Congress report says military paid more than civilians... BS!!!

If you want to compare military pay to civilian pay, let's compare apples to apples, ok?

What does Blackwater, sorry, Xe, pay again?

Why is it that those who scream the loudest about "supporting the troops" are always wanting to cut their pay and benefits?

Oh, yeah, I remember...our (speaking as a vet) services are "priceless", so they don't want to sully the glory with dirty, meaningless money....so they'll keep the money for us and let us die, be maimed, and shattered for the glory and warm fuzzies while they toast us with champagne they refuse to share.

Isn't that what you're saying mnemeth?

I met guys like you in service...in it for the school ride and/or getting their political ticket punched while avoiding true service and risk...useless baggage, every one of them.

Originally posted by apacheman
If you want to compare military pay to civilian pay, let's compare apples to apples, ok?

What does Blackwater, sorry, Xe, pay again?

I met guys like you in service...in it for the school ride and/or getting their political ticket punched while avoiding true service and risk...useless baggage, every one of them.

While we can't trace down current payscale as I'm sure they are sworn to secrecey as part of their contract. We can trace the pay through some past good journalism. According to PBS

By all accounts, Scott Helvenston, who joined Blackwater in March 2004, was well prepared for security work. He had been a Navy SEAL instructor and was a world class athlete. But he was in debt and Blackwater's pay -- about $600 a day -- was a chief reason for signing on for a two-month contract. He told a friend he expected to be guarding Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. But he never met Bremer. Blackwater had a new contract with a catering company, ESS, and they were scrambling to find new guards.

PBS: frontline: private warriors

600/day = 216,000/year. There is no mention but I am sure he also got BAH, Dagerous deployment, all meals etc... just like the E5 who's paycheck including these things is 50K... so the contract was probaly worth more than 250k... there is no comparison and no way they are over paid!!!

So those crying foul... [self-censored angry outburst, it is not the people here on ATS I am furious with]

A file-clerk government worker or Mid level management private sector in NO WAY equates to a soldier who WILL BE deployed!

Ya this congress report just shows how out of touch they are to us..

Dont worry Military people I got your back..(not like it matters but..)

I recently was in an area where Haliburton has a building.. I saw some guy in thier gear at the convience store and I really couldnt help to just say real loud F**CKIN HALIBURTON!! he looks at me wit some odd stare Then I state again so no like you dont know that you are getting paid in blood money eh? And walked away..

I didnt pursue it because its like screaming at some cashier at mcdonalds for serving crap food to you.. I might have made him think but seriously doubt it.

Been with the military since 1981. 30 friggin years. In 1981 I was making 440.00 a month. Now my wife and I have regular "dinners" at our home. We invite everyone. My wife makes enough food for a battalion, and makes everyone take home leftovers. That's how we feed the families.

SOB's in DC should just switch their pay for a soldiers pay for a year. See if they can have their parties then.

Sorry sore damned subject for me.

Originally posted by beezzer
Been with the military since 1981. 30 friggin years. In 1981 I was making 440.00 a month. Now my wife and I have regular "dinners" at our home. We invite everyone. My wife makes enough food for a battalion, and makes everyone take home leftovers. That's how we feed the families.

SOB's in DC should just switch their pay for a soldiers pay for a year. See if they can have their parties then.

Sorry sore damned subject for me.

I'm having to delete half the things I type or more. I am so [snip]ing mad that I can hardly post to this thread.

There lots of fellow soldiers/airmen/marines etc out there who are like me, home with shattered minds and bodies as disabled vets. Your body does not turn off the fight/flight when you get back. I can hardly stand to hear those that have no idea what it's like to not be able to sleep, walk through this make-believe society we live in and want to yell and shake every person that thinks this is real. Your mind can not get rid of the things you've seen and done. America is so isolated it has no idea what the world is like, most are babies pretending to be adults because they can hold a job and balance a checkbook. When it comes to real survival these things are useless. And then people who have been in who want to blame our fellow soldiers for this crap. It is the damn traitors in office, not the soldiers you need to be upset with.

All you that want to blame the military better realize they are your best friends. If it weren't for them and people like me who are trained that keep TPTB scarred to act. That is why every vet is INSTANTLY put on the watch list. If you didn't know, it it is true. It was released in a MO document.

I'm sorry if this post is offensive, I've edited it to death to take out the more offensive comments. Most of you really have no idea what the world is really like, you are so insulated by our society. Quit blaming those that would protect you so you can be insulated. We have to break the back's of these politicians, not the soldiers.

Just because you see horror from a wikileaks document does not mean you can understand what goes on that makes those soldiers like that. It is a psychological defense mechanism for horrors you can not even begin to understand. And when they get back to this Disney land we can not integrate those memories either and it kills us.

Literally. We are killing ourselves in suicide almost faster than they can recruit young patriots to replace us. You better help keep us alive, as when the [snip] hits the fan it will be us who will be there for you... not those traitors in Washington!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by pianopraze


Um, hope that wasn't directed at me.



I'm still in fer gawd sake!

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by pianopraze

 

Um, hope that wasn't directed at me.

I'm still in fer gawd sake!

no no no... I was echoing what you were saying 100%

God bless you and thank you!

Read it again. I'm supporting you 1000%

Originally posted by beezzer
Been with the military since 1981. 30 friggin years. In 1981 I was making 440.00 a month. Now my wife and I have regular "dinners" at our home. We invite everyone. My wife makes enough food for a battalion, and makes everyone take home leftovers. That's how we feed the families.

