Guns or butter budgeting for the military

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment’s Todd Harrison has a new paper out warning that DOD is fast approaching a difficult choice: either fund the people or the weapons they operate, it will soon reach the point where it can’t do both.

Read more:

This article lays out what is the perennial “guns versus butter” debate. The butter includes pay and benefit increases that have what economists call “stickiness”: they are almost impossible to rollback. The increase in pay and benefits that congress allots DOD each year will crowd out investment in research and new weapons.

The issue with the costs that are being felt by the military are exacerbated by the myriad of deployments to non-hostile locations doing the work of other agencies and that which is not born by the United Nations. At the moment we have costly military contingents in Japan, Korea (ok, still not quite settled), Germany, Italy, South America, Haiti, Cuba, and other places. We also still use soldiers to recruit, liaison with congress, at embassies throughout the world, and train at college campuses. The mission workload at these non-critical locations drains manpower and resources from the focal point of our effort. I would suggest that a real serious adjustment of the missions and tasks which are not critical to the effort should be pared down. Congress and the executive branch have become too accustomed to asking the military to do State Department, USAID, UN, contract security, personnel acquisition, humanitarian, disaster relief and other tasks without regard to the costs.

That is not to say that some costly DoD items (healthcare at the top of the list) could not be considered for adjustment. I could see a plan to increase co-pays for senior Officers, Senior Enlisted members reflecting the normal healthcare costs for most Americans. The offset for the increases gradually imposed on service members and with sufficient alternatives. Military healthcare is far better and less costly to military retirees than equivalent civilian healthcare plans. I base this on my own observations as I pay for a civilian healthcare plan because as a grey area reserve Retiree I’m not eligible for military healthcare. Trust me, the Tricare plan costs are very reasonable (absolutely cheap!) and some more costs could be shouldered by those that use it.

Gay members in the Military

Read the piece in Newsweek titled Don’t Ask Too Fast
In that article it discusses the President –elect’s stated goal to allow openly Gay men and women into the Military Ranks. In the article I found interesting the passage

In the next year, Mullen might have to ask troops to do something many will find even more uncomfortable: welcome openly gay men and women into their ranks. Such was the promise made by President-elect Obama in the 2008 campaign—gay-rights groups will hold him to it. To many civilians, the shift might seem natural. American attitudes toward homosexuality have evolved since 1993, the year Congress mandated that gays could serve so long as they hid their sexual orientation. The law, known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, predates "Will & Grace," and for most Americans, even the Internet. A 2008 Washington Post–ABC News poll put public support for gays serving openly at 75 percent.

But the military has its own culture, more insular and more conservative than the broader population's. In a survey of active-duty service members released last week, 58 percent said they oppose any change in the military's policy toward gays. Up to 23 percent of troops might not re-enlist if the law is repealed, according to a Military Times poll. Mullen will have to act as kind of cultural mediator between his new boss and the old institution he has managed for more than a year. That will mean advising Obama on what changes the military can (and cannot) withstand and then obliging troops to accept them.

In my mind, most military members really don’t care what sexual orientation, gender, religion or background you have any more than we want to know what is the color of your underwear. What is important is your ability to do your job in context of the overall mission. Military people are aware that Gay men and women already serve with distinction…its not going to really change things if a gay man or women does not hide that fact in the future if they can perform as part of the team completing the mission (and they can). Don’t ask, Don’t tell did not prevent Gay members from serving, it became an exit strategy for some (gay or not) and a rallying call for others (most of whom do not serve). The answer to the issue is probably to drop Don’t Ask, Don’t tell and allow members from throughout the community to serve with Honor and without unnecessary scrutiny into sexual orientation.

Next Commander in Chief

Well its finally Primary time here in Pennsylvania and the focus is largely on the Democratic candidates running neck and neck. We have been bombarded with ads from both addressing the ills that will be corrected and the usual political promises one would expect prior to our vote.

Much of the focus in this election is centered on the soured economical conditions, the high price of petroleum and the need to change Washington Politics. At the moment there is little in the way of focus on the War in Iraq from most of the Candidates and I understand that the message is currently being catered to what is formost on most American minds here stateside.

