billary

Looks like a fraud to me to me. I really loved the disclaimer "Rense.com
cannot edit, control, review for truth or accuracy"

billary

Looks like a fraud to me to me. I really loved the disclaimer "Rense.com
cannot edit, control, review for truth or accuracy"

freethemedia2002

From Clifton P. O'Brien
Command Sergeant Major
United States Army

Dear Senator Warner,

My name is Clifton P. O'Brien II and I serve as the Regimental Command
Sergeant Major of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
(Airborne) based at FT Campbell, Ky. We are the only Special
Operations Aviation Regiment in the US Military and we have played a
major role in every conflict since Operation "Urgent Fury" in Grenada.
I am very proud of the 160th and the soldiers that serve here. I am a
career soldier with 25 years of service. I have served 11 years in the
160th and other tours include the 82d Airborne, 101st Airborne, 2d
Infantry Division, Miltary District of Washington, Recruiting Command,
8th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division. Last month I
submitted my retirement paperwork and will end my career at 26 years
instead of 30. I could easily stay to 30, but I choose not to do so as
I will try to explain in this letter.

I watched the hearings on C-Span yesterday and that is what has
prompted me to write you. The Joint Chiefs are truly great men dealing
with some very complicated issues during some tough times. I am not
politically astute, but will try to give you a soldiers perspective on
why we are starting a nosedive. If we don't start taking steps now to
correct the issues we face the dollar amount and energy expended to
turn things around may be more than we can afford.

I disagree with General Reimer in one area. I think we will reach the
"hollow" Army in 3 to 5 years, maybe sooner. The pace of operations is
exhausting the force and combined with reductions in what soldiers
perceive as benefits is causing us to lose many good soldiers. We are
losing many of our very best in large numbers and potential recruits
are not beating the doors down. This is not good and we can't afford
it. I have a daughter serving in the Army and her mother and I have
advised her to get out when her enlistment is up. She will get out
next year, finish her college and become a Registered Nurse in the
civilian sector.

Listed below are the areas that is hurting recruiting, retention AND
our credibility:

TRUST IN LEADERSHIP

This applies to our elected representatives. Many feel we are simply
pawns with little value until we are needed. Promises are made, and
quickly broken based on political climate. Unneeded programs are
pushed and money not used to take care of the force. Pork Barrel
politics are evident. Do we need what we did 20 years ago? Probably
not. But we do need good, high quality soldiers and individuals with
the desire to serve and make a career out of defending our nation and
our interest.

Every time a program or benefit that was promised is cut it damages
the credibility of our leaders. "Implied Promises" are a verbal


applies here. Break enough promises and people will walk away.

QUALITY OF LIFE

It's not where it should be. Too many deployments coupled with a
shortage of personnel makes everyone work harder. The infrastructure
at most Army installations is in bad shape with limited funds to fix
problems, no money to make improvements and sometimes needed services
are delayed or cancelled. My Commander reminds all of us leaders that
we enlist soldiers, but we almost always reenlist families. If we
don't provide what the families need or mom and dad are never there
they look for a different lifestyle.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL BENEFITS

What a farce this turned out to be. Tri-Care and Delta Dental don't
meet the needs and don't even come close to what was promised to most
soldiers and families. Once again, an implied promise that has been
broken. Young soldiers at FT Campbell come in contact with retirees
every day and the retirees let them know if you stay to retirement you
will be treated like a 3d class citizen, you can't count on any
commitments or promises made and the truth will always change to meet
current popular politics. I don't think the retirees mean any harm but
they are frustrated and disillusioned. After attending my retirement
brief I can honestly say I don't blame them. I just choose to say
nothing to my soldiers.

