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Soldiering is fun. I enjoyed my time as a soldier. It was a great learning experience and it was a great test of character. There is almost literally nothing I needed to know as a businessman that I did not learn as a platoon leader or company commander.

It is a young man’s game and it requires a very high level of fitness. Constant fitness. Particularly in elite units which must be able to move instantly. The Seals are the best of the best.

The psychological stress of living in an otherwise peaceful civilian world — or coming and going to and from a civilian world — which is otherwise not engaged in the war is perhaps the greatest cause of stress.

America has not had to make a “guns or butter” choice since World War II. Purposely so and with the volunteer Army effectively so also.

This creates an enormous stress.

This is one of the reasons why I think we should pay our Army very, very well. It is frankly a duty that most men are not willing to do and therefore is an internal mercenary military. While it is tempting to say that that vanquishes the nobility of the undertaking, it is very effective. We get the best patriots and the best minds.

Stay well and enjoy life.

BRC
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I had not thought about the differences between generations and positoins in terms of combat time. It is clearly an issue. I read recently ‘No Easy Day’ by Mark Owen (a Navy Seal in the team that killed OBL) and the guy had done like 7-8 tours in Irak and Afghanistan. That can’t compare with being in the US doing other things or serving mainly in peace time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too. I hope you enjoy with The Real Boss, The Perfect Daughter and The Investment Banker!

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The volunteer army has been such a success — the best we’ve ever had — that the notion of going back to a draft is considered unlikely. And, yet, the draft has been the norm since the original Colonial militias.

We do not pay our Army particularly well though at the General officer level the pay is almost competitive with the civilian world.

The real unspoken issue with retirement is the amount of combat time a soldier is subjected to. I would have no problem with extending the retirement period to say 25 years for staff positions and administrators while keeping a lower limit for the actual warfighters.

In recent years, a soldier might have spent half of his time in combat — Iraq and A’stan. This time in combat — as society advances — is progressively more taxing and a more unequal burden. Therefore, it is going to have to be bought more dearly.

There are no restrictions on what a soldier can do when he retires and some continue in the National Guard (state militias subject to Federalization in time of war) or the Reserves (regular Army components subject to call up in crisis).

General officers never technically retire.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friend.

BRC
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One question out of curiosity. Are there any limitations on the things that Army retirees can do in term of jobs or economic activity? if there are it seems like a huge waste of human capital to keep people in their 40s/50s out of the market.

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The essence of leadership, effective leadership, is to lead from the front. It is “Follow Me” not — ya’ll wander up ahead there and let me know what happens while I stay back here and ponder the future.

The Congress is not even symbolically in the game. They routinely pass laws while exempting themselves. Not only do they not lead from the front, they have absolutely NO intention of ever following.

Witness the recent insider trading law change. No public debate. Just a unanimous consent by both parties in the Senate and House and the President signing it at midnight on a Saturday.

The COLA is almost purely symbolic. It shouts — the military is a useful voting block but face it they’re going to vote on the right regardless of how we treat them.

Those who understand the military pay system will remember that active duty pay and retirement pay were disconnected during the Eisenhower administration. There is no connection between what an active duty Sgt Major makes and a retired Sgt Major makes.

The retiree can only look to COLA to protect his buying power. It is driven solely by the CPI and therefore already takes into account changing economic conditions.

Merry Christmas and 2014 is going to be YOUR year, friend.

BRC
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