If you’ve been following the news coming out of Washington, D.C., you know that the financial and political realities of our nation are coming together in a great, big mess. The recent agreement reached to cut the U.S.’s deficit could have widespread impact on the military, especially when a 12-member “super committee” in Congress begins hunting for $1.2 trillion in federal budget cuts by mid-November. The debt deal will reduce defense spending by $350 billion over the next decade, and potentially as much as $1 trillion. This week’s Marine Corps Times explores all those themes, but also drills down into…
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Listen up, Marines! This week’s cover story is a must-read for all — from the lowliest privates to tomorrow’s general officers. Marine Corps Times Pentagon correspondent Andrew Tilghman lays out in stark detail an aggressive new plan to revamp the military retirement system, one that would dump today’s 20-year model in favor of something akin to a corporate 401(k). The proposal, pitched by an influential Pentagon advisory board, calls for everyone to receive at least some retirement cash when they leave the service. Even Marines who complete just one enlistment and get out as lance corporals would clear about $20,000.…
This week’s Marine Corps Times cover story highlights an ongoing debate that could hit service members right where it counts: the wallet. In a trio of stories, Pentagon correspondent Andrew Tilghman explores where cuts could be made to military benefits. Reductions to tuition assistance and pensions are possible, and military officials also are considering a partial pension for those who serve at least 10 years. This week’s newspaper also offers three strong career stories for enlisted Marines. One focuses on promotion opportunities for sergeants, another looks at the Corps’ early-out program, and the third offers tips to Marines seeking their…
With ringing endorsements from the Pentagon’s top leader and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos to kill the program, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle’s fate is close to being sealed. But the EFV remains a contentious issue as big defense contractor General Dynamics continues with its push to save the program, with some help from congressional members who say nixing the EFV is akin to killing the Marine Corps itself. Beating the drum is Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., an Iraq veteran who now represents California’s 52nd district. In recent weeks, Hunter has taken his pro-EFV argument to various newspaper op-ed…
This time he really means business. Gates sounded the death knell for U.S. Joint Forces command at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week he had his sites trained on the Marine Corps. In a speech at the Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday, he ordered a thorough force structure review of the Marine Corps. It’s no news that the Corps is prepared to draw down its personnel after operations in Afghanistan wind down. But this goes deeper. He said he wants to determine what an expeditionary force in readiness should…
