According to what I have been reading there is a downsizing taking place in our Navy, and I believe, the other services ,also. This is very upsetting because it puts the United Stat es in an inferior position militarily speaking. Since I worked several years for the Dept. of Defence I am aware of terrific savings that can be realized by cutting out MUCH waste, duplication, etc. However, the reductions must be done by HIGHLY qualified, experienced individuals. I could tell you some stories that would "curl your toes"!!!! Some of the most inept, dumb, unqualified people work for the Government. I doubt whether that will EVER change. Private businesses would quickly FIRE many persons I have dealt with in Government work. It is very costly and dangerous to have such employees. AND...I really don't believe it makes ANY difference what political party controls the White House. The problem is so HUGE that it may NEVER be changed. It is due mainly to HUMAN NATURE and weak indecisive people in positions of authority. The entire system is too unwieldy, full of regulations that are EXTREMELY difficult to change, and it is almost impossible to fire anyone regardless of how poor an employee they are. (Similar to firing a school teacher). I finally resigned my position and decided that it was impossible to"fight the system" without a LOT of help. If I sound like my civilian experience with the government made me "bitter"...it DID. Anyone else with similar Government experience??? Sorry about that. BUT I am NEVER "bitter" about my country! God Bless America and the Republic we live in!!! Roy Brown
Re: US Navy
Posted by Francis Kent on October 17, 2011, 2:26 pm, in reply to "US Navy"
You're preaching to the choir, Roy. I don't, and can't, find fault with any part of what you say. By now the problem may well be past fixing. Even a modest start toward getting rid of excess personnel would swell the unemployment rolls and the bill for welfare assistance to an impossible level. Be grateful that, as old as we are, we won't be around for the denouement.
Re: US Navy
Posted by Mike on October 17, 2011, 5:40 pm, in reply to "Re: US Navy"
Hello Roy, You are correct about the Navy downsizing, in part. My son is active duty Navy today stationed in Guam for the last three years. There seems to be three things that are happening.
1. The overall budget is smaller which means make due with less. Less ships, subs, planes, and bases equals less people to operate them. Some of this might be Fat from better economic times that could be trimmed. Lets hope they don't trim the Muscle.
2. I read that the Navy works best with a 50% retainage rate. Half leaving after first hitch. Half leaving after second hitch and so on. This leaves the right amount and experience to maintain the Rates/Ranks. The current retainage rate is 72%. Guys that would have normally left on their own are not seeing civilian jobs to go into and are choosing to stay active duty. This means guys that have 7+ years in the Navy and have not advanced will be let go (downsized).
3. Many Navy jobs are becoming civilain jobs. My son is a Personell Specialist (PS). This is the combined job of the old Personellman (PN) and Disbursing Clerk (DK). His (PS) Rate has almost a 0% retainage as the work is being done by civilians. Same for other Rates. So the "Navy" is shrinking and the civilain jobs have gone up. The civilains actually get paid much more. So , good if you happen to have one of those civilain jobs. Bad if your paying your taxes because if it comes out of the Military budget or some other Civilain budget (contract) it is still coming out of your pocket at a higher cost.
Re: US Navy
Posted by john on October 21, 2011, 9:54 am, in reply to "Re: US Navy"
It is very alaming that our military is down sizing as the world becomes more unstable and China continues to arm off of our dollars. I love my country but fear my government becomes truer and truer with each passing day under the current administration
