I'd be Onboard with this...

[mAlice]

GOP senator outlines $68 billion in defense cuts - Yahoo! News

Sounds like a good place to start.

[Monello]

We have to pay for all the entitlements somehow. After those cuts how about cutting the number of GS types in half. That should free up a whole lot of cash.

[mAlice]

Originally Posted by Monello

We have to pay for all the entitlements somehow. After those cuts how about cutting the number of GS types in half. That should free up a whole lot of cash.

Did you read the article?

[Dev]

Could cut billions by fixing DoDs asinine contracting policies.

[DoWhat (Premo)]

Beef jerky is da bomb.

[migtig]

I would have given them my beef jerky recipe for free.

[RPMDAD]

Originally Posted by mAlice

GOP senator outlines $68 billion in defense cuts - Yahoo! News

Sounds like a good place to start.

mAlice, i agree with most have some questions on others.

—Nonmilitary research, $6 billion. Agree 100%

—Education, $10.7 billion. In the reference of Military funded schools in the US Agree 100%

—Tuition assistance, $4.5 billion. If they are talking about tuition reimbursement to active military members, or veterans that are being reimbursed for college courses they are taking, then i am against this one. Most employers pay some kind of college cost reimbursements to their employees.

—Pentagon-run grocery stores, $9 billion. I think they are talking commissaries here, i think they are there to provide active military and retirees cheaper alternative to outside base supermarket chains, not sure how much of a savings they offer. It would be a savings but since i do not have access to them i defer this one to active military members and retirees that do use them

—More than 300,000 military members performing civilian jobs and numerous general officers, $37 billion. This one confuses me, is he talking about removing the military people performing these tasks and replacing them with civilian contractors, if so i don't see the savings here.

Coburn also said the Pentagon spent $700 million on alternative energy research that was duplicative or unnecessary. Agree 100%


The only problem with this whole article is per his comment at the bottom, he just spends it on weapons, thus no savings at all.

Article Title

GOP senator outlines $68 billion in defense cuts

Last sentence in the article.

The report argued that the money could be spent instead on lightweight machine guns for warfighters in Afghanistan.

[mAlice]

Originally Posted by RPMDAD

mAlice, i agree with most have some questions on others.

—Nonmilitary research, $6 billion. Agree 100%

—Education, $10.7 billion. In the reference of Military funded schools in the US Agree 100%

—Tuition assistance, $4.5 billion. If they are talking about tuition reimbursement to active military members, or veterans that are being reimbursed for college courses they are taking, then i am against this one. Most employers pay some kind of college cost reimbursements to their employees.

—Pentagon-run grocery stores, $9 billion. I think they are talking commissaries here, i think they are there to provide active military and retirees cheaper alternative to outside base supermarket chains, not sure how much of a savings they offer. It would be a savings but since i do not have access to them i defer this one to active military members and retirees that do use them

—More than 300,000 military members performing civilian jobs and numerous general officers, $37 billion. This one confuses me, is he talking about removing the military people performing these tasks and replacing them with civilian contractors, if so i don't see the savings here.

Coburn also said the Pentagon spent $700 million on alternative energy research that was duplicative or unnecessary. Agree 100%


The only problem with this whole article is per his comment at the bottom, he just spends it on weapons, thus no savings at all.

Article Title

GOP senator outlines $68 billion in defense cuts

Last sentence in the article.

The report argued that the money could be spent instead on lightweight machine guns for warfighters in Afghanistan.

I don't agree 100%, but what really stood out for me were the DoD schools in CONUS. But we need them when we take our families overseas.

[RPMDAD]

Originally Posted by mAlice

I don't agree 100%, but what really stood out for me were the DoD schools in CONUS. But we need them when we take our families overseas.

Agree mAlice, with CONUS. Military brat here attended an American school when my father was stationed in Greece for 3 years. I see a need for it overseas, but not here in the USA. I was surprised to see Dahlgren still had schools on base.

[Lurk]

Originally Posted by RPMDAD

—Pentagon-run grocery stores, $9 billion. I think they are talking commissaries here, i think they are there to provide active military and retirees cheaper alternative to outside base supermarket chains, not sure how much of a savings they offer. It would be a savings but since i do not have access to them i defer this one to active military members and retirees that do use them

Commissaries and Exchanges are paid for by the military members, their families and authorized personnel themselves. The only money the Federal government pays is a loan to construct the buildings and equipment to open them. Once the exchange/commissary begins business, the cost of construction (I believe) is paid back over time (without interest). In effect, the military personnel themselves pay for the commissaries (grocery stories) and exchanges (department stores if you will). I don't know where Coburn gets his information but it is obviously not based on experience in the military.

—Tuition assistance, $4.5 billion. If they are talking about tuition reimbursement to active military members, or veterans that are being reimbursed for college courses they are taking, then i am against this one. Most employers pay some kind of college cost reimbursements to their employees.

Over half the doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists who enter the armed forces do so through scholarships to go to professional college to get their training.