Soldiers Asked to Pinch Pennies While Serving Our Country

Although this country has suffered multiple years with hundreds of billions of dollars of deficits adding to our debt burden, a modest request for a pay raise for our soldiers is simply a few pennies too much, according to the Bush administration as reported in the Army Times on May 16th.

According to the article:

The Bush administration had asked for a 3 percent military raise for Jan. 1, 2008, enough to match last year’s average pay increase in the private sector. The House Armed Services Committee recommends a 3.5 percent pay increase for 2008, and increases in 2009 through 2012 that also are 0.5 percentage point greater than private-sector pay raises.

Bush budget officials said the administration “strongly opposes” both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases “unnecessary.”

So the administration is objecting to an addition pay raise of half of one percent yearly.

But that's not all.

In addition to the pay raise, the bill contains other personnel initiatives that are drawing White House opposition, such as a prohibition on further conversions of medical jobs held by military members into civilian positions.

“This will eliminate the flexibility of the Secretary of Defense to use civilian medical personnel for jobs away from the battlefield and at the same time use the converted military billets to enhance the strength of operating units,” the policy statement says.

A death gratuity for federal civilian employees who die in support of military operations and new benefits for disabled retirees and the survivors of military retirees also drew complaints.

This includes giving the Veterans Affairs Department control over the Reserve GI Bill, a program now run by the Pentagon. GI Bill supporters say this step is needed to set the stage for increases in reserve benefits that have been kept low by the military because it views the program as a retention incentive rather than a post-service education program.

The White House also complained about lawmakers refusing to approve increases in Tricare fees for many retirees and their families, something administration officials view as an important step in holding down health care costs.

So while the administration has been openly complaining publicly that the Democrats are denying funding to our soldiers as part of the public opinion battle over the war in Iraq, they have been quietly complaining to Congress that they're giving our soldiers too much money.

No matter what one thinks about the war in Iraq or what one's party affiliation is, if any, nearly every single person in this country agrees that soldiers sacrifice their livlihoods and some sacrifice life and limb in service to this country. While they're putting their bodies and lives on the line for this country, their pay is far from ideal for what most of the rest of us would consider before entering into such a career, if ever.

Meanwhile, our soldiers have been called up to fight this war in Iraq, to fight in Afghanistan, and to serve in numerous bases in countries around the world as well as here at home. They've been convenient backdrops every time politicians want to look exceptionally good for the cameras when making some kind of announcement. Their families bear much hardship when their beloved soldiers are called to duty.

Yet the administration has often played up any and all reasons to say that they support the military, that they take care of our soldiers, and that they're the ones holding the line while those vile Democratic congressmen seek to have our soldiers walking around without guns, ammunition, and armor. Yet they've claimed that they will reach to the ends of the earth to give our soldiers their proper due, to ensure them that we're as committed to them as they are to us, and that they stand behind them 110 percent.

There is not even an argument about fiscal responsibility. There is only the claim that a few dollars here and a few dollars there to take care of our soldiers is simply far too much. If our soldiers are really fighting in Iraq to prevent terrorists from attacking us at home, as has been often claimed, then why not commit to provide for them all the benefits and care that defenders of this country deserve?

Or are they just props for political gain? Which is it?

The Democrats would be politically wise to use this to attack the administration with all its might. This combined with the scandal at Walter Reed and reports that VA hospitals are far from decent would only serve their cause in Congress. While it would be beyond reprehensible to use the soldiers as a political football, even on this point, they must do their best to ensure that this bill passes the Congress and forces President Bush to either sign it or veto it. And those in Congress that trip over themselves praising the troops on camera and in campaign literature yet fail to ensure that they are given pay raises only slightly above the rate of raises given to civilians and perhaps give an incentive to boost sluggish recruitment numbers must be called out for their vote against the troops.

This isn't an issue over whether to fund the war, bring the troops home, have them fight on, or anything of a partisan or divisive nature. This is simply about caring for those that stepped forward and volunteered to serve. Many of them have served two, three, four tours of duty and their families haven't seen much of them since 2003. It wouldn't be fair to deny them a slight compensation for those hardships and hopefully to help them keep their households in order.

As it stands now, the administration has voiced an opinion that can only be a slap in the face to our soldiers. This is not a bill for some expensive weapons system. This is for the people that provide us with the manpower needed for our defense. This pay raise must pass.

Given the administration's acceptance for thousands of pet projects, this shouldn't be a problem. If they're really concerned about pinching pennies, then surely a few Bridges to Nowhere could be spared.