Military Pay

Military Pay
This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in theWashington Times (She is a Assistant Director for the NationalSecurity in the Congressional Budget Office...... ) about MILITARYPAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America.Ms. Cindy Williams wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncingthe pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year citing that shestated 13% wage increase was more than they deserve.A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He oughtto get a bonus for this."Ms Williams: I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIsearn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering wherethis vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, itdisappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance andAccounting Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest earningsstatement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes per month. Aftertaxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, Icome up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and$10,490.40, after.I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of theteam responsible for a 5,000 host computer network. I am involved withinfrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment.A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington,D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three yearsexperience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 ayear. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 perannum....... .... I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had thepleasure of serving your country in her armed forces. Before you takeit upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DODleadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowestpay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join agroup of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN; I leave the choiceof service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make, though, optfor the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possibletime away from your family and friends, thus giving you full"deployment experience."As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note thespouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Alsotake care to note that several families are still unsure of howthey'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner isgone - obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash thegovernment has been giving them.Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving areperennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting ina foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flightsergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieveyou for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready- to-eat)you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini,and add Tabasco to everything.. This gives some flavor.Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won'tnearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get andbe thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that Idisagree with most of the points you present in your opened piece.But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to say it.You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your FirstAmendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis,my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and peoplelike you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that isnothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make mostpeople cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the privatesector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civiliancompanies.And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than wedeserve? You can ...