2009 Military Basic Pay
Monday February 11, 2008
The Bush administration has released their 2009 Defense Budget Request. In this annual submission to Congress, the administration is seeking an across-the-board raise of 3.4 percent in basic pay for military personnel, over 2008 basic pay rates. Assuming Congress approves this plan, here are the charts for 2009 military basic pay.
Comments
I am of the opinion that it should be lowered for military members. In a perfect world someone with much more psychlogical know-how than I have would make a “maturity test” and use that to judge who is an “adult” and who is not. But we don’t have that luxury. I have been in the Air Force for over 10 years so far as Security Forces (Security Police before that). I feel I am well qualified to pass a judgement on this issue. I have seen E-1s to E-9s get busted for DUI/DWI. The Air Force stats are somewhat inflated against the younger crowd. number one, there is no tolerance for BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) for underage people, so getting a BAC of .01 will get you busted. In addition to that, I have personally seen the higher ranking people get away with it, because they are buddies or went to “school” with a cop. I have seen officers get away with it because “one little mark kills an officer’s career.” Well frankly, it should, they are held to a higher standard than enlisted personnel. I have heard the excuse, especially in the case on pilots, that the Air Force has too much money invested in them to kick them out. Good, then fine them, and make it hurt, I bet they won’t do it again. If they do then boot them, we don’t need that kind of behavior in the military anyway. Also a big reason for the DUI and DWI problem is that we are reactive towards the alcohol problem, when we need to be proactive. Number one, stop having promotion parties, well as a party. Stop having the different school and course graduations at the NCO Club. In Germany they had a commercial with the following saying, “DUIs aren’t a drinking problem, they are a transportation problem.” What does that say to our troops? DUIs are a responsibility problem. As a soceity in general we need to educate people on the dangers of alcohol and alcoholism. Be real about it. Screw “Political Correctness.” Show a mangled car or an obituary or whatever it takes to scare the crap out of people. Forget the, it costs $XX.XX a year to whoever. Show how many kids or parents are out there without their loved ones because of alcohol. I don’t want it to scare my kids… It should scare them, because just like most things taken to excess or extremes, it is dangerous. And hold people accountable. IF you kill someone because you were drinking, DUI or DWI treat it like a murder case. Your dumb behind willingly went out and got drunk, then you willingly got your butt in your car and drove it. In the Air Force the rules say the Air Force won’t pay for injuries or your death gratuity if you were killed while drunk. Do it. I have never seen the Air Force not pay for either one. Charge a member if they break a leg while DUI, or if they fall and knock out a tooth. I am getting tired of the PC garbage in the military, it is the military people, not the civilian world. It is also not a democracy. Now that I am done with my rant… Just be smart, have a plan, and then have two back-ups, because plans can always fail. If you are so irresponsible that you can’t do it, then you shouldn’t be drinking anyway.
What the hell does that have to do with pay for military members? Try to stay on topic, jerk.
DUI/DWI’s happen in the civilian world all the time. That has nothing to do with pay! Some people regardless of their job will always be an idiot and make bad decisions. So pretty much because in your “experience” soldiers make dumb mistakes and mispend their money those family members, like me shall suffer? Have you tried to be married and have children with the money we make? Give me a break.
Seriously Gary? Did you just really say all of that without really saying anything? Do you realize what Air Force career field has the most drug and alcohol related incidences? I’ll give you three guess and the first two don’t count. Security Forces!! Yep, that is correct. So instead of saying that the military as a whole are getting paid too much because some troops that can’t score higher than a 50 on their ASVAB get DUI/DWI’s constantly; why not address this problem the proper way, through proper channels? There are those in the military that we call ground pounders. Infantry Gary! You can’t pay these guys enough to do what they do when on patrol, clearing buildings, moving wedge formation down an alley…there lives in jeopordy CONSTANTLY while outside “the wire”. Then there are those that have the jobs that could pay six figures on the outside world but they choose to do it in the military instead. You know, maybe your problem is that you think cops get paid too much? You think that you make too much to police your own? Maybe, maybe not
Gary…maybe you should go and seek some substance abuse councelling. With a post like yours saying that the brave men and women serving this country dont deserve a raise (and pay should be lowered), it really makes me think that you’re smoking something you really shouldn’t be. If anybody needs a pay cut, it should be the members of congress.