I am concerned with the thought that one of the candidates will ultimately be voted in as President in November. That individual will assume the duties as President In January 2009 and more significant to me as a former soldeir, that individual will be the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

There is no course, experience, or training that can completely prepare someone for the duties as CinC. There is much to learn in being a capable leader of the largest and most capable military this world has ever seen. The task is immense - given the current worn but servicable condition of the services, the need for transformation to address future needs, the inevitable budget reductions and balancing act the task may even seem impossible.

The affairs of the Defense Department cannot be managed by one individual of course and the CinC must rely on the judgement and experiece of senior Civilian and military leaders. In the coming days we will get to observe the team assembled to sustain the capabilities of the Military. Lets hope the candidate selected takes the task as CinC as one of their most important and selects a winning team... the cost of failure is significant.

Let Soldier’s Blog

General Caldwell is quoted in Government Executive Com, Jan 30th issue in an article by Greg Grant

To compete in the global information war played out on Web sites and e-mail, soldiers in Iraq should upload videos of their experiences in the combat zone to YouTube and post their personal stories online.

As you have read here – there is a significant counter position to allowing such free reign to Blog sites, video sites and the like within the walls of the Pentagon. General Caldwell has clearly grasped that the digital internet era warrants a relook at the resources we have in soldier Blooging. Therein lies the potential to have a sustainable information warfare counter to the information battle that is being waged across the internet spectrum.

He suggested in the article that unit leaders be given camcorders to document combat operations and daily life. He grasps that there is an importance in being able to immediately access an audience of millions. Noted in the article is the fact that there are MilBloggers out there willing to overcome the red tape imposed by the August 2006 Pentagon memo which forbade personnel from placing any information on public Web sites unless it was reviewed for possible security violations and approved for distribution by commanders.

I have noted here previously that it is a struggle to overcome bureaucratic reluctance to allow blogging within the military establishment. The resistance extends event to retiredreservist at times as a result of the Pentagon restrictions. These restrictions quantified in the current rules are subjective to to a wide range of interpretation. Within the milblogging community this may be translated to absolute censorship or open latitude for bloggers. The restriction on using military computers (often the only machines available in theater) further suppresses the good message from our soldiers in the field.

General Caldwell has got it right with regard to the need to relook the current policy and improve our counter message to that of the enemy. We must realize that our soldiers come from a great cross section of the country they serve and as a result are best positioned to influence the masses on notion that we are doing good work.

Don’t ask, Don’t tell – how about I don’t care

It has been apparent that a lot of fervor has been raised in the press recently from the many published views placed in the media of the Don’t ask, Don’t tell issue with respect to gay and lesbians serving in the Military. It seems from my simple perspective that conservatives, military, politicians, and groups with specific agendas related to the issue of our policy towards gay American’s serving in the Military miss the basic premise of service.

As a former Company and Battalion commander I am sure I likely had gay individuals that served my unit with distinction. I also had members of all faiths, ideals, political affiliations, nationalities and demographics within the ranks similarly performing their jobs well. As a leader the unit performance demanded that individual issues, bias, and influences had to be set aside to work in a collaborative team atmosphere to get the job done. Frankly my soldiers did not have time, need or inclination to be concerned with politics, religion, sexual orientation – we were then, and soldiers continue to be, concerned with establishing effective, well trained teams that focus on the job at hand.

I needed the soldiers that served with me to be tactically and technically proficient in their military skills. Devotion to the unit mission, knowledge of soldier skills and professional completion of all duties assigned were items that concerned everyone assigned.

The demagoguery on the issue of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell hysteria found in the political arena recently is hype that isn’t prevalent on the Military that I knew or the one that exists today. It is a fabrication used as a political chess piece which pits former military (is he a retired colonel or Brigadier General- who cares), activist groups and political candidates against each other but does not reflect the conditions or issue for soldiers… we are too busy for the flap about things unrelated to the task at hand.

Demagoguery - refers to a political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, fears and expectations of the public — typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist or populist themes.

Petraeus got it right

At the risk of appearing to idolize Gen Petraeus, I wanted to note some of the comments which appear lost in the general haze of contention between the factions in his report to Congress.

