One reason:

Another (and remember the speed at which the PLA is acquiring new technology and production capacity):

'


Why? Because fighter planes are sexy. People watch Top Gun and go 'ooh!', whereas they watch Black Hawk Down and go 'oh, shit!'.

That's one factor. Another is that soldiers can't/don't lobby nearly so well as the defense contractors. You tell a legislator, 'hey, vote for my new F-69 invisostealth automagic fighterplane!' and they think, 'hey, maybe I can get part of it built in my district'. You ask a legislator, 'hey, can you up the training budget for bullets?' and they think, 'god, this again? they wanted bullets -last- year, too!'

While some reports indicate that China could establish military parity with the US in the next 50 years, both China and the US are nuclear powers- would they actually engage in conventional warfare?
If China and the US were to engage in war, would it not be proxy war as in the USSR/US engagements? In these wars, Special Forces proved themselves invaluable.

Again, genuine questions. I'm looking to be educated here, not to make points.

Thank you,

Solid

Pro pay for SOF soldiers?

For those of you that have not yet retired and are contemplating it in the near future::"GET READY!". Your phone is about to ring off the hook. You will not have to worry about finding companies they will find you. Many will find you because folks currently working for these organizations are folks that know you and because they know you they can sort of waive whatever vetting process they would otherwise require. This has a good side and a bad side based on who you are and who it is that thinks they know you or about you. Right after I retired I had no less than one phone call a month offering me "good deals" based on my "unique skill sets". Things have slowed down now because I have made it clear what my criteria was for taking any of these "good deals" but they still find me, even in the woods up here in Vermont. Being old and physically broken the things I took were little things stateside and the going wage was for those minor gigs was $72 bucks per hour plus expenses, travel, lodging,etc. What really amazed me was that the things that I was doing were things that should have been done by folks on AD and when I asked the folks why they were bringing some of us FOGs back to do this stuff the answer was that they just did not have the expetise in house or available because they were stretched so thin. I do not see this getting any better soon.

Jack Moroney

RL - both of those are fine examples of fighters, but having a good airplane is slightly different from having a good plane with an excellent pilot, (witness the MIG15 vs F86).

You still can't call it a win until some 18 to 45 year old soldier can sit on the real estate and drink a Coke without getting shot at.

Just a note on tax exempt status. . .I'm attempting to get an OCONUS position and was informed that in order to get tax exempt status you had to spend 335 consecutive days OCONUS and the exemption was on 80% of the pay.

For $131K, I'll re-enlist..

LOL, ditto.

At 20 years I was making roughly 40K a year. (before taxes)

The current pay for an E-8 is $3625 a month. How you equate that with 131K is beyond me.


TS

(131K a year.... you getting high on your own drugs?)

Already get bonuses for some ranks and MOSes, and monthly incentive pays for SF Enlisted before and after 20 years.

This is causing problems recruiting warrants, and even officers are leaving earlier, so the pays or bonuses may be extended to them.

Still will not be enough to compete with the contractors.

I did have a lady stop me in a Wal-Mart parking lot and tell me thanks for my service. That means more than you might think.

TR

I suspect that if the press didn't make SF out to be the bad boys of the battlefield and portrayed them as they really are, you would get a lot more of that.

Just in the few SF men I've known and the QPs on this board, I've seen that they are just like everyone else, caring, kind, humorous, and dedicated to their profession. If I could I'd give everyone of you a raise.

And thanks for your service and dedication to the country. I know the pay ain't great but we all appreciate all of ya'lls service, past, present and future.

Um, my understanding is that they also are the bad boys of the battlefield. Bad in a kick-ass way, not the literal one. Of couse, this is just based on what I've read. LOL

YES it does. i allmost broke down and cried when a door man at a bar said it to me. i now do private contracting and i liked the army better. and i still miss it, but this job lets me do what i love, and the pay isent so bad.

This discussion hits at the heart of our current problem. Is it more pay versus new fighters? What about battleships and bombers? The price tag on those bad boys are pretty steep.

However, it seems like we could solve part of the problem by having a draft. Not like in the 70's, but something different. You either join one of three groups(depending on your political/religious persuasion):

military;
Peace corp;
Some WPA like organization for building bridges, etc.

The bottom line is that you contribute your services and life for the your country for two or three years minimun. You actually comitt a selfless act. I know most of the hip hop idiots I see running around could use the discipline. It would make them better citizens in the long run.

This would provide more folks so we wouldn't have to use pmc's.

What about a program like they had in the English Navy? You capture $7 million in cash and your group splits a portion in prise money. Your Company grabs a large cache of weapons, everyone splits a $20K. etc. For England and for the Prize!

Hey doc, as a former bean counter, nice try. I was waiting for the statement of changes in capital to be attached.

As far as I know, that kind of setup was exclusive to Privateers, England's 18th century version of contractors. :p

Incidentally, I think everyone in the military should be paid more than they earn now. Once you factor in concepts like over-time, and shift differentials their hourly wage is not competitive. Not to mention the personal sacrifices. IMHO

BTW Thanks to all who served. I hope to join you guys and one day celebrate Veterans Day as (dare I say) "our" holiday.

Respectfully,
Aric