Top military chiefs: Cut pay and benefits

[MADem]

40. It is a sad fact that the places they make the cuts affect the lower/mid pay grades more than the

senior ones.

To be clear, though, it's not the MILITARY doing this. If the military had their way, and an unlimited budget, they would pay everyone VERY well and demand the highest level of professionalism from them. That said, they have to cut the cloth according to the measure that is doled out by Congress.

Military submits a budget, Congress approves it. All appropriations for the military start with the House Armed Services Committee, a crew of insufferable jerks whose asses must be kissed if you're within 20 yards of any of them--or else. They're the ones who decide how much people will get paid, not the military. They don't always follow the military's requests, either.

The Senate gets to approve commissioned promotion lists. Years ago, I was on a promotion list and someone in the Senate was pissed at someone else in the Senate, so my promotion got held up for several weeks while they pissed and moaned at each other. Many people suffered because a few fat cats couldn't get along. That kind of thing is not unheard of, unfortunately.