PAY

"Being a soldier is more than about money". I've heard this a hundred
times and it is true. If it wasn't I would not have stayed. I make a
decent living, but not a great living. Compared to my peers in the
civilian world with the level of responsibility I have I can say I am
well behind them. That has been my choice and have no regrets. Keep in
mind we haven't had a decent pay raise in years and the economy is
booming. A soldier can get out of theArmy and work at unskilled labor
earning $9.00 to $10.00 per hour in Nashville. If a soldier has a
marketable technical skill they can land a well paying job with good
benefits that exceed what we can offer. As a civilian they aren't
faced with 16 hour workdays, constant deployments, family separations,
alert recalls, field exercises year round etc etc. The bottom line is
"Patriotism is great, but it don't put food on the table or provide
for your family". One soldier that requires food stamps or a program
like WIC is a shame. We can do better for those we ask so much from.

RETIREMENT

Another huge sore spot. The vast majority of kids coming in today will
not make a career out of the Army for 35% of their base pay. What
makes our Army the best in the world is a professional NCO corps. Ask
any General from the former Warsaw pact countries. The soldiers coming
in today won't stay and suffer the hardships for so little in return.
They will vote with their feet and we are starting to see that now.
They get out, go to college, get a higher paying job with the ability
to make and save more with none of the danger or hardship the Army
provides. Last year my son-in-law turned down promotion to Staff
Sergeant (E-6) and got out of the Army after five years. He was a
stellar soldier that was selected as Battalion Soldier of the Year and
Brigade Soldier of the Year. He was qualified to work on two different
types of helicopters and was top-rated on every evaluation report.

He returned to Louisiana where he is employed as a helicopter
mechanic. He works 7 days on, 12 hour days and gets 7 days off. He
makes $16.50 per hour starting and can earn more by working overtime.
Just working normal hours he makes considerably more than if he stayed
in uniform. His medical and dental benefits are easily equal to what
we offer. My daughter was raised as an Army brat and wanted him to
stay in. She is now very happy he got out. They own a home, have a
stable life and she knows he is home at night and safe.

If you want a commited professional force you have to make
commitments, but even more importantly, you have to keep your
commitments. Our National leadership has not done that. Freedom isn't
free and you must be willing to pay for that security. My son in law
told me " I'm not staying in the Army because they make promises they
don't keep, they say you will get this, then they take it away". We've
cut the Army by more than 40%, stagnated pay, cut funding at every
level, increased deployment time and took away promised programs and
benefits. Then we wonder why our recruiting and retention is low. You
can't expect folks to make the commitment required or the sacrifice
needed if you keep reducing all they were promised or expect. The very
best, like my son in law will leave for a better life.

As a final thought I want to share with you what bothers me most. You
don't fund them, you don't train them, you don't properly equip them
or take care of them, they may fail when we need them most. The price
we will pay can't be measured in dollars or social program gains. Our
sons and daughters will pay the price in blood. We will fill many more
bodybags than we should because of politics. Rhetoric and social
programs haven't won a war yet. We are in a dive. It gets worse
monthly. If we don't take some steps to remedy the situation I advise
our leaders to dust off the draft, and make it fair this time by
granting no exemptions except medical. We all live here in the
greatest nation on earth because that freedom has been bought with
soldiers blood. Everyone bears a responsibility to serve.

I have enjoyed the Army. I am proud of the Army, my country and the
service I was allowed to provide. It has been an honor for me to
serve. I just don't like what I see happening to our military.

Very Respectfully,

Clifton P. O'Brien
Command Sergeant Major
United States Army

joe s.

How sad. What is really sad is that any sergeant major for the past 30
years could have written the same letter.


--

----

Joe S.
US Army (Retired in 1995)

lawson english

news:<1451cd92.0308061458.7da36a55@posting.google. com>...

But its not Bush's fault, its someone else's. Its never Bush's fault, you
know.

--
New definition of irony:

'Today's liberal Democrats are like the supporters of the Third Reich of the
'30's and '40's
- they absolutely trusted the government to "make things right". '
-Comment made on the internet by an ardent GW Bush supporter.

server 13

Ah yes, he who sold missiles to Iran and then lied to Congress about it.

