MicroWaveDec 20, 2024

Pentagon warns that a government shutdown will cost troops their pay over the holidays

https://lemmy.world/post/23333424

Pentagon warns that a government shutdown will cost troops their pay over the holidays - Lemmy.World

Summary The Pentagon warns that a potential government shutdown by Friday will halt military paychecks during the holidays unless Congress reaches a funding agreement. Troops, including overseas and reserve forces, must continue reporting for duty unpaid, with federal civilian workers also affected. The issue stems from House Republicans abandoning a spending plan after criticism from Donald Trump and Elon Musk over unrelated provisions, leaving lawmakers scrambling for an alternative. Military leaders caution that this funding lapse will cause widespread disruptions, though such outcomes have been partially mitigated in past shutdowns.

Show threadJoncash2
Oh god I hope so. Recruitment is already falling fast in the US. No one wants to be soldiers. Which good, USA needs to stop being a warmongering nation. Less soldiers equals less wars, it’s a simple numbers game. If you ALSO take away the paychecks of the few stupid enough to be loyal to this violent nation, well that’s it, we’re done.
Dec 20, 2024 at 3:05amWeb
Show threadNocturnalMorningDec 20, 2024
You dont need a ton of people if you bomb everyone with autonomous drones, which is exactly what they are doing.
Show threadkautauDec 20, 2024
True, but you do need people to man the nearly 800 military bases the US has around the globe and I’m sure pretty much everyone except the neoconservatives would like to see many of those shut down or transferred to be run purely by their host government
Show threadTinidrilDec 20, 2024
We can’t fight wars with only drones any more than we could fight them with only airpower. At some point, there are always boots on the ground.
Show threadqueermunist she/herDec 20, 2024
Israel is finding this out in real time.
Show threadramsorgeDec 20, 2024
Drones instead of boots.
Show threadI_Fart_GlitterDec 20, 2024

The numbers stopped adding up years ago. There are 1.5 military contractors (largely not US citizens) for every 1 enlisted soldier in the US military. We just pay people to fight our wars. Otherwise we would have to draft and people would get upset about our endless wars again.

watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/…/corporate

Corporate Power & Profiteering | Costs of War

The Costs of War Project is a team of 35 scholars, legal experts, human rights practitioners, and physicians, which began its work in 2011. We use research and a public website to facilitate debate about the costs of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

The Costs of War
Show threadseaQueueDec 20, 2024

Less soldiers equals less wars, it’s a simple numbers game.

You underestimate the Republican willingness to fight wars with low/no oversight civilian contractors.

Show threadChainweaselDec 20, 2024
Unfortunately a smaller volunteer army does not mean less war, it just increases the odds of conscription if we do get into a conflict.