# SecDef to Military: BOHICA!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 2, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957 "2003-11-02T05:42:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SpaceGhostofArrakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@SpaceGhostofArrakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpaceGhostofArrakis)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/1 "2003-11-02T05:42:48Z")
(Bend Over, Here It Comes Again!) Today I thought I’d post something that’s near and dear to my heart, Military benefits. The Current Administration is continueing the process of grinding away the support of the (smart)servicepeople for the next election. This time? Shutting down Commissaries and Stateside Schools. [For Subscribers only](http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=0-NAVYPAPER-2335688.php) > [@](#): > > An act of ‘Betrayal’ > In the midst of war, key family benefits face cuts > > By Karen Jowers > Times staff writer > > Commissaries and the Defense Department’s stateside schools are in the crosshairs of Pentagon budget cutters, and military advocates, families and even base commanders are up in arms. > Defense officials notified the services in mid-October that they intend to close 19 commissaries and consider closing 19 more, mostly in remote areas. > > At the same time, the Pentagon is finishing a study to determine whether to close or transfer control of the 58 schools it operates on 14 military installations in the continental United States. > > The two initiatives are the latest in a string of actions by the Bush administration to cut or hold down growth in pay and benefits, including basic pay, combat pay, health-care benefits and the death gratuity paid to survivors of troops who die on active duty. Yep, I’m definately going to have to consider Democrat in '04, something I once thought I would never do. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/2 "2003-11-02T06:26:34Z")
Wesley Clark: He Can’t Possibly Be Worse. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/3 "2003-11-02T06:30:40Z")
Were not those same stateside schools in a recent 60 Minutes report, that showed those schools to be what regular public schools are not? Being fully funded and with other benefits, kids do better: who knew! I smell a move to shut down a “bad” example here! ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/4 "2003-11-02T13:44:53Z")
It isn’t about Democrats anymore, it’s about anyone but the moron. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/5 "2003-11-02T13:55:11Z")
Is Cthulhu running next year? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/6 "2003-11-02T15:48:34Z")
_ **Cthulhu/Nyarlahotep 2004:** Not All That Much Worse Than Bush, When You Think About It._ ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/7 "2003-11-02T16:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SpaceGhostofArrakis \* > \*\*Yep, I’m definately going to have to consider Democrat in '04, something I once thought I would never do. \*\* You sure said it for me with this. ---
**Author:** ![Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Short](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/8 "2003-11-02T22:05:03Z")
Why does the Navy hate America so much :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/9 "2003-11-02T22:33:59Z")
Georgie Tirebiter! _He’s Not Insane!_ reference intelligible only to those persons who share my depraved taste for the _Firesign Theater_ ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/10 "2003-11-03T00:14:28Z")
SpaceGhostofArrakis, I agree with voting for someone other than Bush for President, but we’re not sure that a rational democrat (eg, one who isn’t going to slit the DoD’s jugular budget vein) is going to be their candidate. If say, Al Sharpton were named their candidate, would you still go that way? ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/11 "2003-11-03T11:30:12Z")
Frankly, I’d vote for a illiterate chimpanzee with brain damage. Oh wait…that’s the one already _in_ the White House. I’d love to have a “Wesley Clark: He Can’t Possibly Worse” bumpersticker like in **Sofa King’s** post, but somehow I’m thinking it wouldn’t go over all that well here in Dallas, Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/12 "2003-11-03T13:46:00Z")
I believe in trying to balance my daily posting, so I have one thing to say to Rumsfeld: Don, If you think it is not the job of the DoD to run hospitals, or stores in remote locations, you are not qualified to do your job. A certain US Congressman from the Midwest is rolling in his grave about now at your apparent callous disregard for the actual soldiers that fight the wars. Support our troops and veterans: the forseeable and inevitable results of any military deployment, even to Tampa. Finding someone to underdeploy troops to Iraq should be easy. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/13 "2003-11-03T21:28:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arden Ranger \* > \*\*Is Cthulhu running next year? \*\* I’m hoping for the Voorhees/Krueger ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/14 "2003-11-03T21:49:59Z")
**Ozzy/Lemmy 2004!** [sub]_We’re wasted and irresponsible too, but we’re not lying about it._[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/15 "2003-11-04T15:00:22Z")
I am a Navy veteran, 1993-1998. I got out in part because the pay and benefits weren’t up to par, and they’ve not improved much, this is true. We need to radically rethink pay, retirement, medical care and educaton benefits for our service members. The systems we have in place now don’t work. They haven’t worked in a long time, and they now have gone past merely not contributing to the fighting force and is now hindering it. **Beagle** , If you think it is the job of the Defense Department to run a store, you are sadly mistaken. The job of the Defense Department is… wait, let me look it up in my Britannica here… …oh, right. Defense. Why in the world, with all the DoD has to do, must it be a fucking greengrocer on top of everything else? How about we try a novel, two-pronged approach when it comes to the sacred military exchanges and commissaries. Boost military pay, and have members buy their groceries at Safeway (which many mmbers use anyway, commissary quality being notoriously variable), and contract out retail operations in remote locations. Bingo, problem solved, and probably at a cost savings. The same goes for retirement, which right now only goes to a service member who sticks it out for twenty years or more, which most don’t do. Why can’t members make 401(k) contributions during their length of service, whatever that is? I’m not happy about the way service members are treated, but this disregard for their well being is long standing, and predates Bush-Rumsfeld by about forty years or more. Let’s get serious about their well being, and maybe talented sailors like me will stay in. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secdef-to-military-bohica/210957/16 "2003-11-04T18:15:09Z")
For you Americans, there is always the possibility to vote for [GWB’s look-alike](http://hypocrisytoday.com/alfred.htm).