Heck of a job, Barry!
Of the more than 1,100 Army captains notified last month their military careers would soon end, 87 were deployed worldwide and 48 were serving in Afghanistan at the time, Army officials said Wednesday.
The Army has been talking for months about the need to separate the captains as well as more than 500 majors this summer as part of the broad Army drawdown, but it’s the first time details have emerged about the sobering business of delivering pink slips to troops in harm’s way. […]
Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is urging the Senate to act, having learned of the situation only after the House had passed its defense spending bill.
Cotton, a former Army infantry officer with a tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan, wants senators to introduce an amendment that would deny funding of the distribution of pink slips in Afghanistan.
“The men and women deployed overseas have left their homes and families to fight for our country,” he said in a written statement. “It’s deplorable the Obama administration would treat them this way. This action is yet another shameful display of President Obama’s disregard for our country’s warfighters.” […]
The Army intends to shrink to an active duty end strength of 510,000 troops this year and fall to 490,000 in 2015, officials said. From there, end strength will likely fall by another 40,000 by 2019 as a result of declining military spending.
It is who he is, it is what he does.
Who here wants to bet that those officers had all been commissioned (since the President technically has to commission every officer in the military) under Bush? Obama has gotten rid of a lot of general officers who might not be willing to obey certain (shall we say) questionable orders, is it unlikely he might be purging the ranks of those combat-tested folks who agree with the goals of the War on Terror?
Just spit-ballin’ some ideas, y’all…
how many of these one will there be?
allan ackbar boom news
When Burying a Terrorist, You Might Want to Remove the Suicide Vest First – KA-BOOM!
Pharrell Williams – Happy (Official Music Video)
pw tv @ 378,342,077
OneRepublic – Counting Stars
the onerepublic video does a debbie wasserman schultz beatdown. what fun.
yo jeff send it to:400,000,000
OT: and possibly targeting myself: Islam is not a religion. Mohammed made it up to support his ideology of conquering other tribes. It’s a political system. Allah is not G-d. When I was younger and stupid I thought we were all talking about the same G-d I knew, the G-d of Abraham and Isaac. The G-d I know from the New Testament. I know now we are not talking about that. Anyone who claims Allah is G-d is either an idiot or lying.
G-d and Satan disagreed about free will. G-d said all must come to him voluntarily. Satan thought G-d should force obedience. Which “religion” forces compliance or death now? Hint: it isn’t the Jews or Christians.
We are at war with people who want us dead or dimmis. Screw that.
**** By David Blair, Gaza City 9:44AM BST 27 Jul 2014
Gaza echoed to the sound of artillery fire on Sunday when Israel declared that a truce was over because of “incessant” rocket attacks by Hamas.
Israel had announced a “humanitarian” ceasefire from 8am until 8pm on Saturday, later extending this until midnight. The security cabinet then decided to renew the pause for another 24 hours until midnight on Sunday.
But Hamas said that it had not agreed to any extensions. Shortly after 8pm on Saturday, it fired rockets at the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Tel Aviv. Israeli forces held fire and the political leadership opted to renew the truce nonetheless.
Hamas continued to launch rockets on Sunday morning. At 10am, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that “following Hamas’s incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the IDF will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity”.
Minutes later, the sound of heavy artillery echoed over Gaza City and pillars of black smoke rose above the eastern suburbs. As before, Israeli forces appeared to be focusing their bombardment on these areas which lie closest to the border.
Throughout the period of the truce, Israeli forces remained inside the 44 per cent of Gaza which is under their control and continued to destroy Hamas tunnels. The radical Islamist movement might have seen this as a provocation. ****
The Telegraph
Who here wants to bet that those officers had all been commissioned (since the President technically has to commission every officer in the military) under Bush?
Just to get some facts out:
The average time to make CPT is 48 months with a low of 36, to make MAJ another 6 years, so of all CPTs, some will have been commissioned under Bush, some under Øbama.