Gen Petraeus provided highly anticipated testimony to congress that was gritty, honest and, I believe, an honest assessment on Iraq conditions regardless of what political forces wanted to hear. Gen Petraeus provided a soldier’s answer to the question posed regarding the situation which will be debated and bashed for its content as viewed by diverse sides and factions but there were a couple points that stand beyond that fate.

General Petraeus closed with observations on the funding provided by congress – accurate in that we have enjoyed funds necessary to operate. Perhaps a little tip of the hat to the hand that feeds the force…

The advances you have underwritten in weapons systems and individual equipment; in munitions; in command, control, and communications systems; in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; in vehicles and counter-IED systems and programs; and in manned and unmanned aircraft have proven invaluable in Iraq. The capabilities that you have funded most recently – especially the vehicles that will provide greater protection against improvised explosive devices – are also of enormous importance. Additionally, your funding of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program has given our leaders a critical tool with which to prosecute the counterinsurgency campaign. Finally, we appreciate as well your funding of our new detention programs and rule of law initiatives in Iraq.

But the point that I hope will eventually get some attention as the dust settles is General Petraeus comments for the congressional record - those regarding the military force today;

The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen with whom I’m honored to serve are the best equipped and, very likely, the most professional force in our nation’s history. Impressively, despite all that has been asked of them in recent years, they continue to raise their right hands and volunteer to stay in uniform.
In closing, it remains an enormous privilege to soldier again in Iraq with America’s new “Greatest Generation.” Our country’s men and women in uniform have done a magnificent job in the most complex and challenging environment imaginable. All Americans should be very proud of their sons and daughters serving in Iraq today.

Petraeus notes Iraqi situation

The time we have left as a country to make positive changes in Iraq is quickly expiring. Gen Petraeus is heading a last hour charge by our forces to secure the country and contain the multiple threats and opportunist that continue to jockey for position. Gen Petraeus has a military task of incredible complexity but he is engaged by the problem of the Iraqi Government performance deficit to date. He has recently issue the warning that crosses that military/political divide when he said

"

If the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi people, the Iraqi political leaders can demonstrate that there should be hope for them making the most of the opportunity, that our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are fighting to provide them, indeed there could be time put on the clock, kept on the clock to enable this endeavor to go forward,"
Results of the emergency political summit going on in Baghdad will be critical, he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Iraq's top Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders to meet this week in an effort to stabilize what Gen. Petraeus referred to as "political crisis."

"That's the situation we're in right now. We are waiting to see what the political leaders accomplish at the big summit that is ongoing in Baghdad," he said. "We need to see now: 'What is the progress made? ... And does that indeed point to a path that will take them forward?'"Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said in an interview Aug. 17 with Soldiers Radio and Television's Gail McCabe.

What is noteworthy in this type of dialogue is that Gen Petraeus is continuing the question he has been quoted in past – “where does this all end”. While the Iraqi people must decide where it all ends and what steps to change or energize their leaders are needed we remain engaged as a military force and will struggle to meet a mission accomplishment that is not clearly defined.

General Petraeus is pressing for a political solution which is instrumental to any success in Iraq – not the forte of the Military but an absolute necessity to our battle plan.

As a country we must decide where we want our interaction with Iraq to end. Do we resolve to suffer the pains of a burgeoning democracy with its cost to our soldiers or do we want to abandon the quest to democracy in Iraq and allow the rival factions to immerse the country into anarchy and a cloudy future. While General Petraeus is bravely stepping out of the military realm to push the Iraqi Government to action we must decide if we are willing to give that government time to figure out how to efficiently run a government that is able to secure its people.

Petraeus is exhibiting an extrodinary amount of candor and demonstrates his acummen for results... his efforts are admirable... and I wish him success in gaining results from the Iraqi government.

Allright kids – we have work to do

The president weighed in on the political battle brewing over the appropriations emergency war spending bill. This is the bill I mentioned earlier with over 30 Billion in pork spending being forwarded by Congress. The President goes on record as stating the Delay in War Funds Will Hurt Military Readiness, Morale.

