The Secretary of of Veterans Affairs has decided that it's time to rethink veterans disability, specifically a system that "incentives disability". David Shulkin says that the disability system that was designed decades isn't sustainable and not achieving the best results for our veterans.
As I've always said, when it comes to cuts or "rethinking how we do war", it's always the troops who get the rug pulled out from under them. We mention the Bonus Army, which was an assembly of 43,000 marchers, many WWI veterans, who were promised pay when the government could get around to it (in 15 years or so, promise we're good for it)
These were the men who fought in a war most Americans have a vague recollection of happening before the Nazi one. And of course our wonderful government who loves and cherishes the troops sent in more troops to clear them out by any means necessary.
Maybe the disability scale isn't the best, but we are not exactly sure how you're going to rehabilitate a leg torn off from an IED. Maybe Shulkin has some special yoga to grow back legs.
Next up is another entry in our series of being mad that General officers get away with the shit that would have gotten any of us drummed out with a less than honorable discharge.
Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby of the 1st ID carried out an inappropriate relationship with a female captain while on his deployments, and rather than blame himself, he blames the operations tempo.
I don't have much sympathy for people who cheat on their spouses, especially for generals. You're supposed to be the one with your shit together. You're the leader we're supposed to follow. Grigsby said that deploying every other year was making it difficult to be the husband, father and grandfather he wanted to be. It's not like you have to stick around.
This war has been going on for 16 years. You don't have an excuse anymore. I have a wife and a kid and I'm not renewing my next contract with the Army because it's not worth it. My family is more important to me and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that.
But also, if I get caught banging a private, I get busted down in rank and kicked out of the Army. Grigsby only gets to retire with pension as a one star general instead of a two star, so I will continue to withhold my sympathies