And saying it was their first raise in 10 years---the troops know
these are lies.

would have had to tell them that this was just another lie, so as not to get their hopes up to high only for a big let down to follow. Particularly since they have never gotten a 10% raise, ever. I know because as a member of the armed forces I never got one that big. There were years as a federal employee that we got no pay increase. But with that lie, Trump has hoisted himself on his own pertard. The only way he could redeem himself would be to drop dead.

A fine idea.

I remember that, hella inflation.

See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_pay#Pay_raises

paying 15 to 17%

A 10% raise didn't keep up with inflation.

was about 11 - 12%

Less for 6 month and 1 year CDs but, wow, it was good until the bottom fell out w the trickle down shenanigans/economics(?)

they were having a lot of trouble recruiting and especially retaining trained and skilled personnel, and a lot of the technical training was very extensive and cost a ton of money (my first technical school after Basic Training was 9 months of full-time classroom work). They needed to have a good sized raise to be able to get and keep people.

The 1981 raise was weird, since it wasn't a single across-the-board pay raise for everyone. It ranged from something like 10% to 17% for enlisted, with the more experienced troops getting the higher rate, and a different rate for officers. At the time there was a huge attrition rate to private industry for the much higher pay. I was in a highly technical field and they were having a really hard time keeping people from bolting for the burgeoning computers and electronics fields. I wound up getting out in 1984 (I absolutely couldn't see myself working for that bastard Reagan anymore), and got a WAY higher paying job in private industry.

I had to decide how much I would lose by staying in for another 8 years to reach retirement, and the numbers worked out a lot better for me to get out and work in IT instead of hanging on.

the military and Border Patrol who voted for him... wonder how they are feeling now.

Of course, these subjects need to be approached delicately... As you probably well know.

for reasons of keeping peace in a diverse family. Maybe one will blurt out their reality at some point.

and when Trump is mentioned he just rolls his eyes.

He voted for drumpf and now says it's the worst mistake he made in his life and he had a very ugly divorce a few years ago. He said he will vote Democratic in every election that drumpf is in office to help balance the scales and won't vote for any republican, no matter what level, until then. I'm hoping that now that's he's actually finally paying attention, he'll realize he should have been voting Dem all the time anyway. We're still working on that part, lol. Just glad to have at least one military drumpf voter has totally defected from the evil.

Guess he had military support, even if only a relatively small margin, when he was bashing Blacks, Mexicans, etc.; threatening to bomb/nuke countries; dropping out of NATO; and worse

Not referring to your BIL.

I have yet to see what people are claiming here, and the test will come very soon for the military.

Ask the question, why did the military agree with the stunt of sending troops to the south border?

I have a friend who has a son who is ranked high up in the military, and according to her, the orange buffoon is the real deal, she can't say why because she doesn't know the details as her son only asks her to believe her, and she does. The bottom line is there are a lot of military who support the buffoon, and we will all see what happens when a big test comes around, one like the "National Emergency" call.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/

This is from October, before Gen. Mattis' " Resignation". Approval for Mattis was 56.9% Very favorable, 24% Favorable. Trump was overall to 43.8% favorable and 43.1% unfavorable.

My guess is that "Disapprove" now outnumber "Approve" by a significant number of "Miltary Times" readers by now.

There's NO WAY that combination of events is 'playing well' among the rank and file.

Then there was the 'sending the military to the border' stunt right before Xmas he pulled ...

I'm starting to seriously wonder what would actually happen if he were to declare his little 'state of emergency' ... and demand that our troops build his wall, absent the proper funding and authorization from Congress.

If I were in the military I tell you what, I'd be SERIOUSLY torn as to 'what we're really supposed to do' ... if that were to happen. It'd be a first in a LONG TIME for our military to have a situation where 'what's right' ... is so clearly ambiguous.

Anyone think IQ45 gives a FCUK though about what he might be doing to Our Nation, and the World as a Whole?

As long as Cousin Vlad is pleased ... that's really all that matters to Dumpie ... CLEARLY.

The lousy 38% has them held captive and they don't give a s&^$.

All they can do is refuse to vote or vote dem in 2020.

gotta respect whoever's in charge..." type attitude.

just like he did with federal employees unhappy about the shutdown.

Good for your daughter, and good for any other military or vets that see the light. But I still have a gut feeling that too many are red neck enough to back the evil SOB.

Orders and chain-of-command are what keeps them in check.

Give them the sense that every order is subject to a "Well, is this legal or just?" won't work.

My daughter is at Baumholder

Can't be a dictator without the military. From Caesar to Kim, not without the military.

But Mathis is already gone......all for nothing.

gave Putin Syria, cause Putin wants a piece of the Middle East. This is just speculation on my part.

That is exactly why.

Trump is a traitor.

or veteran can stand the stench of Donald Trump. The military stands for everything he isn't. As a veteran myself I just can't fathom it.

Armed Forces Network has it covered every day...

See: http://www.afneurope.net/AFN-360/

AFN 360 PowerTalk

PowerTalk gives you three full hours of Rush Limbaugh, Stephanie Miller, Sean Hannity, and Thom Hartmann each weekday, plus a weekend lineup never before seen nor heard in political talk radio. It's the most complete list of shows from liberal to conservative and everything in between all on one channel. AFN PowerTalk, the only channel on earth where you can find all the political talk heavy weights. Where left and right collide...AFN PowerTalk!

AFN 360 The Voice

The Voice is your source for news, talk and information. You can get Rush Limbaugh, The Osgood File, Sean Hannity, Doug Stephan, Stephanie Miller, Dave Ramsey, Thom Hartmann and so much more. The Voice is your single source for AP news, ABC news, Fox news, and military news.

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Just another example of outright Republican hypocrisy hidden in plain sight. They want to publicly chastise a Congresswoman for saying one M-F word at a private party, yet they fund a military media operation that broadcasts extreme right-wing political lies and deception to our service members every day.

.............

not pontificate.

Of course, Stephanie and Thom do engage in a lot of pontification, but without the histrionics of fux/RW shills.

I know 21yo (and many 70+yo) that like the loud voices and blonds legs more than the studio backdrops of non-sensational t.v.

It's disgusting. And not one frigging republican ever says a thing about it. In their silent approval, the republicans are also pissing on our women and men in uniform.

Deplorable.

You know it's bad when a military coup sounds like a refreshing break. How will they respond when the State of Emergency notification comes in to all of us via text?

After all, Trump cheated our military out of most of that 10% pay raise he bragged about.

And he has a lot of company, it seems. When the SecDef Facebook page posted a picture of Shanahan, there was, in the comment thread, an avalanche of ridicule from Mattis loyalists (mostly petty but funny, like calling Shanahan "Toby" from "The Office&quot . Basically, they object to replacing "one of ours," a combat veteran, with a technocrat lacking any history of military service (or even much evidence of engagement with international affairs and defense).

he is our biggest security threat. He is pushing out the adults especially the Defense Department. Could anyone stand up to this POS???

Randi is saying tRump is shredding this country. Real people are getting hurt by this government shutdown.

After all, he's not playing on team USA - he's punting for Putin.

They were fawning all over him.

Moving troops to the southern border wasn't a real call to action, nor is stating troops are going to be pulled out of Syria (best of my knowledge hasn't happened yet) - that's talk not action. Calling for troops to move on Iran or N. Korea is where the rubber meets the road in my opinion.

except for how it can benefit him personally.