they've kept the channel, but the budget has been DRASTICALLY reduced.