Military spending to retain troops skyrockets Bonuses for soldiers, Marines top $1 BILLION

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18053235 /

WASHINGTON - The struggle to entice Army soldiers and Marines to stay in the military, after four years of war in Iraq, has ballooned into a $1 billion campaign, with bonuses soaring nearly sixfold since 2003.

Besides underscoring the extraordinary steps the Pentagon must take to maintain fighting forces, the rise in costs for re-enlistment incentives is putting strains on the defense budget, already strapped by the massive costs of waging war and equipping and caring for a modern military.

The bonuses can range from a few thousand dollars to as much as $150,000 for very senior special forces soldiers who re-enlist for six years. All told, the Army and Marines spent $1.03 billion for re-enlistment payments last year, compared with $174 million in 2003, the year the war in Iraq began.

[youngdem]

1. They should pay the shit out of these men and women...That is the worst job in the world

Plus, $1B is what we spend in three days in Iraq, so these 'burdensome' bonuses represent less than 1% of direct total spending on the Iraq War.


There should be a Mercenary Parity Pay Act saying our soldiers should get the same pay rate as our government is paying private contractors for a substantively similar job.

[tanyev]

2. How long until some Republican suggests that since the gov't can't

compete with what Blackwater pays, we convert completely to a privatized military?