Category: Military issues

Paul sends us a link to Breitbart which carries an opinion piece by Julia Pollak, who is a serving Navy reservist. But she addresses the military sexual assault discussion that Congress is currently having about taking the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) out of the hands of commanders. This piece is so good, I’ll try not to C&P the whole thing;

When I joined the U.S. military in January 2011, a family member asked me: “Aren’t you worried about being raped?” And she wasn’t the only one. Many people cautioned me that I would be entering an institution synonymous with machismo, authoritarianism, and violence.

What I found instead was very different: professionalism, respect, and a strong presence of women in the highest ranks. I also found the most transparent, aggressive, and in-your-face Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program I had ever witnessed.

At bases in Great Lakes, Pensacola, and San Diego, I have received regular and frequent sexual assault prevention training. There have been posters with information about how to report sexual assault in every workspace and bathroom. And forms for reporting sexual assault have been prominently displayed.

Trained male and female Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) and SAPR Victim Advocates (VAs) have made it a point of introducing themselves, sharing their phone numbers, and making themselves available to their fellow sailors. Chaplains and health care providers have similarly signaled their readiness to help.

What Ms. Pollak is saying and what I’ve been saying is not that sexual assault doesn’t happen, or that it’s not a problem, but that the military is not not doing anything about it. Education and repetitive training isn’t always the answer to all problems, though. Drunk driving has been frowned upon in the military for the last thirty years, but the troops still get arrested for it, don’t they?

Using the old hammers seeing nails everywhere analogy, when you’re in Congress, every problem has a legislative answer, whether it will help or not. In this case, Congress is undermining good order and discipline in the military by thinking that they legislate justice. It’s unnecessary and ill-considered. And even if they do, it won’t change people’s nature. It will still happen. And, worse, innocent people might be punished for things they didn’t do.

But you should read Ms. Pollak’s whole article – she does a much better job on the subject than me.

Andy sends us a link from BBC which reports that three female Royal Air Force recruits were compensated by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) because they were required to march at an exaggerated (for them) pace in order to keep up with the men;

They claimed parading alongside taller male recruits caused them to over-stride and develop spinal and pelvic injuries, the Mail on Sunday reported.

It is understood they will receive £100,000 from the MoD.

The MoD said the RAF had now reviewed its recruit training practices to mitigate against the risk.

The women told the Mail on Sunday they had extended their strides to 30in (76cm) over several weeks while undergoing basic training.

RAF official policy now states female recruits should not be expected to extend the length of their strides beyond 27in (69cm).

The paper reported that lawyers for one of the recruits claimed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had accused the three of exaggerating their symptoms during the five-year legal battle.

As well as marching in step with male colleagues at RAF Halton, in Buckinghamshire, the recruits claimed that carrying the same heavy packs as males had also contributed to their injuries, the paper reported.

Yeah, so you know what I’m thinking right now, so I really don’t have to do anything but leave this right here.

Chief Tango and ohio send us a link from the Military Times which speculates on whether the Department of Defense plans to close it’s commissaries, the supermarket for the troops. Apparently DoD has asked the Defense Commissary Agency to submit a plan for closure of all of their stores in the United States, to execute in 2015;

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meeting was held within the last few weeks and was part of preparations for the fiscal 2015 DoD budget request that is due out on February.

That DeCA has been asked to prepare such a draft plan does not mean commissaries would close anytime soon. Even if such a plan was included in the defense budget request for fiscal 2015 — almost a year away — it would have to be approved by Congress, where many lawmakers would oppose it.

The Military Coalition, comprised of more than 30 military and veterans advocacy groups sharing a common agenda, also would fiercely oppose such a plan.

I get the feeling that this is nothing more than the pain-redistribution stuff we saw during the government shut-down more than it being a cost-cutting measure.

DeCA receives nearly $1.4 billion in annual taxpayer subsidies. It has reduced its annual funding requirement by $700 million over the last 20 years, said DeCA Director Joseph Jeu.

Jeu said DeCA is constantly looking for ways to save money, but added that the agency has no more “low-hanging fruit” to cut.

But Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., an Army reservist, said other proposals under consideration include raising the commissary surcharge to 10 percent from the current 5 percent; raising prices by 2 percent to 3 percent to pay for shipping products to overseas stores; and creating an “enhanced” commissary that would sell other products at higher markups.

I’ve written before on issues with the management and command of our strategic nuclear forces here.  And here.  And here.

It’s not an issue that showed up yesterday, either.  Jonn wrote about the fallout from similar problems 5+ years ago.  And another TAH contributor, Old Tanker, has written about it again here recently as well.

Yeah, it looks as if there really are some serious and continuing issues in DoD’s “Nuclear Kingdom”.  This Military Times article has additional details.  IMO it’s worth reading.

My “gut feel” is that this really is a serious problem.  And IMO, it’s one problem DoD really does need to fix pronto.

The last thing we need is a stolen or lost nuke.

AL.com reports that teh Air Force is still having trouble keeping pilots in uniform even with a $225,000 bonus for signing on for nine more years;

In June, the Air Force said it would give $225,000 signing bonuses for military aviators that commit to an additional nine-year flying fighter jets. The bonus would be paid in a lump-sum of $112,500 with the rest being paid out over the remaining nine years of the contract.

The bonus offer was a $100,000 increase from the existing amount that required a five-year commitment. Salary ranges for the job would remain the same – anywhere from $34,500 to $97,400 a year.

The Air Force was hoping to land more than 150 veteran military aviators to commit to the nine years in an effort to overcome growing deficit of fighter pilots.

That hasn’t happened, however. The Air Force won’t say how many pilots have applied for the bonus by the Oct. 31 deadline but conceded the number was small. Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning said a reduction in flying hours due to budget cuts is to blame for the lack of interest.

Yeah, it’s sequestration that did it – and maybe watching the Pentagon pick apart retirees’ benefits and squabble about retirement packages. And that’s pilots with huge bonuses – imagine what will happen to the rest of the career fields – the force will hemorrhage experience. The Pentagon is doing what the Taliban couldn’t.