Under Dean's Command

[Tiger in Spain 0]

With Dean in command,U.S. soldiers would be left high and dry

EXCERPT:

Joe Repya

Published December 13, 2003

In his latest red-faced tirade, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has once again shown that his attacks on President Bush are based on anger, not on facts.

According to news reports of his recent rabid attack on the president, Dean claimed that the administration was going to cut combat pay and veterans benefits.

Dean's claims are complete and utter nonsense -- especially coming from a man who wanted to deny our troops the resources they need to fight the war on terror.

As a veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm who visited Iraq in September, I'm outraged at Dean's comments!

Since Bush took office, military pay increased an average of 5.2 percent per year relative to the consumer price index. (During the Clinton administration, military pay decreased an average of almost 2 percent per year relative to the CPI.)

Bush also just signed a 2004 defense authorization, which increased combat pay by 50 percent. In addition, the president's 2004 budget is the largest annual increase for veterans affairs ever requested.

Dean is making these scurrilous attacks in an attempt to try to hide the fact that he is extremely weak on national defense. While America's troops are overseas fighting the war on terrorism, Dean opposes providing them with the resources they need to accomplish their mission. In a recent television ad, Dean bragged, "I opposed the war in Iraq, and I'm against spending another $87 billion there."

It is shocking that a man who wants to be the commander in chief would advocate leaving our troops high and dry in the middle of this fight for freedom. America can ill afford to cut and run in the face of terror!

Article

[DKW 86 7,448]

Since Bush took office, military pay increased an average of 5.2 percent per year relative to the consumer price index. (During the Clinton administration, military pay decreased an average of almost 2 percent per year relative to the CPI.)

If you compunded that over 8 years that probably comes out to a relative 20% pay cut.

Thanks TIS, I suddenly remember why I could never betray the best this country has to offer, the fighting men and women, and vote Democratic. My shipmates and I were victimized by the Carter Administration far more than anyone on this board could ever stand to hear.

I was in the Navy under Carter and a Democrat Controlled House and Senate. They destroyed the enlisted guys. Democrats talk about being for the common man. BS! Carter and Co. had E-4s and below on food stamps!!!! They even did a 60 Minutes piece on it.

I could go off for hours about Sea Sparrow. A weapon system "bought" for the US Navy from the Brits. Sea Sparrow was a missile based ship defense system. It was so poorly designed that it only ever hit one target in testing. The ship had to be stopped, and it was on a clear and windless day.

Sea Sparrow had to have a huge compartment for its support, took up vital ship space. It was the highest maintennance system in port or at sea. It would corrode and then the missiles would light off by themselves. We had to keep a constant watch on the storage tubes for any increase in temp. Shot many more overboard than at anything.

The design was a 600mph missile to shoot down an attacking missile that could go as fast as Mach 2. SS could only see the horizon, about 8 miles. So lets see, 8 miles warning with a missile doing Mach 2 and yours only does 600 mph......You do the math. It was basically suicide. Thank you Carter Administration! Most of the Surface Navy joked about putting Boatswain Mates on the deck with tennis balls. They might actually hit something and it would far more cost effective.

The system was a a political buy at the time. We had a far superior system, Phalanx, available for less money, not much maint. and far superior results.

I had friends that lived in married housing that had babies sleeping in drawers in their bedrooms, like something out of a Warner Brothers Cartoon during the Depression. The BEQs were sometimes inhuman as well. At one point we had two working toilets and one shower head for 128 men. That was life in the military under Carter.

Reagan, God Bless him, and a Republican Senate, came in and the first thing they did was to get us off food stamps in one huge for then pay raise.

The inhuman crap a Democratic House/Senate/President put us through was more than a good heart could stand. I have shed many a tear over how the Democratic Party goes out of their way to crap in the face of enlisted people in our military.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

I remember on the USS America, one of the SS launchers was located right outside of Ops berthing where I happened to sleep. That particular launcher had a history of malfunctions. We were off Cape Hatteras/Wilmington once doing some sea trials and the launcher started acted like it was tracking a target. All of a sudden, it fires a missile off to the east. Luckily, there was nothing off in that quadrant and it splashed into the water. The FC's were scratching their heads trying to figure out what made the system do that. Yeah, ol Jimmy hooked us up with that one. I always made sure to make my peace with God before hitting the rack because you never knew what would happen with launcher #1.

