Military Pay(passing on as requested)

[JPope]

Got This from my Son who while not serving over there this time is very familar with that area of the world!!!



On 12 November, Ms Cindy Williams (from the Laverne and Shirley TV show)

wrote a piece for the Washington Times denouncing the pay raise(s) coming service

members' way this year-citing that the stated 13% wage gap was bogus. A young

airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this!

Ms. Williams: I just had the pleasure of reading your column of 12 Nov, "Our GIs earn enough"

and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this gigantic overpayment is

going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The

Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest

leave and earnings statement (LES), I see that I make $1,117. 80, before taxes. After

taxes, I take home $874. 20. When I run that through Windows' Calculator, I come

up with an annual salary of $13,413. 60 before taxes, and $10,490. 40 after. I work in the Air Force Network Control Center (AFNCC), where I am part of the

team responsible for the administration of a 5,000-host computer network. I am

involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A

quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington, D. C. area

reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job.

Amazingly,

this job does NOT pay $13,413. 60 a year, nor does it pay less than this. No, this job

is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can draw the

obvious conclusions. Also, you tout increases to Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for

Subsistence (housing and food allowances, respectively) as being a further boon to

an already overcompensated force.

Again, I'm curious as to where this money has gone, as BAH and BAS were both

slashed 15% in the Hill AFB area effective in January 00. Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you have NEVER had the

pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon

yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to

get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off AFDC, WIC, and food

stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for

AFGHANISTAN, I leave the choice of service branch up to you. Whatever choice

you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest

possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full

"deployment experience. " As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to

note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take

care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends

meet while the primary breadwinner is gone-obviously they've been squandering the

vast piles of cash the DOD has been giving them. Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial

favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a DFP (Defensive Fire

Position, the modern-day foxhole), shivering against the cold desert night, and the

flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for

chow, remember this:

trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle

casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything, this gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough

or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you

present in your op-ed piece. But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death

your right to say it. You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment

rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister

soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective

nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that

would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the

private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And

you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve? Rubbish!

A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC

IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND SHOW

OUR SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN. THANK YOU. THIS LETTER

SHOULD BE APPLAUDED BY ANYONE WHO'S EVER SERVED OR HAD A FAMILY MEMBER

SERVE!



Hollywood Thoughts

With A1C Bragg response

Think He can Defend Himself::-{}

 

[GFoley]

Raise

This is for those like the original author that bellieve we are overpaid:



I am the First Sergeant in a Combat Support Military Police company. We defend everyone's right to speak their own mind and to do their own thing. I just wish a whole bunch of folks would wake up to what the Armed Forces of the United States do for them.

The part about deployments and MREs is dead on. Try serving MREs for Christmas dinner even if you do sit in a law chair in the back yard during a snow storm. It just isn't the same!

Hug em, thank em, give em every break you can. Our service members give more than many will ever know.

Have you ever had to notify their next of kin, or had to be the Casualty Assistance Officer, body escort?

Pick on someone else, not the men and women that protect the very freedoms you enjoy everyday without ever think about us!

 

[dalton4]

Foley, I understand your duties and what you are saying about our military members and the pay situation. I retired from the Air Force in 82 and was also a First Sergeant my last five years of service. Thanks to you and all the others in uniform.



Jerry

 

[thepitts]

Live from overseas

I hear them talking on CNN about the tailban member at Gitmo and how small there rooms are. Well they need to come and see the tent I am living in, my room is smaller than they are living in and there weather is better also.



MSG. Eric Pitts USAF Deployed