Sequestor ... where's the outrage?!?

Well Shipmate, let me tell you why there is no outrage; crisis fatigue, takeanumberism, the wages of the CINC we have, and frankly - we continue to degrade our credibility.

I know there are a lot of people who are potentially going to be impacted by this, and yes - there are very real national security issues involved here - so don't think I am just being flippant.

First of all, let's look at crisis fatigue. Washington DC has dragged this nation from one created crisis to another. Fiscal Cliff, Sequester, Continuing Resolution ... they all flow together after awhile. With each crisis, more and more people realize that they are all created by politicians because they simply are not doing their job. Even the low information voters are starting to realize that, yes - regardless of what the Constitution says, the Senate has not produced a budget in over four years. They recognize the same process used at the local level - where there is a budget problem, the first thing they yelp is "police and firemen" as if there is not a bunch of lower priority things in the budget that could be cut first. Which brings us to the second reason.

Takeanumberism: for those in the civilian sector, after a half-decade of economic fall and stagnation caused by government, people are really not interested in the neo-feudalistic guv'munt workers complaining that they will now have to contribute more to their gold-plated retirement plans, have a freeze in higher than average wages, or have to contribute to their platinum-plated health care a wee bit.

People are hurting out there. What were two income families in 2008 are now single income - .75xsingle income in some cases. Retirement benefits? They either are asking "What retirement benifits?" or their 401K is but a shadow of what they planned. Health care? Costs are through the roof, and employers are already planning for the greater increases coming - again - because of guv'munt diktats.

Taxpayers - vice taxeaters - know this; the government caused the economic problem, will learn it caused the health care price explosion, and the more they see how much the guv'munt employees make relative to average income, how great their benefits are, how solid their health care plan is - the more they will frankly not care if you have to take a small his.

Your budget falling by 10%? They are getting by on 40% less. Take a number.

They read stuff like this - and they just don't care - especially as their taxes go up and the guv'munt says it isn't enough.

Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more than eight out of 10 occupations, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data finds.
....
Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available.

These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Oh, for the taxpayer - the "feel sorry for those in gov'munt" plea just works wonders when they hear this;

According to the 2013 Car Affordability Study by Interest.com, only in Washington, D.C., could the typical household swing the payments, the median income there running $86,680 a year.

That about says it.

Now, for the military impact - a lot who work in the defense sector are upset that few seem worried about the impact on national defense. Haven't they see our senior civilian and military leaders warn of the impact? Haven't they heard about the cancelled deployments?

Well, you have to look to the front - look to the Commander in Chief we hired. Prior to this, has he really stressed the importance of national defense and the work our military is doing to keep that very real wolf over in the next valley - instead of ours? (the pictures of the Russian Navy and Turkish air force that the Democrat convention does not count) No he hasn't, and if you want to figure out why the American people are giving a big, "Meh" to all the defense cuts - that is part of the reason why.

From day one he has ignored or resisted the victory we achieved in Iraq in 2008, and ignoring military advice - pulled everyone out early (good people can differ on that point). Either way though - there was no discussion of the very real victory we achieved. 

In AFG, since the end of 2009, he announced our phased retreat along with our allies from there. Low information voters think that, "Hey, I guess we've won and its over then."

Sure, we are playing wack-a-mole like champs with drones and GTMO is still open - but a sustained message to the American people about why? No. The American people have not only tired of war - they have lost interest. Unless the leader tells them on a regular basis with credibility, they will lose interest; it is the American way.

Finally - let me just make one point about the Navy's effort. I'll move pass the "police and fireman" vibe to it all, and just point out one reason why we have so little credibility; we really don't act like we are in a money crunch.

I'll frame it this way. If I hold the mortgage on your home and you tell me you are under financial stress and therefore cannot make your mortgage payment - what am I to think when I run it to you having dinner with your family at a $50 a person restaurant? Do I feel any better because you tell me, "It's OK - I am paying for this by not hiring a fishing charter next weekend."

Really?

Well here a message for you to ponder.

DTG 022300Z Mar 13

FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
TO ALNAV
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
CMC WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
ALNAV 014/13

MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/MAR//

SUBJ/DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RESPONSE TO SEQUESTRATION//

RMKS/1. LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE NO BUDGET DEAL HAD BEEN REACHED, THE BUDGET CONTROL ACT REQUIRED SETTING IN MOTION THE AUTOMATIC, GOVERNMENT-WIDE CUTS KNOWN AS SEQUESTRATION. GIVEN THAT REALITY AND THE ASSOCIATED IMPACT OF BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY IMPOSED BY AN INDEFINITE CONTINUING RESOLUTION, THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY INTENDS TO COMMENCE SOME REDUCTIONS IMMEDIATELY.