Having lived through more than one RIF, it is particularly absurd that they couldn’t have waited till the ones up for separation got back. However, anyone to whom this RIF is a surprise hasn’t been paying attention as the fact that this was going to happen in the near future was being briefed for at least the last three years, and the particulars published last year.
Currently there are about 19,000 CPTs across 25 branches, so it is not like 1000 combat experienced infantry company commanders are getting the axe. Given the 48 months time to grade, some may never have deployed, regardless of rank or branch.
Again, as this has been briefed as something that was going to happen, those who will be separated will generally include PT failures, height/weight failures, those who failed to complete required schools, marginal (or rotten) performers, and ones who may have had a disciplinary issue. There will be some unfortunate enough to be in an branch overstrength because of the war (or poor choice – Air Defense Artillery and Chemical Corps have not been growth industries in the recent past), or missed a school or branch qualifying assignment because of deployment .
Of the CPTs and MAJs selected for separation, some of those with 18 years (for instance, O-3Es – officers with prior enlisted time) will be allowed to retire at 20. Some will have the option of “early retirement” at 15 years, and the rest will receive Involuntary Separation Pay which could be up to $87,000 for a CPT at 12 years (possible if the guy had been passed over twice for MAJ and not selected for selective retention), or $157,000 for a MAJ at 18 (passed over twice for LTC and not selected for selective retention).
SO, the bottom line, as the kids say, is that there is suckage for those being separated, but raising your hand does not guarantee a trip to 20 (or 30). I have seen technically proficient officers get separated for repeat HT/WT & PT failures; it may sound silly, but standard are standards for a reason – if you are so big you can’t get body armor on, or walk a mile geared up, you have made a poor career choice. Further, This sort of thing has happened after every war (the rightness can be debated forever) and sometimes in peace (e.g., the Great Warrant Officer RIF of the mid ’80s), but it is far from a threat to the Republic.
Eingang- great points, and thanks for doing the heavy lifting on the research.
I do believe, however, that when viewed together with other moves involving the military, that the motives behind the move are part of a campaign by this administration to damage our armed forces.
Also, cranky-d; you get it. Islam uses religion as a cover and a shield from criticism. It is first and foremost a political entity that seeks to completely dominate and control all levels of society.
Mohamed and Islam came into existence several hundred years after the time of Christ, if I’m not mistaken. So claims to being ‘the one true’ anything are dubious to me.
after every war
This particle I’ve pulled out isn’t much addressed to Darleen’s topic, but it might be addressed to cranky-d’s observations above regarding what the Muslims think about Allah’s will. We’un infidels got us a new allah in a sense, whose will alone determines these puny things, when a war is begun and when a war is over. His’uns name is ClownDisaster, and he’s a peach.
Explains why @TheDemocrats & other leftists support HAMAS..
What a deal! How could any Leftist turn down an offer like that ?
FreedomJihad-reinforcement Flotilla II set to sail for Gaza from Turkey.Mind (not “mine”) the strip.
That’s JohnKerryInternationalDiplomat’s primary negotiating partner, Turkey — y’know, Hamas’ proxy. Well, if we don’t count Qatar, which received the Jihadis released from Guantanamo Naval Base war criminal holding prison as first, that is.
OT: and possibly targeting myself: Islam is not a religion.
Cranky, yep it is the complete enchilada of the social, political, and cultural under the guise of religion.
“Mohammed had not only religious doctrines descend from Heaven and placed in the Koran, but political maxims, civil and criminal laws, and scientific theories. The Gospels, in contrast, speak only of the general relationships of men to God and among themselves.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville
Periodically in American educational discourse we hear voices urging as a virtue the early institution of vocational education for our young people, who, it is said, may not one and all be best fitted to an entirely academic sort of education.
In keeping with that, and perhaps to their praise, Hamas has undertaken a systematic approach to this suggestion, developing a generation of skilled engineers and miners who can no doubt offer their services to the less well endowed nations of the earth one day. If there happen to be unfortunate accidents? Well, omelets, eggs, you know.
mc4ever,
I do believe, however, that when viewed together with other moves involving the military, that the motives behind the move are part of a campaign by this administration to damage our armed forces.