Yep, we should all care deeply what Ollie thinks.

billary

Looks like a fraud to me to me. I really loved the disclaimer "Rense.com
cannot edit, control, review for truth or accuracy"

freethemedia2002

From Clifton P. O'Brien
Command Sergeant Major
United States Army

Dear Senator Warner,

My name is Clifton P. O'Brien II and I serve as the Regimental Command
Sergeant Major of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
(Airborne) based at FT Campbell, Ky. We are the only Special
Operations Aviation Regiment in the US Military and we have played a
major role in every conflict since Operation "Urgent Fury" in Grenada.
I am very proud of the 160th and the soldiers that serve here. I am a
career soldier with 25 years of service. I have served 11 years in the
160th and other tours include the 82d Airborne, 101st Airborne, 2d
Infantry Division, Miltary District of Washington, Recruiting Command,
8th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division. Last month I
submitted my retirement paperwork and will end my career at 26 years
instead of 30. I could easily stay to 30, but I choose not to do so as
I will try to explain in this letter.

I watched the hearings on C-Span yesterday and that is what has
prompted me to write you. The Joint Chiefs are truly great men dealing
with some very complicated issues during some tough times. I am not
politically astute, but will try to give you a soldiers perspective on
why we are starting a nosedive. If we don't start taking steps now to
correct the issues we face the dollar amount and energy expended to
turn things around may be more than we can afford.

I disagree with General Reimer in one area. I think we will reach the
"hollow" Army in 3 to 5 years, maybe sooner. The pace of operations is
exhausting the force and combined with reductions in what soldiers
perceive as benefits is causing us to lose many good soldiers. We are
losing many of our very best in large numbers and potential recruits
are not beating the doors down. This is not good and we can't afford
it. I have a daughter serving in the Army and her mother and I have
advised her to get out when her enlistment is up. She will get out
next year, finish her college and become a Registered Nurse in the
civilian sector.

Listed below are the areas that is hurting recruiting, retention AND
our credibility:

TRUST IN LEADERSHIP

This applies to our elected representatives. Many feel we are simply
pawns with little value until we are needed. Promises are made, and
quickly broken based on political climate. Unneeded programs are
pushed and money not used to take care of the force. Pork Barrel
politics are evident. Do we need what we did 20 years ago? Probably
not. But we do need good, high quality soldiers and individuals with
the desire to serve and make a career out of defending our nation and
our interest.

Every time a program or benefit that was promised is cut it damages
the credibility of our leaders. "Implied Promises" are a verbal


applies here. Break enough promises and people will walk away.

QUALITY OF LIFE

It's not where it should be. Too many deployments coupled with a
shortage of personnel makes everyone work harder. The infrastructure
at most Army installations is in bad shape with limited funds to fix
problems, no money to make improvements and sometimes needed services
are delayed or cancelled. My Commander reminds all of us leaders that
we enlist soldiers, but we almost always reenlist families. If we
don't provide what the families need or mom and dad are never there
they look for a different lifestyle.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL BENEFITS

What a farce this turned out to be. Tri-Care and Delta Dental don't
meet the needs and don't even come close to what was promised to most
soldiers and families. Once again, an implied promise that has been
broken. Young soldiers at FT Campbell come in contact with retirees
every day and the retirees let them know if you stay to retirement you
will be treated like a 3d class citizen, you can't count on any
commitments or promises made and the truth will always change to meet
current popular politics. I don't think the retirees mean any harm but
they are frustrated and disillusioned. After attending my retirement
brief I can honestly say I don't blame them. I just choose to say
nothing to my soldiers.

