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Not a popular opinion to be sure, but it is a reality, the military is one of the best job opportunities out there for many, bar none. If it weren't so, they wouldn't have so many people trying to join. Even with the cuts, my bet is military benefits and job security will still be head and shoulders above equivalent civilian positions.
Really now? How come the Army and Marines have had difficulty making their recruiting goals all but 2 out of the last 10 years? How come they have had to lower the standards so much in order to make their goals, with all those people chomping at the bit to join up? How come they have had to give so many waivers to allow those mid-level soldiers and officers with red flags, such as DUIs, spouse abuse, abuse, positive pee tests, over weight, and what forth, to stay in? How come they still have to give sign-up bonuses to even make their retention goals? Where are all those people trying to join? The drawdown will fix that issue for a time period - so that is one good thing.
Since it is such a great deal, matter of fact one of the best job opportunities out there, should I PM you the number of a recruiter?
Really now? How come the Army and Marines have had difficulty making their recruiting goals all but 2 out of the last 10 years? How come they have had to lower the standards so much in order to make their goals, with all those people chomping at the bit to join up? How come they have had to give so many waivers to allow those mid-level soldiers and officers with red flags, such as DUIs, spouse abuse, abuse, positive pee tests, over weight, and what forth, to stay in? How come they still have to give sign-up bonuses to even make their retention goals? Where are all those people trying to join? The drawdown will fix that issue for a time period - so that is one good thing.
Since it is such a great deal, matter of fact one of the best job opportunities out there, should I PM you the number of a recruiter?
None of those things have been happening lately. In fact, the Navy and Marine Corps has been reducing the force pretty heavily.
There is no one that sticks around after a positive drug test in Today's military.
Again if you read the latest report on military compensation you will find that the enlisted salary is in the 90th %ile and the officer salary is in the 83rd %ile as compared to their civilian counterparts. The only portion of the military that is paid on par with their civilian counterparts are those with professional degrees. This group of Doctors, Lawyers, and graduate nurses fall into the 47th %ile as compared to their civilian conunterparts.
There are a few select career fields outside of these that are also thought to be underpaid as compared to civilians (nukes, interpreters, pilots, and special forces (as compared to contractors in the last example)), but the vast majority of the military is overly compensated for what they do.
Lower the base pays (or don't raise them), and increase the deployed pay relative to actual threat.
Set a tax credit for deployment instead of making it tax free, so that your higher paid, and lower casualty rate, service members don't get a greater benefit than the guys doing the hard work.
Close down the commissary, sure it makes life easy for me as I don't have to shop around for deals, but Christ an E4 over 4 with a family of 3 actually gets a huge tax break and if they just had a little responsibility could live very comfortably, eat very well, have plenty of room in the budget for fun, drive a new car, have the latest in cell phones, get a decent fun budget and still save $500 or so a month.
Yes, let's control costs. The day of the underpaid service member is over for the bulk of the force, and for those few fields that are still under paid (the Docs and others that get bonuses to minimize the disparity in pay) compared to their civilian counterparts, they are still getting a very good wage.
^I do think its funny that we pay a doctor about an average pay, but his medical tech gets paid in the top 10% for their peer group.
Again if you read the latest report on military compensation you will find that the enlisted salary is in the 90th %ile and the officer salary is in the 83rd %ile as compared to their civilian counterparts. The only portion of the military that is paid on par with their civilian counterparts are those with professional degrees. This group of Doctors, Lawyers, and graduate nurses fall into the 47th %ile as compared to their civilian conunterparts.
There are a few select career fields outside of these that are also thought to be underpaid as compared to civilians (nukes, interpreters, pilots, and special forces (as compared to contractors in the last example)), but the vast majority of the military is overly compensated for what they do.
Lower the base pays (or don't raise them), and increase the deployed pay relative to actual threat.
Set a tax credit for deployment instead of making it tax free, so that your higher paid, and lower casualty rate, service members don't get a greater benefit than the guys doing the hard work.
Close down the commissary, sure it makes life easy for me as I don't have to shop around for deals, but Christ an E4 over 4 with a family of 3 actually gets a huge tax break and if they just had a little responsibility could live very comfortably, eat very well, have plenty of room in the budget for fun, drive a new car, have the latest in cell phones, get a decent fun budget and still save $500 or so a month.
Yes, let's control costs. The day of the underpaid service member is over for the bulk of the force, and for those few fields that are still under paid (the Docs and others that get bonuses to minimize the disparity in pay) compared to their civilian counterparts, they are still getting a very good wage.
^I do think its funny that we pay a doctor about an average pay, but his medical tech gets paid in the top 10% for their peer group.
Can't really argue with this post. Pretty balanced stuff.
This won't be a popular opinion, but military benefits have grown out of whack to what is going on in the civilian sector.
Our service members are important and valuable, but so are the other millions of people who work hard to make our country run.
Well guess what, those millions of civilians have had their healthcare and benefits slashed to the bare bones over the past decade, while military pay and benefits have exploded.
Compare private health insurance premiums to Tricare, almost 10:1 ratio on cost. If you stay in the military, a better retirement and pension than 99% of jobs available today, especially for the education requirements. Are there risks? Yes, but if you look at deaths and injuries, there are MANY occupations where you are far more likely to be injured or killed than in today's military.
Also, Vets get hiring preference in virtually every job market, especially in secure government hiring. But even in the private sector, "hire a hero", "veteran's preference programs", etc etc give vets privileged access to a scarce number of jobs. Today's civilian job market is tough for everyone, but Vets have a huge advantage over the average job seeker.
You can't expect your neighbor to keep paying your benefits, giving you endless deference, while their personal security, job benefits and options have been slashed to zero, their security is nil, their retirement is non existent. There just won't be the sympathy and support there.