This event, not really, the Army strength in 1980 (when it became an issue for me) was about 780,000, and after the Berlin Wall fell, this declined annually to about 480,000 until 9/11 when the strength rose to about 560,000. The reality is that there are both officers and enlisted who were recruited and retained who would not have been, were it not for the war, and though, as the saying goes, quantity is a quality, it is just not always the most important one.
Setting service rivalries aside, this plan to axe 11 cruisers and maybe a carrier bothers me a lot more from a strategic and operational perspective than losing 5.3% of the Army’s CPTs.
A slight error I noticed when trying to find the distribution of captains across the 25 branches – there are 28,000 captains, not 19,000, so the cut is only 3.6%.
Eingang; agreed. In and of itself, this event is most likely not as harmful as it could be interpreted to be.
But things such as the VA scandal, the constant efforts to create savings off the backs of the troops- such as in pay, benefits, and health care, and the constant attempts to introduce political correctness and social experimentation into the ranks- and the gutting of our abilities to project power and fulfill our needs and obligations around the globe are, IMO, knowing and deliberate efforts to undermine this nation’s ability to defend itself and it’s interests.
In short, when it comes to this administrations motives, I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.
My main gripe, as I am sure it is Darleen’s, is that they did it to the guys actually in harm’s way, rather than waiting until they made it back to CONUS and were debriefing/decompressing. That smacks of either mindblowing incompetence or overwhelming hostility, or both, RIF or no RIF. I get that Obama wants to unilaterally disarm in the belief that all our enemies would then love us, and that just makes me shake my head. You’d think a dorm-room tactician would learn the lessons of the 1970s (post-Vietnam) and the 1990s (post-Cold War).
i don’t agree Mr. Drumwaster
these people need to know about the realities of their employ as soon as possible so they can make Good Choices
more information is always better and these are leaders
not hothouse flowers
Drum,
No argument whatsoever.
Happyfeet,
STFU, you are an effete little goon whose hardest decision in life has probably been whether to have a latte or a mocha, and who has no conception of what it is like to be in a combat zone, let alone whether being in one is conducive to making “Good Choices”.
In an attempt to preserve someone’s dignity, mo mention is made as to how hard Prime Minister Netanyahu was laughing at the time: In phone call with Netanyahu, Obama stresses need for ‘immediate’ Gaza cease-fire: *** Obama told Netanyahu he wants a ceasefire “that both allows Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives and addresses Gaza’s long-term development and economic needs.”
An immediate and unconditional ceasefire ending Israel’s assault on Hamas is a “clear strategic imperative” to Israel, US President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Sunday. ***
lattes have way way way less carbs than mochas it’s an easy call
but yup these guys need to know that they are facing imminent major life changes as soon as possible
when you out doing whatever it is America does in Afghanistan anymore, you’re not doing a lot of consumer discretionary spending, and some of these captain people might could be putting lots of cash away into this or that investment vehicle or what have you so they need to know as soon as possible that they need to get liquid
cause when you’re liquid you have more options, and what’s an unemployed captain without his options i ask you
Oye, ¿cómo va?
Indian Carlos Santana has 5HRs in his last 10ABs, so probably would answer — not bad, how’s with you?
or her options i mean
Sdferr,
Yoinks, what buffoonish statements, who the hell is he unilaterally to determine what Israel’s strategic interests are.
For a permanent ceasefire to be agreed upon, Hamas is requiring an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, formed to prevent Hamas from obtaining weapons to attack the Jewish state.
Last time I was there, Gaza had a border with Egypt that Israel isn’t exactly in control of.
Could be the ClownDiaster threatened to send unemployed Army Captains to Israel to seek work, in a bid to see whether Mr. Netanyahu would like a taste of what Pres. IVotePresent has cooked up on the American southern border, if Prime Minister Netanyahu would not immediately bow to Pres. IWonPenPhone’s diktat.
i would contrast this though with the fascist whore american president’s abrogation of the regulations governing pink slipping when it’s politically convenient for his gimpy ghetto trash ass
I repeat HF, STFU, you have no clue about much of anything, and zero about things military, let alone the fact that the average CPT doesn’t have lots of spare cash to be socking money away or if he did, the ability to doing online trading or calling a broker from some FOB or COP in the middle of nowhere.
