washingtonscene
Quote of the Month “America is facing a budget and debt crisis, but we can’t solve our nation’s fiscal problems on the backs of our mili- tary and national secu- rity. Even after 10 years at war, our military only makes up 20 percent of the federal budget.” — House Armed Ser-
vices Committee Chair Rep. Howard P.“Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.)
authorities, voluntary and involuntary, to separate or retire many, many thousands. “The Defense Department and Congress can and should mandate that working-age retirees above a certain income level be allowed to enroll in TRICARE only if they don’t have access to other plans through their employer or spouse.” Congress’ clear intent always has been that completion of a service career entitles a retired servicemember to TRICARE cov- erage. Never has anyone in government expressed a caveat that retiree health care coverage is authorized “unless you take a civilian job after leaving service, or unless your spouse has other health coverage, or unless you succeed in life.” “[T]he military retirement system … has
remained unaltered not because of its effec- tiveness but rather due to the political diffi- culties involved in modernizing entitlement programs for military personnel.” Not so. Congress enacted legislation in 1986 that dramatically reduced 20-year retirement benefits — and had to repeal it a decade later after those cuts undermined retention and readiness. “CAP recommends a three-part transi- tion to a 401(k)-based retirement system: All new recruits would enroll in the new system [with benefits delayed until age 60] Personnel with at least 10 years of service would have the option to transition to a 401(k) or retain their current benefits Personnel with less than 10 years would transition either to a 401(k) or to a modi- fied [retirement] system … that would provide 40% [rather than 50%] of base pay … and would pay out those benefits no ear- lier than age 60.” Again, CAP authors choose to ignore his-
tory, proposing far greater retirement cuts than already were proven to undermine readiness. The CAP proposal shows insen- sitivity to the fundamental difference be- tween military service and civilian working
36 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2012
conditions. Why would anyone choose to pursue a military career and all of its inher- ent sacrifices if all he or she would earn is a civilian-style benefit? “Because of indifference on the part of
the Pentagon leadership, virtually any in- dividual who requests retirement after 20 years of service is automatically allowed to leave.” Not only do the authors think 20-plus
years of service should only earn a civil- ian-style retirement benefit, but they also think long-serving servicemembers should be denied the choice to leave active ser- vice? Now there’s a deal that would attract America’s sons and daughters to a career in uniform, don’t you think? “Implemented in 1948, the military retire-
ment system was designed for the draft era, yet it has remained virtually unaltered de- spite the transition to an all-volunteer force.” Switching to an all-volunteer force only altered the means of entry into ser- vice. The career force always has been a voluntary force. The retirement system was built to attract people to a military career in spite of the unique demands and sacrifice inherent in completing de- cades of uniformed service. If anything, those conditions are worse today than when the system was established. The hard fact is the current retirement sys- tem (together with a bad economy) is the only reason the country was able to sustain the career force through the past decade of war. “We would not argue … that the men and women of our military do not deserve to be generously compensated for their profes- sionalism and bravery.” Give us a collective break. CAP authors
would — and do — assert explicitly that ca- reer servicemembers’ service and sacrifice for the nation are worth far less than the country currently is compensating them. It’s apparently lunchtime at CAP.
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