AcWorth - I'm a young guy and active duty.  You need to listen to us "Old Guys" that previously survived the post Vietnam Reduction In Forces (RIFs) of the US Military, the President Clinton Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces of the "Cold War Era" US Military, President Obama as Commander In Chief Ordered since April 2009 US Military Budget Cuts, President Obama as Commander In Chief Ordered Reduction In Forces (RIFs) of 90,000 US Military Personnel and Unemployment of 108,000 US DOD Civilians.  You might want to read the Military Times (Professional Journal for the Army Times, Air Force Times, Marine Corps Times, Navy Times, Federal Times) article, "Obama stop wrecking the US Military";  This Article points out all of the actions (Facts), dates since 2009, and the Results of what President Obama has done/is doing to wreck the US Military (1% of US Citizens currently Serving in the US Military while 92% of US Citizens NEVER Served - First Lady Michelle Obama).  Including the failed recent attempts (2011-2013) to screw over the "new" US Military Personnel by changing the current US Military Retirement to Civilian 401Ks so that those Civilian Financial Advisers that stole from the Civilian 401Ks can then steal more from the "New" US Military Retirement Program (these "Financial Managers" Lobbied President Obama (Bribed with Campaign Contributions)). Hint: This is nothing new, they (Banksters, Wall Streeters, etc.) tried this before, to get their hands on US Military (Retirement) money after they emptied (stole from) the US Civilian's (Retirement) accounts.  Since you are young, once upon a time ago (since WWII), the US Military Health Care was managed by the US Military Medical Service Corps, all medical (including Dental and Vision) was provided free to US Military Personnel and their Dependents by US Military Medical Professionals at US Military Hospitals, US Military Clinics, etc.; if you were not close to a US Military Facility, either Transportation was provided (including "Angel Flights", fully staffed and equipped USAF Medical Aircraft) or the nearest Civilian Medical Facility was paid for your Medical Treatments. This was all part of a previous WWII program to create more US Health Care Professionals for the entire US (as after their US Military Commitments, many became US Military Reservists as US Civilian Medical Professionals), this surplus of US Medical Professionals had the unintended consequence of driving Health Care Costs down, after the Vietnam War this continued as the US Military "Bootstrap" Program and ended during President Clinton's Chopping of the Cold War Era US Defense Budget, Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies, and his Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces of the US Military.  Then the US Insurance Corporations Lobbied (Bribed) the US Politicians to get into the US Military Health Care, the US Military Medical Care was no longer "Free", as deducted as TriCare Insurance.  Good luck, AcWorth, if you are planning to make the US Military your Professional Career (President Obama's 50% RIFs). I will give you another word of advise, if you want to remain on Active Duty (20 years or more) become part of the 18% (Civilian Education Level (CEL) 5/6 as Civilian Masters Degrees (more than one) or a PhD), if you do this the US Military Personnel Management people will get embarrassed and send you to more US Military Schools to increase your MEL (Military Education Level) to 5/6 to match your CEL 5/6. Also if you make yourself too irreplaceable or too invaluable, you will get screwed after you Retire with Recalls to Active Duty in the Special Category, whether you want to be recalled to Active Duty or not (by the way just because you submit your Retirement Packet again, Letter of Resignation; that does not mean they have to accept those, and do not even think about going AWOL or Desertion).  Once again I find it ironic that President Obama is chopping the US Military Personnel that are NOT paid a "Fair and Living Wage" instead of the almost hundred Million overpaid too expensive "Fair and Living Wage" US Civilians employed directly or indirectly by the US Defense as the majority of the expense as the US Defense Budget. This too is something that happened before, as previously many of the almost hundred Million overpaid too expensive "Fair and Living Wage" US Civilian Jobs used to be done by the cheaper US Military Personnel that are also 24/7/365 available and also Combatants; and not the 9-5, 40 hours per week, overpaid too expensive "Fair and Living Wage" US Civilians that also get "overtime" as Non Combatants. Anyone with balls as Commander In Chief would first Order the US Military train again for the jobs that the US Military did before that are currently occupied by the overpaid too expensive "Fair and Living Wage" US Civilians, then close all those Jobs to only US Military; there is the 50% or more US Defense Budget Cut.  example: What happens if you empty out the US Pentagon of all US Civilians; as by US Law the only US Civilians that belong there are the Secretary of Defense, the Secretaries of each Branch of Service; all those US Civilian Political Appointees* and Paid Interns* without any US Military Experience nor Intelligence Agency Experience do NOT belong there, the US Military Bureaucrats are much cheaper (and if they f**k up they can be deployed to Combat). Since you are Active Duty US Military, AcWorth, make some time to go on the Pentagon Tour, observe for yourself (if you can peek in the Offices) the ratio of US Military versus US Civilians (when I was there it was 1 US Military to 4 US Civilians, when my younger sister was there it was 1 US Military to 10 US Civilians, after the closure of Joint Forces Command, the Unemployment of 5,000 US Civilians, I think that number (ratio) became 1 US Military to 9.5 US Civilians).  *You work on a Campaign to get the President Elected or Reelected you get a Job (even though you have no US Military nor US Intelligence Agency Training nor Experience). This is why after President Obama got elected, many of the Political Appointees and Paid Interns in an attempt to embarrass the Previous Administration and President Bush (43) as well as President Obama's "Transparency" started to Rubber Stamp everything "Declassified", our names were not even redacted or marked out. Which Resulted (Not an Opinion) in: All the previous US Military "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" of President Clinton (42) becoming Declassified, US Military Overthrow of President Hussein, as the start of the War with Iraq since President Clinton's US Law, H.R.4655, Section 3 US Policy Overthrow of President Hussein, Section 2 Findings (Justifications) Weapons of Mass Destruction, with US Congressional Appropriations; that became 2003 Operation Iraqis Freedom; the Mission of us attached to the CIA's SAD/SOG going into Iraq hiring hundreds of thousands of Shia Iraqis (mostly as Illegal Aliens at Iraq from Iran) as assassins and insurgents to Overthrow Sunnis President Hussein (former US Ally during the Iran Iraq Wars). The stating as Policy of the Overthrow of a Sovereign Nation's Established Government is a Declaration of war; just as if the Chinese and Russian Federation stated as their Policies to Overthrow President Obama. After that we had many of the News Media, Investigative Journalists, Hollywood Script Writers, Writers (Books), etc. hounding us for information, and most had President Obama and White House Letters requiring our full cooperation and full disclosures (same thing with the SR Mission to determine if OBL was there, turned into a DA Mission (Raid) at Pakistan, full cooperation with Hollywood per White House; as to why Kathrine Bigelow's Movie Zero Dark Thirty (especially "Little Ms. 100%) is more accurate than the President Obama Reelection Propaganda Video SEAL Team SixRaid on Osama Bin Laden; as to why President Obama and the White House threatened everyone pertaining to Zero Dark Thirty for Disclosure of Classified Information; as well as Mark Owen's Book verifying some things of Zero Dark Thirty contrary to President Obama's claims also resulting in threats of prosecution by President Obama regardless of the previous required Full Cooperation of the Obama Administration.):  Of course we did not discuss that it was not only the US Army Special Forces in the link above, nor did we discuss in detail the fierce urban warfare at the Afghan Cities, or significant crippling losses that made us non mission capable. And what we (few survivors) did leading up to 2001 Operation Viking Hammer* and 2002 Operation Hotel California*. And why we almost failed (the previous President Clinton Chops to the US Defense Budget, Gutting of US Intelligence Agencies, Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces of the US Military, etc.); as Rubber Stamped Declassified by the Obama Administration's Political Appointees. By Declassifying all of the above many that survived Finally got the Awards, Decorations, Medals, Recognition, etc. that they Earned with retroactive Promotions (many being Posthumous). I want to see them make a movie of this, Horse Soldiers; completely negating President Obama's Reelection Low Information Voters and No Education Voters, "Less Bayonets and Horses", (using bayonets during the fierce urban warfare in the Afghan Cities after running out of ammunition to kill the Taliban, Al Quada, Islamic Jihadists for their weapons and ammunition, and how we got stuck in that situation, President Clinton's Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies no reliable information from within Afghanistan, us facing a well armed Taliban Army backed by the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran) including later showing us currently using more Horses, Pack Horses, Pack Mules today conducting US Military Asymmetric Mountain Warfare Afghanistan (2/3rds mountains where the vehicles cannot go, limited roads), than the Korean War (so many horses, mules, that we had to have some of our people trained as "Mule Skinners" and specific to Horses and Mules Veterinary care).  * Some information in fragments posted on the Internet, after President Obama realized that Declassifying everything was not embarrassing the previous President Bush (43) Administration, as Documented Historical proof of absolution of any blame; but a black eye to the Democratic Party and the President Clinton (42) Administration. In 2010 President Obama contrary to his Presidential Campaign Promise of "Transparency" orders everything throw back into the Classified Documents Vaults (too late, what is posted on the Internet will always be on the Internet.).  To all of you adolescents out there, this post is for AcWorth, do not interrupt the Adult Discussion like typical adolescents especially with your adolescent name-calling or no firsthand experience (Definition of Fact: Experience or Observation) emotive non factual opinions (Definition: a personal view, attitude, or appraisal; a feeling formed without knowledge, thought, or reason.) or adolescent personal attacks (proof of a failure to attempt to attack the credibility of Facts, further lending credibility to the stated Facts that you do not "like" (your prejudiced non factual opinions). Also reflecting on yourselves, as very easily Researched Facts proving just how Uneducated, Low Information Too Lazy to Do the Research, Brainwashed by Propaganda, etc. you really are.):  From President Obama's 2013 Inaugural Speech:  We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.  AcWorth, if you want more advise on how to remain in the US Military as a Career, you can do a "Contact this Author", to send your questions by email; however all of our email accounts are monitored, so I will respond via a posting on Newsvine, not via an email.
Lamenting the idea that only a "Jedi mind meld" could prod the GOP into compromise, President Barack Obama said Friday that the "dumb" automatic across-the-board cuts taking effect Friday are the fault of Republican resistance to a reasonable deal to avert the sequestration …