Other than both of them lieing and jabbing each other, did Edwards remind anyone else of Jack tripper? (Just for us older guys)

 

The change in fiscal policy is the biggest reason for the deficit. Prior to GW the military was way under funded. No money even for the cheap bullets to qualify. Pay was very low. After 9 years I was being paid about what a 2 year rookie in my line of work is paid. The equipment used was old and needed to be replaced. This is how Clintoon and his liberal croonies wanted the military to go to war.

GW increased the pay, and started the process for new and better equipment. GW also funded training programs so we could start quilifing consistantly. Oh and the combat pay for the enlisted was only 250. Hell I'd give that back if I was able to get a 150 per month raise whether I was in a combat zone or not. I've personally seen aircraft left on a runway because it's parts had to be cannabalized to keep other aircraft flying during the Clintoon years.

 

W

 

Nice way to make an entrance.

 

I like 'em already...

 

W means winner, who is Kerry.

4 more months!

 

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Well, I was in during the Reagan, Bush and Clinton years, and my pay got better every year until I got out- But, when I got out, after a decade of service, my base salary was $21,000/year. My first civilian job started me off at $45,000/year. This is with my military training and a high-school diploma; now I have my Bachelors and make quite a bit more than $45,000/year- almost triple that actually. So, I can relate to your line regarding pay...

What I don't agree with (And who cares right?) is the rhetoric about 'How Clinton wanted us to go to war'. Gimme a break. Everything we use(d) in the military is old. Deuce & a halfs are from WWII, Gamma-Goats were from the 60's if not earlier, Our F-15's are from 1972, Our F-14's are from 1971 and our F-16's are from 1980. Heck, the F-22 was envisioned in 1988 and it's not even deployed yet. Our M-16's are from 1964 (Although the a1 & a2 variants are newer) the M-1 Abrams is from the late 70's, as is the Bradley. Our protective masks were from the 1960's before we got updated, as is the MOPP suit. The deadly AH-64 Apache was designed after the Vietnam War (1975) and is still the deadliest bird in the sky (For ground troops anyway). The AC-130 Gunship harkens it's roots back to the AC-47 "Puff the Magic Dragon" from Vietnam. The Hummers are from 1986; this is military doctrine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So, what is it exactly- in terms of new equipment that we're hurting on? Even our old stuff is still the best in the world. Heck, if we filled the skies with P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolt's, B-29 Super-Fortresses and B-17 Flying Fortresses; 95% of the world's military still couldn't stop us to this day.

I agree, the military pay system needs to improve. It's a darn shame that we STILL (Even under George's watch) have GI's on welfare & food-stamps that are in service of this country. Sure, some of them made poor choices that landed them there- but, service to this country shouldn't be a low-paying occupation; neither should teaching be...

During my stretch in Desert Storm, Combat pay was $150.00 so, $250 isn't bad (I heard they cut that though during this war.) During Desert Shield, I got $150.00 Hazardous Duty Pay (Because war could break out any minute); Once the war started, that changed to Combat pay, and it stayed at $150.00, the difference was, taxes stopped coming out of our checks- which made our 1st & 15th checks very healthy; comparitively speaking...

 

Got to agree with you about the military hardware we have. While it is old it does the job just fine. If the US were to take on every new piece of machinary invented our deficit would be quadruple what it is now.

Our military regardless of the situation is still the strongest deadliest fighting force the world has ever seen.