Cuts, Cuts, and More Cuts

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel 
(original photo from military.com - linked below)

I just read the article "Hagel Can't Offer Hope in Budget Cuts" from military.com and it's full of the same depressing news that I've been hearing for a long time. Congress can't get their act together and pass a balanced budget. He stated that the furloughs "which have forced a 20 percent pay cut on most of the military's civilian workforce, probably will continue next year and might worsen!"

I am now dealing with this on a weekly basis. There are a lot of areas on post that are just closed or have reduced staff certain days of the week. The job they need to do doesn't go away, so it just gets backed up. Now these civilians have a 20% pay cut and a bigger workload. It doesn't just cause them problems, but it causes problems for the soldiers as well. Now places can be busier than ever because of the shorter hours and soldiers have less time to access these services. My mother-in-law now has to deal with a paycheck that is 20% smaller...and that's not an easy thing to do. In addition to the financial pain and the longer wait times, it's causing pretty low moral from everyone affected.

The whole thing just sucks! You know who it doesn't suck for? Congress...they don't have their pay reduced by 20%, they don't have to deal with any of the issues they are causing. This is some pretty disappointing news. Of course the military budget has to be cut, we are finishing up two wars and we are downsizing...but there has to be a better way.

**Update** It's Friday here on Ft. Lewis and at some places it seems like a ghost town. Waller Hall where everyone processes in and out usually has a full parking lot, today there are open spaces everywhere you look. This isn't the only place like this on post, these furloughs are affecting the ability of the soldiers stationed here...everything has to be put off until later.