Further, when you are in the middle of combat operations, all of a sudden having to worry about whether your wife and kids get to eat when you get back is not conducive to making the best decisions; there are enough stressors as it is, and no reason whatsoever not to have delayed this, this is not something time sensitive like your spouse being hospitalized.
You live in your cosseted ninny world, and have no conception of how the real world works, and neither as cute or clever as you think you are.
no it’s better if they know sooner
let the soon-to-be-paycheckless captains – and their wives – decide if they can use this information to their advantage or not
sometimes life is demoralizing for varying lengths of time
it’s a thing
“Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,” writes our ClownDisaster in a private missive, “it is not wise of you to look our HorsefacedInternationalDiplomat gift in the mouth, for there you may only discover what no-one wishes to discover — the clingy kinky pubic hair of a Mozambican heiress — and that would not be a kindness to you.
Your friend,
IVotePresentandWonPenPhone
ps: why don’t you vote present too?”
let the soon-to-be-paycheckless captains – and their wives – decide if they can use this information to their advantage or not
OK , Clausewitz, describe for me life for an infantry captain on a COP in Paktika. Include in your dissertation the number of hours worked in a day, logistics considerations, and all non-operational communications available.
that’s too much work my dissertation is as follows:
forewarned
is forearmed
keep calm and don’t forget to be awesome!
that’s too much work…
I’ll take that as an admission you are talking out of your ass as usual.
i have to go feed my water puppies now
Actually if I recollect right, happyfeet was warning just these things back when the mighty ClownDisaster was first
elevatedelected to office, so it isn’t as though he didn’t see the monster coming.Islam Dissected
Dr. Cranky-D shares the results over at Protein Wisdom: …Islam is not a religion. Mohammed made it up to support his ideology of conquering other tribes. It’s a political system. Allah is not G-d. When I was younger and stupid I thought we were a…
Greetings:
On the other hand, maybe some of them Captains and even them Majors, whom I loved even more than I loved Captains if that’s even possible, will have some of my good luck.
Back in the early ’70s, after I completed the active duty part of my military service, I had two important things on my “To Do” list. The first was to get enrolled in college and the other was to get signed up for some unemployment benefits because, if there’s one thing I enjoy more than separating our rulers from some of the money they’ve separated from me, it’s double-dipping in that regard.
So, I arrived at the state’s local cash dispensary and after a bit of a wait, I was approached by a perky young lady, who, I later found out, was an honors graduate of one of those girl’s Ivy League colleges. She looked over my file, which, at that point was only a form, and began to put all her interviewing training into high gear. “So,” she began, “would you please tell me what an infantryman does?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, at this point being interested in more than just the money, “a good infantryman closes with and destroys the enemies of his country.” There and then followed a bit of a pause, not a particularly unpleasant one as the view was indeed quite pleasant, as the young lady gathered herself to proceed. And, as a quizzical smile came across her face, she continued asking, “Did you enjoy that work?”
Today 11B40, you could ask in return whether the young lady enjoys having a President who prefers to stand with Terror Inc. rather than stand with the nominal allies of the United States.
I had a fairly similar experience when I tried to explain my particular NEC (NEC-0334 — Harpoon Missile Engagement Planner), and the job I had held for the preceding three years (Anti-Submarine Warfare Operations Center Watch Supervisor) and why those don’t really translate well into the civilian job market.