With the pay issues, I remember a lot of the junior guys when I first came in bringing their families on the ship to eat supper the week before payday. It was the only way they could make ends meet. I made $424 every 2 weeks, and that would not have supported a family then, even living in a place like Ocean View in Norfolk. I left my first wife back in Alabama for that very reason.

The dems can crow all they want about how they are the ones that treat the military fairly, but I can find them 600,000 others that will contradict their story. Some of the libs on the board here have erroneously stated how President Bush is cutting military salaries. I have yet to see it. At the first of the year, I get a 5% raise in basic pay, and most of our other pay has been increased as well. Family separation has increased from $75 a month to $250 a month, and hazardous duty and combat pay has nearly doubled as well.

[Tiger Al 0]

Imminent danger pay and family separation pay had been increased to $225 and $250 respectively and had sundown provisions that would have it expire at the end of FY 2003. In its' 2004 budget the Pentagon submitted, IDP and FSP $150 and $100 respectively. We covered this in great detail back in June when the story arose.

I can't believe that Jimmy Carter would've been stupid enough to buy all those faulty weapons systems! He was a peanut farmer and I wonder why he never got anyone from the military to help him with his shopping? Has this ever happened before, where a president buys weapons, or anything for that matter, without the advice of people familiar with whatever he's buying? I wonder if the Pentagon at least tried to warn him that these systems didn't work?

[DKW 86 7,448]

Al, SS was awful and it wasnt Carter so much as it was his advisers. Carter was a Nuke bubble head like myself. Yes he is an Annapoilis Grad, Navy Officer, Nuke qualified. He was however at the mercy of the Cogress back then.

I really could go on and on on this one. Carter was just not upto fighting Congress. He still he could have done a better job for those in the military.

[Tiger Al 0]

Al, SS was awful and it wasnt Carter so much as it was his advisers. Carter was a Nuke bubble head like myself. Yes he is an Annapoilis Grad, Navy Officer, Nuke qualified. He was however at the mercy of the Cogress back then.

I really could go on and on on this one. Carter was just not upto fighting Congress. He still he could have done a better job for those in the military.

Oh, OK...you had me confused there. It sounded, no...wait...no, looking back on your post you blamed Carter himself. Yes, you are confusing me!!! OK, so, it was REALLY the Congress and Carter's advisors that chose those deficient systems. Well, same thing applies...why didn't Congress consult with ANYONE who might know something about military weapons, I wonder? It seems like there must've been someone else back then who would've known more about MILITARY weapons than some Congressman and appointed advisors. I wonder how it's done now???

[DKW 86 7,448]

The quick and dirty answer is politics. As I was getting out of the Navy, late 80's, we were retiring the old A-4. A plane that was years beyond useful to the US.

But, guess where the engines were made? Massachusetts. So a certain very senior senator with a great family name made sure we were using them and that the plant in his state got the motor contract to keep those high paying jobs there. We were ordered to refit them once more.

I fully realize that the A-4 incident happened during the last Reagan term. I am just using it as an example of how stupid looking decisions have real reasons on the political level.

Carter was at fault for not doing the right thing and standing up for us. That was his fault. But the recommendations of the Navy were ignored for the benefit of the politics by Congress.

Back to the A-4, We were ordered to keep flying the planes we had and to refit them one more time. Well we pulled dozens out of service and were rebuilding them, whole squadrons were gone. Right at that moment, the US sells every motor they can build for the next 2 years to Portugal. Evidently the old A-4 was good enough for them in the late 80's. But it left us without any planes and no motors coming for refits or even active repairs. Basically just killed the A-4 community.

Politics sometimes runs very weird routes and following the money, or the porkbarrel, is always the best move.

After Alabama went against Clinton in 92 and 96, we were given the shaft on many expenditure plans.

Its all politics.