“Further congressional delay in forwarding an appropriate emergency war spending bill to the White House will damage military readiness and morale as well as endanger the nation,” President Bush

Reading the Blogs out there – there are devisive arguments to be found from all sides in this heating political issue – I guess I’m in no man’s land when it comes to placing blame. Here is why

- Funding needs of the Military through constant emergency bills 4 years into the war seems shortsighted – both the President and congress should be able to plan and fund closer to needs via an honest assessment of the cost at the start of the year. Piss poor prior planning creates the need for huge emergency bills which have now become political footballs.

- We are at war – no one should go on Vacation or recess with a military need unanswered – whether the Military can last one month or three – there is work left undone and all know the soldiers will be affected if it remains uncompleted too long. Stay in Washington and do your jobs.

- Throwing out brinkmanship comments like they don’t support soldiers and it will be his fault if soldiers lack resources is not getting the job done. Both sides are playing fast and loose with lives. 60 days without progress on the bill except additional pork and a DOA bill means both sides have failed to achieve commonality of purpose. Congress can remove pork and timelines for later legislation – President must be flexible and accept he is working with a democratic institution…. Rhetoric from either side is not progress.

- Establishing timeline based upon political considerations not result of Military requirements. Stated accurately by the President - "undercut the troops by substituting the judgment of politicians in Washington for the judgment of our commanders in the ground, setting an arbitrary withdrawal from Iraq” Conversely We are where we are because of decisions made by the Executive branch – right or wrong – there can be only one commander and chief. Advise and assist in the interests of the country – not your own Parties re-election success is a must.

So it boils down to this – stop the fussing – hammer out an agreement like professionals and not like a couple of school kids. Watching the debates and listening to the rhetoric is disheartening because the victim (the military) is serving with honor and working hard while the legislators bicker and take holiday.

Military Blogs are being Monitored

Military Blogs are being monitored for content – this should come as no surprise… it makes absolute sense that any entity will monitor information flow, opinion, content and will exploit such information whenever possible. In the current conflict that we face it is a sure bet that US, International and enemy personnel monitor all information sources to include Blogs.

Some blogs have stated that this monitoring is somehow a restriction of Blog site freedom of speech… an draconian suppression of the “truth”. I recently experienced the phenomenon with this blog of receiving such monitoring. I will say, there is some intimidation being felt as a mil-bloggers when a military agency “contacts “ the Blog site and offers an alternate point of view or a link to their site. You may have noted the addition of Military sites to several Bloggers lately as they are contacted by such monitoring efforts. The Military establishment efforts are clumsy perhaps, but not yet so indefensable.

I have no doubt that the Defense establishment has likely shut down soldier sites through heavy handed local policy or enforcement of the DoD warning that includes a section specifically about blogs.
*BLOGS,* OR WEB LOGS, POSTED TO PUBLIC WEBSITES ARE INCREASINGLY USED BY MILITARY PERSONNEL AS PERSONAL JOURNALS. COMMANDERS SHALL ENSURE SUBORDINATES ARE AWARE THAT, ….. PERSONAL BLOGS (I.E., THOSE NOT HAVING DOD SPONSORSHIP AND PURPOSE) MAY NOT BE CREATED/MAINTAINED DURING NORMAL DUTY HOURS AND MAY NOT CONTAIN INFORMATION ON MILITARY ACTIVITIES THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SUCH INFORMATION INCLUDES COMMENTS ON DAILY MILITARY ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS, UNIT MORALE, RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, STATUS OF EQUIPMENT, AND OTHER INFORMATION THAT MAY BE BENEFICIAL TO ADVERSARIES.

The rule was developed to enable commander’s to restrict Blogs and websites in the interests of operations security. The instantaneous nature of the internet can cause current operations to be potentially compromised by Blogger content. In those cases where such conditions exist – it makes absolute sense to shut the Blogger down or curb the questionable content.

