FY2015 NDAA

[BFM this]

No, but I'd be glad to pass it along

8am: Start a rumor

10am: if you haven't heard your rumor yet, start another...

[pawnman]

1%.

Sweet.

And a 5% cut to BAH.

Then Admiral Dempsey urged caution and measured analysis when the subject of GO/FO aides, staffs, and other benefits came up for cuts.

Can't remember the last time I saw the flight doc or probably even the friggin optometrist and I wasn't asked if I was thinking of huring myself - but only in the past 30 days.

My favorite is when they ask if I'm thinking about harming others.

"What, exactly, do you believe we do here?"

[Buddy Spike]

No, but I'd be glad to pass it along

8am: Start a rumor

10am: if you haven't heard your rumor yet, start another...

Good idea.

Squadron LPAs are now giving FREE BREAST EXAMS - no insurance required! Breast awareness month is every month, so please pass this along.

[ThreeHoler]

And a 5% cut to BAH.

BAH will eventually get to 5% out of pocket expenses. This is no different than 25+ years ago when it was 10% out of pocket or more.

[KeepCalm]

And a 5% cut to BAH.

Then Admiral Dempsey urged caution and measured analysis when the subject of GO/FO aides, staffs, and other benefits came up for cuts.

And this, in my humble opinion, is why the force has lost all trust and respect in senior leaders. Leading from the "front" is a trait that is long gone, especially when it can negatively impact their bottomline. While a different era, I can't imagine a true leader of men, such as Robin Olds, pulling such a selfish and individually motivated policy. We no longer expect senior leaders to be in the lead aircraft (or any aircraft for that matter), but there is truth to the theory that "leaders eat last". Sadly, it appears leadership has forgotten this principle.

Edited December 16, 2014 by KeepCalm

[jazzdude]

BAH will eventually get to 5% out of pocket expenses. This is no different than 25+ years ago when it was 10% out of pocket or more.

Wasn't there more availability to live on base back then?

[pawnman]

BAH will eventually get to 5% out of pocket expenses. This is no different than 25+ years ago when it was 10% out of pocket or more.

Which is fine, once we've cut the waste in other areas first. It just saddens me that our senior leaders essentially pushed for this cut, then fought when congress wanted to reduce the size of their entourages and take away other perks.

[Herk Driver]

Which is fine, once we've cut the waste in other areas first. It just saddens me that our senior leaders essentially pushed for this cut, then fought when congress wanted to reduce the size of their entourages and take away other perks.

Three things

1) I don't disagree with you

2) this is at least the second year that GO's have gotten zero pay raise, but your point is still valid

3) the previous post...back in the day when BAH covered 85% there were over 500k personnel in the AF so NO it was not easier to live on base back then, IMHO. If you have other facts please post them here

[pawnman]

Three things

1) I don't disagree with you

2) this is at least the second year that GO's have gotten zero pay raise, but your point is still valid

3) the previous post...back in the day when BAH covered 85% there were over 500k personnel in the AF so NO it was not easier to live on base back then, IMHO. If you have other facts please post them here

Zero pay raise until retirement, you mean. Or have we taken that perk away as well?

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-01-26/military-officers-pensions/52939598/1

[Herk Driver]

Zero pay raise until retirement, you mean. Or have we taken that perk away as well?

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-01-26/military-officers-pensions/52939598/1

You didn't see me make that argument.

[Warrior]

First I've seen of this. Any winglet guys care to comment?

http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123435107

[GearMonkey]

First I've seen of this. Any winglet guys care to comment?

It's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The squadrons have been getting smaller but the office bill hasn't. This'll leave the three remaining squadrons with more bodies to fly while keeping the offices "manned".

Having said that I don't expect the requirements to drop so even as the war winds down I think ops tempo will stay pretty high for the folks how haven't VSPed or been sent to white jets.

[Guest]

Below are some highlights out of the House Committee on Armed Services (commonly called HASC) and other developments in the DOD as the 114th Congress begins.

http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS00/20150114/102804/HMTG-114-AS00-20150114-SD002.pdf

HASC Oversight Plan for the 114th Congress

The Comptroller General of the United States has consistently identified the Department of Defense’s financial management as a high-risk area since 1995. The Department’s inability to track and account for billions of dollars in funding and tangible assets continues to undermine its financial management systems. It also creates a lack of transparency that significantly limits congressional oversight.

Measures to reform defense acquisition or to find efficiencies within the Department are undermined by the Department's inability to produce auditable financial statements. Without these objective tools, neither the Department nor Congress can fully verify that greater value is being created.

The committee will continue to review efforts to implement the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) plan as the Department moves to accomplish auditable financial statements by September 30, 2017, as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-84).

[...]

Some argue that military personnel costs have exploded and will continue to rise to unsustainable levels. The committee rejects that assertion because such a budget-oriented focus misses the fundamental question that the committee will assess: What does the Nation need in terms of the quantity of manpower and the quality of that manpower to meet its current and future global military commitments, without undue risk to the Nation? [...] The committee will continue to provide aggressive oversight of military manpower levels and force structure to ensure they meet the National Military Strategy.

And in the very near future:

http://www.mcrmc.gov/index.php/about

The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission was established by the National Defense Authorization Act FY 2013 Pub. L. 112-239, 126 Stat. 1787 (2013) to conduct a review of military compensation and retirement systems and to make recommendations to modernize such systems [...] The Commission is tasked to submit a report, containing a comprehensive study and recommendations, by February 1, 2015

Further:http://thehill.com/policy/defense/229502-armed-services-chair-no-appetite-for-new-round-of-base-closures

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says there is little support on his panel among Republicans or Democrats for a new round of military base closures. “I don’t think there’s a lot of appetite on the committee, on either side, to do that,” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) told reporters after the panel’s inaugural meeting of the new Congress. “I think we need to have this conversation about what our role in the world is before we start giving stuff up,” he added. “Because once you give up a base or a training range, you’re not going to get it back.” The Pentagon is expected to propose a new Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to lawmakers when it sends its fiscal 2016 budget proposal to Capitol Hill next month.

Finally, some folks newly assigned to the HASC worth mention are Rep Tim Walz (retired Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major), Rep Martha McSally (former A-10 “Warthog” pilot), Rep Seth Moulton (former Marine Captain), and Rep Ryan Zinke (retired Navy Commander, SEAL for 23 years).