Budgeting is always tough, but how much fluff is there really in the DoD.

My best suggestion is unlikely to happen, if only because it would cancel the Army/Navy game.

The service academies, it costs over 300,000 per student to get an officer from any of the service academies. It takes less than four months and not much more than an E-5 salary to commission a LT from OCS. The academies already only account for less than a quarter of officers. Total annual savings, over a billion dollars, enough to field two to three additional brigades or buy 3 F-22s.

I've never seen any data to suggest that adademy grads have higher retention rates than commissionees from other sources.

The only stat I am aware of is that from O-1 to O-4, the retention drops from 80% at O-1 to hair above 50% at O-4. These are Army numbers. As to the Corps, nothing is pubished.

I remember reading this study in the last couple of weeks. Don't know if it was on mil.com or someplace else. If anyone can provide a link, LMK.

My fiancee, an Army O-4, due to his MOS, has been offered plenty of perks to remain. I know over at the Army, there is a growing concern that there is a growing shortage of Field grade officers due to attrition.

The pressure include a greater risk of divorce, family pressure due to lengthened deployments. I know of two of my friends have already gotten divorced.

As for my fiancee and I, we decided to delay our wedding.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Devil_Doggie,

Part of the value to American society that is gained from the service academies is a nucleus of well-educated, well-trained movers and shakers who - even if they leave the service - move into larger society with the imprinting of military service on their lives.

With an ever-shrinking number of Americans who serve, it pays us to have corporate executives, entrepreneurs, medical practitioners, politicians and others who have a deeper background and understanding of military issues than the average citizen.

For my concluding point, I would like to point out that the founder of Sam Adams Brewing Co. is a USMA graduate. I rest my case (pun intended).

Replace republicans with Democrats is the best way to save money.

quote:

Originally posted by R102:
Replace republicans with Democrats is the best way to save money.

Of course, they'll SLASH the military budgets to the point where our troops will train with fake wooden rifles, short change maintainence on equipment, decimate our intelligence assests ...
The list is endless.

judas priest ... is it possible to have a semi-intelligent discussion on this forum without descending into one-liner bashing and gratuitous insults of nearly everyone?

quote:

Originally posted by Cider33Alpha:
judas priest ... is it possible to have a semi-intelligent discussion on this forum without descending into one-liner bashing and gratuitous insults of nearly everyone?

Apparently not ...