What is disturbing to me is the sense that opinion, comments on subjective matters such as unit morale, comments regarding the Iraq War in general and other individual opinion topics may be subject to censure. My Fellow Mil-Bloggers all have different views and opinions – the sum of which would paint a pretty accurate picture of soldier and Military oriented public opinion. We all remember that suppression or denying freedom of expression is not in keeping with this countries constitution. There are already too many Freedoms given up by soldiers when they put on the uniform for sake of “Military discipline” They are fighting for the rights of all Americans in Iraq. We should allow them the right to voice opinion and comment with the caveat that the views expressed are their own on matters of their own choosing when security is not compromised. Commanders should insure that local PAO efforts do not sanitize information within this policy to the point of being the "party line" merely for the sake of conformity to Senior Leadership views. I think we would find that credibility of the Military establishment as a whole will be supported by a free exchange of comment from the soul of its inner workings.

As Bloggers we must remain diligent to government censure – thus- two quotes in closing:

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
Thomas Jefferson - 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809)

"Information voids will be filled by rumors and speculation unless they are preempted by open, credible and trustworthy communication."
Jean Keffeler

Mortaritaville (Baghdad blues)

I first heard this song when I was in Baghdad - apparently it was put together by a couple Louisiana National Guard soldiers stationed there before me. We listened to the song often while in country and it struck close to the truth in some respects for frustrations we had.... its not politically correct, but was and remains a humourous caricature of some of the things soldiers deal with.

youtube.com/watch?v=ym0q71ITVRA

Soldiers love to bitch...lol

What do I think about Iraq?

I get a lot of questions from family and friends these days about my opinion on the troop surge in Iraq and whether it will change events there. Sometimes I get these questions at my American Legion Post, at the VFW or other places where veteran's from other wars tend to gather.... they seek to understand the dynamics and viewpoint apart from the nightly news liberal viewpoints I guess.

Its easy to discuss the pride in a tough job being tackled by our soldiers over there... they are doing incredible work with little other than Defense Department support. The conditions and guidelines are challenging to say the least. If you have scanned my other posts, you already know that I'm not as positive about the Iraqi part of the solution.

We will make progress with the surge - we will restore some order to Baghdad as sought. However we will eventually be required to hand over control to Iraqi security forces and their preparation and desire to uphold the laws and securrity of the country is key to our long term success and departure from Iraq. The Iraqi Security forces are capable of meeting the task, but they must understand the requirements and realistically plan for the work. At the highest level of the government of Iraq, this planning and work effort seems to be lacking either genuine concern or suffers political malfeasance. Prime Minister Maliki must focus his coalition within the government to governing the country without conflicting agenda.... and there lies the real event that should signal our final departure.

At any rate - this being my view - our soldiers will endeavor to train their counterparts concurrent with the political debates in the US and Iraq. The soldiers from both countries will suffer losses in completing their tasks. I was in a similar position a few months ago - frustrated at progress at some levels, but pleased in the face to face encounters with Iraqi soldiers that stood to lose so much more to serve their country. I also saw the conditions and lives of many poor Iraqis that were trying to just exist in the country. Like many soldiers I harbored a sincere desire to make things better for people on the street rather than listen to politicians in both the US and Iraq speak empty rhetoric and crap that prolonged the ordeal. In that vein, I put together a slide show that was my snapshot of what it was like in Iraq then. I assembled this at about the 9 month point of my deployment to Iraq.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHC-SiZ40bE

I guess that when I'm asked what I think - I'll continue to come up with the positives regarding our soldiers. They have a tough job... support them... I can't say that I can speak as highly for the political processes in play.

Fellow Blogger and Tanker

http://mikegulf.blogspot.com/

Reading Master Gunner's Blog which seems to regularly pop up on Stand-To!
mailto:stand-to@hqda.army.mil?subject=Subscribe>

Master Gunner is the term for a senior highly qualified enlisted member of the Armor community. Master Gunner's are the folks that help all tankers efficiently operate their vehicle - particularly the Fire Control systems. As such they have highly sought skills within the community.

Well if you visit his blog you'll see why I think he is on track in his blog as well... He is a prolific writer and contributor. His skew on many topics comes down to the functional and practical advise to support soldiers which is on target.

Interesting site of fellow Blogger

This site works to build continued support for our military. They sell some unique T-shirts from which 20% of proceeds go to military family support. Consider supprting them and buy yourself a neat shirt in the process....


http://www.takepride.com/blog/