en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3094970 Comments by OldE8 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157582812 Gates has a second more honorable way to go, he could resign and let it be known why he resigned. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:45:17 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157582812 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157582355 Michelle, I don't know what you said, but if it was good enough to be deleted, it must have been the truth. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:42:48 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157582355 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157580911 Agreed. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:35:49 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157580911 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157580201 I have 3 grandsons that have been talking about joining the service. I will do my best to dissuade them. I may just kick their ass if they keep talking about enlisting. I toed the line for over 21 years. Then they put 2nd LTs to replace Chiefs in AC maintenance and everything went to hell. That's when I got out in 88. There is no honor in following such fools as our current foolish leaders, all the way up to the biggest fool, Obama. And it is a damned shame. The proudest I ever felt was standing in formation at full attention when the national anthem was played. Once again, it is a damned shame. There will be so many enlisted leaving the service that they may need a draft the next time they want to build up the military. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:32:14 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157580201 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157577421 Then gates should do the honorable thing and resign. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:19:10 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157577421 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157576855 Marvin, were you an officer? Or did you receive wounds to the head that keeps you from thinking straight? Mon, 30 May 2011 17:16:00 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157576855 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157576097 @Ret Soldier. You have to be at least An E5 to get family housing on base and they are very crappy housing. Anyway that i the way it use to be. We lived off base with our families on a small housing and substance allowance. The higher rank I became we did get into a nice 4 plex on base, but you had people living very close to your front door. I use to think much higher of Gates than I do know. They don't have to accept Obama's orders and carry them ut. They can show some backbone and integrety and resign. Mon, 30 May 2011 17:12:35 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/#IDComment157576097 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154793539 ITCS, did you have a law firm help you get Social Security Disability? If you can't work you deserve it and can get it if a law firm helps you. They work for no pay unless they win and then take less than $5,000 of all your back pay you have coming.. Sun, 22 May 2011 02:21:13 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154793539 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154792276 Bearcat. Who has the promises written down and signed by the veteran and an officer? I have never seen it or read it on any reenlistment contract and I was in from 67 to 88. The promises were on pamphlets, yes, but if it isn't in a contract it is just propaganda and means nothing. Sun, 22 May 2011 02:12:20 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154792276 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154789429 Doc, I joined in 67 and got out in 88. I was told all the same things about what we would get for life. There were even pamphlets handed out telling of all our great benefits to come. We got some but not all. But no one signed a paper stating that all the promised entitlements were contractual. It was all verbal. The last few months of my time I was given the job of Squadron reenlistment NCO. That was 1988 and the same type pamphlets were still around. Everyone wanted to reenlist then, so all I did was push papers and noticed that nothing the re-enlistees signed included promised benefits to come. They signed nothing promising them health care for life or anything else. So we were promised these things by word of mouth, no contract was signed by anyone stating we would get all bennies that were promised by reenlistment NCOs or talks during commander's calls by the Squadron Commanders.. The last couple months I was a reenlistment NCO, I still believed what the pamphlets and I were saying as I had heard it repeated for 21 years. And I honestly think the military and civilian leaders of the earlier years planned to fulfill those promises. But no one was smart enough to see the future of the Government growing much to large and the stupid ideas that Congress pushed through to ruin our economy. Now we are stuck as part of the solution. The verbal promises were pushed away to pay for stupid things like Obama care. Doc, maybe I should have used the word anger instead of self pity. But they broke no written contracts to us, when they told us of our future Bennies, I think those saying it from congress down were repeating those promises in good faith. They all had the intention of fulfilling those words. But now it is time to trim the fat and the congress is still incompetent, so they trim our bennies as we are low hanging fruit that is easy for them to trim and claim a victory for cutting costs. No matter how minuscule the savings turn out to be. So Doc, go back and look at all the reenlistment statements/contracts you signed. None of them will mention future bennies. So in the eyes of Congress, no promises were broken because nothing was written down as a contract and signed by both the re-enlistee and the officer who also signed the document with you. I think most of us are hurt and feel as though we were cheated, and some of us are really feeling sorry for ourselves and pissed off. I don't like it either, but a spoken promise with nothing signed as a contract means nothing. I believe that we and the congress and the heads of all branches of the service honestly thought those verbal promises would be met. But they didn't think we would have become a debtors nation with fools as leaders. This post won't make anyone feel better, but it should explain more of what the verbal promise meant versus those same words written on a contract.. Sorry comrades, but we are all in the same boat even though we all have different issues in our life. We, the military veterans, are easy to steal from and it has always been that way. Go ahead and *****, but you are just wasting good *****ing words. Save them for when you attend a town hall meeting for one of these clowns trying to get re-elected and then give them hell. And keep giving them hell and *****ing until they drag you out into the street to shut you up. Who knows, maybe a national TV crew will video the bullies dragging you out and your story may go national. Anything is possible. Good luck and remember that God loves us all. Sun, 22 May 2011 01:52:03 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154789429 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154109745 Throwing punches at each other does no good. Those who think some senior enlisted has it made, as they had it easy in the service and then another easy job out of the service, are cheating you somehow should get a grip. Maybe these type retirees need to be given more credit than you are giving them. Maybe they lived a good life, did there service well and most of all, planned their post retirement years. Allot of us didn't plan, we just kept living without thinking of the future. If you want to complain about anyone, complain about yourself for not being as wise as some. And we shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves as some on here has done. If someone scored high enough to get into a specialized career field that allowed them to continue doing the same type work after retirement for more money and now they are set up better than some. You need to look inward and think about your failures to study and plan instead of trying to tear down those who did. I look back and see that I could have done better and planned better, but I don't begrudge those that did. And those that are considered combat veterans consider yourself better than the rest of us, that is BS. You scored low on you entrance exam and was given the job your test scores said you could do. Rifleman, infantry. I am proud of all who had to carry a rifle or any other job going into combat, but you should rethink your position. You were given the job you earned. I am truly sorry for all of us who are banged up, had real hard luck and will probably die sooner than most civilians, but that is life. SNAFU. My wife and I will get by somehow and so will all of you. But we plan to continue as we served, with honor, pride and no self pity Thu, 19 May 2011 20:56:05 +0000 http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/house-committee-okay-tricare-hike/#IDComment154109745