*** Criticism of Kerry could jeopardize Israeli-US ties — US officials
Obama administration officials are fuming over Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest bid to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In unusually harsh language, officials say the criticism of Kerry could put the relationship between the US and Israel in jeopardy. They also say the personal attacks on Kerry cross a line and are particularly disappointing at a time of active conflict. ***
So at a “time of active conflict” when the SecretaryOState of the United States works with Turkey and Qatar in the interests of the Hamas terror organization and against the interests of Egypt and Israel who agree regarding the inadequacy of JohnKerryInternationalDiplomat’s proposals, proposals ignoring Israeli conditions regarding any possible “cease-fire”, the stinking Jews should just keep their mouths shut, and do not bother to make any cogent criticisms of their high Majesties the ClownDisaster and His Minister FrowningHorseFace? The Jews cross a line?
Well yes, the Jews crossed the Gaza border weeks ago while Hamas has been rocketing over and tunneling under that border for years.
Yeah, so ok. Got it. Just die, Jews.
Yeah, so ok. Got it. Just die, Jews.
Valerie Jarrett responds for The Jarrett Junto: ‘As long as it’s those kind of Jews, yes.’
Barky &c. need get over it.
If we insist on trotting out clowns to deliver USA’s foreign policy, who’s to blame but Chief Clown himself?
“I repeat HF, STFU, you have no clue about much of anything, and zero about things military -”
SHUT UP! he explained, CHICKEN HAWK! CHICKEN HAWK! he squawked.
Just sad.
john says July 28, 2014 at 12:25 pm
Ah, I see the Hepatic Hamster’s cheering section has arrived, but alas, with a swing and a miss. You might want to look up what “chickenhawk” in this context means.
Regardless, The Jaundiced Gerbil could have asked why it is a crappy move that, as itself pointed out at 3:47, could have been put off, but, as usual, and being as dumb as a creosote post without the creosote, chose to pontificate on yet another topic about which it has no knowledge.
Just sad.
is better for people to know as soon as possible that they’re going to be out of work
we shouldn’t infantilize people especially soldiers
The local irony meter store went out of business and my last one just exploded.
I was not cheering anyone. I’m not even agreeing with anyone as I imagine those pink slipped themselves probably have different opinions on the matter, some insulted to be informed now, some glad to know now that would have been upset if the government delayed informing them.
I was jeering the reaction to a difference of opinion with “STFU” and the idea one can’t give an opinion unless you can write a dissertation on the life for an infantry captain on a COP in Paktika.
That’s just silly.
and the idea one can’t give an opinion
One is always welcome to give an opinion, and the other is just as free to point out that the opinion giver has less knowledge of the subject than a turkey does about trigonometry. hf doesn’t understand anything about military life, much less being on deployment to a war zone and the associated stresses, and his opinion is therefore worth less than nothing.
As is yours. But I’ll bet hf is happy that he’s not alone in his ignorance. (Insert stock adage about ‘misery’ and ‘company’ here.)
“…and his opinion is therefore worth less than nothing. As is yours.”
You know nothing about me. Or as the turkey puts it:
“the other is just as free to point out that the opinion giver has less knowledge of the subject than a turkey does about trigonometry”
It’s very intellectual of y’all to attack the person and not the opinion.
john, pay no attention to the peanut gallery, including me. Just keep at it as you see fit.
Thanks sdferr, you are a class act.
You are, of course, free to establish your bona fides, but given the opinion you are defending, I have the utmost doubt that your fides are very bona.
It’s selfish john. I’ve seen excellent commenters run off by idiots and don’t wish to see any more of that.
Drumwaster, can you remember my opinion? Here, let me help:
“john says July 28, 2014 at 2:29 pm
I imagine those pink slipped themselves probably have different opinions on the matter”
Sdferr, classy and kind! Thanks again!
Can you remember your own opinion? And I quote:
Dismissed.
You got me Drumwaster. STFU will always be the best response for some.
As you are so adequately displaying for all to see. I suggest you heed it next time, rather than taste your own toes.
Either that or be more careful next time about whose opinions you are defending so gleefully.
Your call.
Again, show me where I defended another’s opinion in this thread.
But I will take your advice and shut up when it comes to what you have to say. You seem a single minded, contentious sort, and life is too short.
I quoted you. Are you now denying you actually typed those words?