Chew On This: As the World Burns….

Chew on these tasty links (they are a little spicy, beware):

• China dispute with Japan heightens tension: Opinionline USA Today looks at the big dispute in Asia that could draw the US in.
• “Thai Prime Minister says protesters’ demands unacceptable as violence continues” Fox News has the latest on Thailand’s unrest…
• Unrest continues in Ukraine as protesters block government offices…as Legal Iinsurrection’s Mandy Nagy covers the Ukraine’s unrest.
• China’s Carrier Killer: Threat and Theatrics, Air Force magazine looks at China’s carrier killer.

So what is the government doing? What is the priority?

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that the Air Force Office of Special investigations (OSI comparable to the Army’s CID and Navy’s NCIS) has been running confidential informants among the student body at the Air Force Academy;
— “Snitching on classmates at the Air Force Academy“, This Aint’ Hell

Oh yeah, those informants are “disavowed” afterward.

…

The Afforadable Care Act’s web portal still isn’t working so sayth Instapundit.

The DoD is “floating” a plan to close Commissaries based in the US. Mind you, those are where many service members redeem their EBT (foodstamp) and WIC bennies. Cause we’re paid too much or something.

RSM gives is them gem from the New York Times:

Got that, troops? “Tough choices,” your compensation is “on the table,” because defending your nation isn’t really anything special.

On the other hand, says New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, something must be done for America’s real heroes, retail clerks:
—Ask NY Times Who Deserves More Pay: America’s Troops or Fast-Food Workers?, The Othermccain.com

So as the world burns, the DoD wants to focus on spice smokers and the Media wants to cut our benefits.

Really? At a time when we need the men and women in uniform the most they want to focus on things that don’t matter or view us as a liability.

The last time(s) we did this bad things happened. In the 30’s the military was ragged and understaffed with wooden guns, flour sack “bombs” and jeeps with wooden signs that said “tank” used in exercises. In the 70’s, the drugged out, worn out military was barely able to keep up with the USSR. Thief and drug abuse was rampant as the military was ignored, there were military familes on food stamps. In the 90’s, service members were on food stamps (again), all four services bled numbers. Worse, pilots, senior NCO’s and officers left in droves taking years of combat experience with them.

In the wars that followed, the men and women in uniform paid the price as lack of training, lack of support and bad gear bit us in the ass. We got lucky in Desert Storm, but after the Gulf War the cuts just kept coming (see above).

The post 9/11 era brought enough money to expand the military and I get that there has to be a contraction. But the cuts to pay and bennies AND cuts to training and readiness will lead to a hollow force. A hollow force just as the world isn’t getting peaceful.

It’s getting worse.

We can’t repeat the 30’s and the 70’s.

There are still service members’ families on food stamps. College, medical, dental and other “costly” benefits keep qualified people in the ranks. We can’t draft experience and esprit de corps. We can’t fly, drive or sail ragged rusted out tanks, planes and ships.

Either we are committed to Allies or it’s just empty talk. Either we fight for our principles or accept a world dominated by countries that hate us.

The world won’t wait for us to dither.