PAY

"Being a soldier is more than about money". I've heard this a hundred
times and it is true. If it wasn't I would not have stayed. I make a
decent living, but not a great living. Compared to my peers in the
civilian world with the level of responsibility I have I can say I am
well behind them. That has been my choice and have no regrets. Keep in
mind we haven't had a decent pay raise in years and the economy is
booming. A soldier can get out of theArmy and work at unskilled labor
earning $9.00 to $10.00 per hour in Nashville. If a soldier has a
marketable technical skill they can land a well paying job with good
benefits that exceed what we can offer. As a civilian they aren't
faced with 16 hour workdays, constant deployments, family separations,
alert recalls, field exercises year round etc etc. The bottom line is
"Patriotism is great, but it don't put food on the table or provide
for your family". One soldier that requires food stamps or a program
like WIC is a shame. We can do better for those we ask so much from.

RETIREMENT

Another huge sore spot. The vast majority of kids coming in today will
not make a career out of the Army for 35% of their base pay. What
makes our Army the best in the world is a professional NCO corps. Ask
any General from the former Warsaw pact countries. The soldiers coming
in today won't stay and suffer the hardships for so little in return.
They will vote with their feet and we are starting to see that now.
They get out, go to college, get a higher paying job with the ability
to make and save more with none of the danger or hardship the Army
provides. Last year my son-in-law turned down promotion to Staff
Sergeant (E-6) and got out of the Army after five years. He was a
stellar soldier that was selected as Battalion Soldier of the Year and
Brigade Soldier of the Year. He was qualified to work on two different
types of helicopters and was top-rated on every evaluation report.

He returned to Louisiana where he is employed as a helicopter
mechanic. He works 7 days on, 12 hour days and gets 7 days off. He
makes $16.50 per hour starting and can earn more by working overtime.
Just working normal hours he makes considerably more than if he stayed
in uniform. His medical and dental benefits are easily equal to what
we offer. My daughter was raised as an Army brat and wanted him to
stay in. She is now very happy he got out. They own a home, have a
stable life and she knows he is home at night and safe.

If you want a commited professional force you have to make
commitments, but even more importantly, you have to keep your
commitments. Our National leadership has not done that. Freedom isn't
free and you must be willing to pay for that security. My son in law
told me " I'm not staying in the Army because they make promises they
don't keep, they say you will get this, then they take it away". We've
cut the Army by more than 40%, stagnated pay, cut funding at every
level, increased deployment time and took away promised programs and
benefits. Then we wonder why our recruiting and retention is low. You
can't expect folks to make the commitment required or the sacrifice
needed if you keep reducing all they were promised or expect. The very
best, like my son in law will leave for a better life.

As a final thought I want to share with you what bothers me most. You
don't fund them, you don't train them, you don't properly equip them
or take care of them, they may fail when we need them most. The price
we will pay can't be measured in dollars or social program gains. Our
sons and daughters will pay the price in blood. We will fill many more
bodybags than we should because of politics. Rhetoric and social
programs haven't won a war yet. We are in a dive. It gets worse
monthly. If we don't take some steps to remedy the situation I advise
our leaders to dust off the draft, and make it fair this time by
granting no exemptions except medical. We all live here in the
greatest nation on earth because that freedom has been bought with
soldiers blood. Everyone bears a responsibility to serve.

I have enjoyed the Army. I am proud of the Army, my country and the
service I was allowed to provide. It has been an honor for me to
serve. I just don't like what I see happening to our military.

Very Respectfully,

Clifton P. O'Brien
Command Sergeant Major
United States Army

joe s.

How sad. What is really sad is that any sergeant major for the past 30
years could have written the same letter.


--

----

Joe S.
US Army (Retired in 1995)

lawson english

news:<1451cd92.0308061458.7da36a55@posting.google. com>...

But its not Bush's fault, its someone else's. Its never Bush's fault, you
know.

--
New definition of irony:

'Today's liberal Democrats are like the supporters of the Third Reich of the
'30's and '40's
- they absolutely trusted the government to "make things right". '
-Comment made on the internet by an ardent GW Bush supporter.