If you Must, Cut the Machines but not the Personnel!
The recent Sequestration and government spending cuts have trimmed about $46 billion from the military budget. Many are actually happy, after going through a series of unpopular wars and the knowledge that defense spending makes up a large portion of the national budget. However, these spending cuts do not just affect the amount of tanks, fighter jets, or ships the military can buy. They greatly affect personnel who put their lives on the line on a sometimes daily basis in defense of this country.
Cuts to Education
The recent budger cuts have greatly affected education for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines alike. Most heavily hit is tuition assistance for enlisted personnel in the military. One benefit of being in the military is that they will pay for you to go to college. This is no more, and many young Corporals, Privates, Sergeants, Airmen, and Petty Officers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can no longer afford college. These people deserve an education most of all and many have paid greatly to do so. Many Reserve Officer Training Corps detachments have also lost money for scholarships and stipends. These college students provide a very large pool of young officers to lead in our military. ROTC programs have also seen subsequent cuts and losses of scholarships and stipends for books and school supplies. If this continues, we could see drastic decreases in the programs.
Veterans Benefits
One more sinister consequence of sequestration is the increase in the backlog of veterans disability claims. According to Nextgov.com "Seventy percent of the claims in the current backlog, or 633,589 claims, have been sitting more than 125 days. The lack of funding will make this worse for veterans and we are already starting to see the signs. These people returning from afghanistan missing limbs or in need of medications will not get the help they need because the budget has been slashed.
All Volunteer Force No More
Recently the VFW, the nation's largest veterans organization, was quoted as saying, "That is going to seriously hurt recruiting and retention, and potentially end the all-volunteer force, because nobody wants to work for an ungrateful employer in a vocation as inherently dangerous as ours". These cuts to education, stipends, and basic pay could mean that not as many people want to join the military. Many join not only to serve our country, but to pay for college and schooling as well. If recruiting falls, our government might be forced to institute a Vietnam style draft to protect our country. This country still needs protected and the world's greatest military is nothing without people to fight and help those in need.
So What Can You Do?
To help prevent losses of benefits to those who give so much to serve our country fight for freedom, you can support veterans benefits and speak out against cuts to the military. Write your local congressmen and tell them that it is unacceptable to cut veterans benefits. This is an effective measure and all military websites reccommend this approach as well. In general and at the very least, just realize that when we cut the defense budget, those affected the most aren't just huge defense and weapons manufacturing companies. By cutting defense spending, we put those who bravely give all of their tomorrows for our today out in the cold.