Not a popular opinion to be sure, but it is a reality, the military is one of the best job opportunities out there for many, bar none. If it weren't so, they wouldn't have so many people trying to join. Even with the cuts, my bet is military benefits and job security will still be head and shoulders above equivalent civilian positions.
I don't begrudge vets their benefits, but its time to inject some perspective here, remember, those benefits are on the backs on civilian workers who are watching their grasp on the middle class vanish.
military pay and benefits are still way BEHIND the civilian sector
This won't be a popular opinion, but military benefits have grown out of whack to what is going on in the civilian sector.
Our service members are important and valuable, but so are the other millions of people who work hard to make our country run.
Well guess what, those millions of civilians have had their healthcare and benefits slashed to the bare bones over the past decade, while military pay and benefits have exploded.
Compare private health insurance premiums to Tricare, almost 10:1 ratio on cost. If you stay in the military, a better retirement and pension than 99% of jobs available today, especially for the education requirements. Are there risks? Yes, but if you look at deaths and injuries, there are MANY occupations where you are far more likely to be injured or killed than in today's military.
Also, Vets get hiring preference in virtually every job market, especially in secure government hiring. But even in the private sector, "hire a hero", "veteran's preference programs", etc etc give vets privileged access to a scarce number of jobs. Today's civilian job market is tough for everyone, but Vets have a huge advantage over the average job seeker.
You can't expect your neighbor to keep paying your benefits, giving you endless deference, while their personal security, job benefits and options have been slashed to zero, their security is nil, their retirement is non existent. There just won't be the sympathy and support there.
Not a popular opinion to be sure, but it is a reality, the military is one of the best job opportunities out there for many, bar none. If it weren't so, they wouldn't have so many people trying to join. Even with the cuts, my bet is military benefits and job security will still be head and shoulders above equivalent civilian positions.
I don't begrudge vets their benefits, but its time to inject some perspective here, remember, those benefits are on the backs on civilian workers who are watching their grasp on the middle class vanish.
If one examines history is that during times of low or no conflict/national threat the military is fairly ignored and left to deteriorate in both personnel and equipment. But, during times of conflict such as Iraq and Afghanistan our civilian leadership approves large increases in pay and benefits to assuage their guilt for sending military folks in harms way. Eventually all conflicts end in some fashion and then the desire to reduce military budgets raises its head to the forefront once more and promises are broken.
This chart from the Council of Economic Advisers shows that the unemployment rate for recent veterans remains incredibly high — around 10 percent — and remains noticeably higher than it is for non-veterans in the same demographic group
"hire a hero" might be a slogan, but do Heroes (veterans) really get the job?
Why is unemployment for recent vets so high? Three recent reports tried to take stock of the situation facing "Gulf War II veterans." Here are a couple of additional factors, in no particular order:
1) Disability: Disability rates are much higher among veterans, and that can make a difference for their job prospects. In 2011, some 28 percent of all Gulf War II veterans reported a disability related to their time in the armed service — and those vets face a jobless rate of 12.5 percent. (The rate for recent veterans without disabilities stood at 8 percent, though it's not clear if this difference is statistically significant.)
Similarly, a 2011 Pew survey found that 44 percent of veterans who served since 9/11 were having trouble adjusting to civilian life. That was particularly true for those who suffered serious injury or endured an emotionally traumatic experience during their service.
I suspect that there might be some disability benefit abuse cases, but most veterans who receive the disability benefits really deserve it. Just because somebody appear to be healthy, doesn't mean they really are. You also need to take into consideration that military service people are a group of very unique proud people, some of them don't like to appear to be a "victim". So they might very well kept their disabilities hidden. too proud.
A poster posted earlier that "Why so many disabled veterans, just take an aspirin." It is pretty ignorant and irresponsible making such comment in my most humble opinion. We civilians don't know what veterans have been through, we have no rights to judge them or question them.
2) Lack of civilian work experience: Returning veterans have plenty of traits that should make them attractive to employers: discipline, leadership, and even specific training in areas like health care or information technology. But they also typically have less civilian work experience. And for many companies, that makes a big difference — when the economy is weak, employers are less likely to take risks when hiring.
It's worth observing that veterans who served in the Reserve or the National Guard had a lower unemployment rate (around 7.2 percent) than those in the rest of the armed forces — possibly because they have more opportunities to pick up civilian work experience.
3) Obstacles for veterans making the transition: There are quite a few government programs to help military veterans transition back to civilian life. They include the GI Bill, training assistance, disability aid, and a tax credit for private employers who hire veterans that Congress enacted back in 2011. (Here's the full array of federal programs.)
Veterans face very UNIQUE challenges in job market.and the issue is the driving force behind a proposal for a veterans job training facility.
Young troops, he said, are frequently told their military experience will make them attractive to civilian employers, and they end up taking that for granted without getting the education and training they need to make the transition.
“You can’t expect them to go from kicking in doors to being qualified for civilian jobs,” he said. “They do need training.”
You can't expect your neighbor to keep paying your benefits, giving you endless deference, while their personal security, job benefits and options have been slashed to zero, their security is nil, their retirement is non existent. There just won't be the sympathy and support there.
Taxes. In general, unless earned in a designated combat zone, all military *PAY* items are taxable. Military *allowances* (such as housing allowance [BAH], overseas housing allowance [OHA], family separation allowance [FSA], basic allowance for substinance [BAS]), are not taxable by either the Federal or State Governments. Different states have different rules for taxing military pay. The governing directive is the Defense Pay Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 44.
They pay taxes just like you and I do. Oh forgot to add they (veterans) work and they work HARD, damn HARD. Some civilians don't work still get pretty damn good welfare.
Make military service unaccompanied as it used to be. That alone will save untold billions.
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