SOB's in DC should just switch their pay for a soldiers pay for a year. See if they can have their parties then.

Sorry sore damned subject for me.

I hear you - I joined in 1985 and after the GI bill came out I think I took home about 400.00 a month in the first 6 months.

When I was a Platoon Leader I would regularly provide meals for the Soldiers - we'd have some kind of BBQ a couple times a month which they seemed to enjoy.

Later though I had a different situation totally in SF as my guys were usually not the E1-E4 types who qualified for WIC and Food Stamps and such. They just came over to drink my beer and ride the horses - though we did once have a really fun drunken bareback polo match - but that’s for a different thread.

Odd thing was I once had Warrant Officer who with 6 kids did "qualify" for WIC - I thought damn, how messed up is that...

To validate how much Blackwater and DynCorp and other outfits pay - I was offered a job with a base salary of 180k to be a PSD team leader in Iraq from DynCorp when I retired - it was 6 weeks on 3 weeks off with free transport to the states and back each time with a 15% completion bonus for a year.

There was a clothing/equipment allowance as well with opportunities to cash in the 3 week rotations if you wanted to by filling a temp leader slot making 1.5 times the base pay rate so essentially one could make 250-300k completing a year.

I really didn't want the hassle TBH - the money would have been nice but I made a promise to the wife we could settle down and buy a farm. Sometimes I wish I'd have taken it sometimes I am glad I didn't - a friend of mine took a job as a medic on one of the teams and said it was a crap job protecting Iraqi politicians who treat you like servants.

Originally posted by pianopraze

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by pianopraze

 

Um, hope that wasn't directed at me.

I'm still in fer gawd sake!

no no no... I was echoing what you were saying 100%

God bless you and thank you!

Read it again. I'm supporting you 1000%

*whew* Thanks. And I must add, unless you've "been in" the military, those who are guessing what it is like have got to stop relying on movies, tv, news.

It's real people with real issues with real lives and real needs with real dreams and real goals and real hopes and real loves and real families. . . that love and support them through issues that would break many civilian lives.

reply to post by Golf66


I pomised my poor wife that this would be it. The last tour. We're already looking for property in Wyoming. And just to mention, the next BBQ is at my house, again, in two weeks. We'll have PS3 games for the kids, too much beer for the grown-ups and everyone will finally get a chance at figuring out my BBQ rib recipe.

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by Golf66

 

I pomised my poor wife that this would be it. The last tour. We're already looking for property in Wyoming. And just to mention, the next BBQ is at my house, again, in two weeks. We'll have PS3 games for the kids, too much beer for the grown-ups and everyone will finally get a chance at figuring out my BBQ rib recipe.

We looked at Wyoming but found that while land was cheap and plentyful land with water for livestock was not...
Nice plots in 40-100 acre range but if its cheap its got no water source.

Missouri has great gun laws, property is cheap and we get a lot more rain (thus water) and we are close enough to a base (for Doctor and the commissary which saves a bunch) and a major town to go every once in a while but far enough away to be safe and issolated.

reply to post by Golf66

Too humid. after a tour in the south, my wife made me swear NOT to move south. We're looking at buying out a hunting lodge, north-md/western Wy.

Like to fossil hunt as well.

reply to post by Golf66


Amazing how minds think alike...

I'm moving to hawaii in 3 years (saving up money for buying/building now).

The solar footprint is good so you can be 100% off the the grid. The water is so plentiful almost no one is on city water... everyone has a big "catchment tank"... Great soil, lots of fruit trees... lots of fish in the ocean... I'm going to get off the grid and these globalist can kiss my big butt!

reply to post by pianopraze


My brother, a Navy puke, was stationed in Hawaii for 4 years. Cost of living was huge! Give me CONUS where I can just drive to get some milk, not fly or float!

reply to [url= by beezzer[/url]

I hear you. But the cost of living can be ofset if you have a paid for house witb paid for solar. Completely off the grid living is a reality there if you do it right. No more GMO food, fluoridated water. I've already cut the cable to TV years ago. Next is the cell phone when I get there . Our bodies are not ment for this lifestyle we live.

reply to post by pianopraze


I get a water supply (stream) and I'll be off the grid as well. Satelites for tv or web. Just would hate to isolate myself on an island. When the SHTF then shipments of food and basics would be lost real quick on the islands.

Just sayin.

reply to [url= by beezzer[/url]

I would rather be on the big island where I can fish, have water, fresh fruit and veggies year round. No winter to struggle through. When the millions of hungry city dwellers come pooring across the countryside... Better to be surrounded by water. I've had enough killing for a lifetime.

Originally posted by Exuberant1
What is this? Kindergarten?

C'mon Jerico, you can argue at a higher level than this.

Hey, he's the one whining about how the military ought to be like some rinky-dink volunteer firefighter organization. If he feels so strongly about it, he ought to duff up the cash he was paid while on active duty, since he earned it under false pretenses.

reply to post by pianopraze


This is not good news!

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, S&F.

Now my conspiracy brain just went into overdrive, as with the unprecedented meeting
of the Ambassadors Clinton has convened, I find that much of the meeting,
titled QDDR is about the creation of a Civilian Security Force.

Wow, just wow.