2. NAVY PLANS TO:
A. SHUT DOWN CARRIER AIR WING TWO (CVW-2) IN APRIL. THIS WILL INITIATE THE PREPARATIONS TO GRADUALLY STAND-DOWN FLYING IN AT LEAST
THREE ADDITIONAL AIR WINGS WITH TWO MORE AIR WINGS BEING REDUCED TO MINIMUM SAFE FLYING LEVELS BY THE END OF THE YEAR;
B. DEFER USNS COMFORT HUMANITARIAN DEPLOYMENT TO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, "CONTINUING PROMISE 2013", INCLUDING SUPPORTING SHIPS,
SEABEES, AND MEDICAL UNITS;
C. CANCEL OR DEFER THE DEPLOYMENTS OF UP TO SIX SHIPS TO VARIOUS AORS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF APRIL;
D. LAY UP FOUR COMBAT LOGISTICS FORCE (CLF) UNITS IN PACOM STARTING IN APRIL;
E. RETURN USS SHOUP (DDG 86) TO HOMEPORT EARLY AND NOT PROCEED AS USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) ESCORT TO CENTCOM;
F. RETURN USS THACH (FFG 43) TO HOMEPORT EARLY FROM DEPLOYMENT TO SOUTHCOM.

3. WE WILL ALSO IMMEDIATELY:
A. BEGIN NEGOTIATING CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS TO DE-OBLIGATE EFFORTS FOR ANY INVESTMENT PROGRAMS FOR WHICH THE REMAINING UNOBLIGATED BALANCE WILL BE INSUFFICIENT AFTER THE SEQUESTRATION REDUCTION IS APPLIED. MAJOR PROGRAMS AFFECTED INCLUDE VIRGINIA-CLASS SSN ADVANCE PROCUREMENT, REACTOR POWER UNITS AND JOINT HIGH SPEED VESSEL (JHSV 10);
B. COMMENCE FINAL PLANNING TO SLOW MARINE CORPS DEPOT MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING REDUCTIONS IN THE NON-PERMANENT WORKFORCE;
C. CANCEL MARCH INTRODUCTORY FLIGHT SCREENING FOR FUTURE PILOTS/NFOS;
D. ANNOUNCE INTENT TO CANCEL BLUE ANGELS SHOWS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 2013 [FOUR SHOWS: MACDILL AFB (TAMPA, FL), NAS CORPUS CHRISTI TX, VIDALIA GA, MCAS BEAUFORT SC];
E. CEASE NEW USMC ENROLLMENTS IN VOLUNTARY EDUCATION TUITION ASSISTANCE;
F. CANCEL MARCH NAVY RECRUITING MEDIA SUPPORT AND REDUCE THE MAJORITY OF ADVERTISING CONTRACTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE UNDER CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS.

4. THESE ACTIONS ARE BEING TAKEN TO PRESERVE SUPPORT FOR THOSE FORCES STATIONED OVERSEAS AND CURRENTLY FORWARD-DEPLOYED. REDUCTIONS IN LOWER-PRIORITY FORWARD OPERATIONS, AND SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN ALL OTHER OPERATIONS, TRAINING, AND MAINTENANCE ARE THE RESULTS OF THIS SELECTION PROCESS. WE MADE THESE CHOICES CAREFULLY, WHILE TRYING TO PRESERVE OUR ABILITY TO REVERSE OR QUICKLY RESTORE NEGATIVE EFFECTS IF AND WHEN FUNDING IS RESTORED.

5. ACTIONS WE HAVE TAKEN TO DATE WILL CONTINUE, TO INCLUDE THOSE AFFECTING THE DEFERRAL OF MAINTENANCE FOR USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72); THE DEFERRAL OF REPAIR WORK FOR USS MIAMI (SSN 755) AND USS PORTER (DDG 78); THE DELAYED DEPLOYMENT OF USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN 75) AND USS GETTYSBURG (CG 64); THE CIVILIAN HIRING FREEZE; THE PLANNING FOR CIVILIAN FURLOUGHS; AND THE REDUCTION OF ALL TRAINING NOT RELATED TO THE READINESS OF DEPLOYED OR NEXT-TO-DEPLOY FORCES.

6. NAVY DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP UNDERSTANDS THE UNCERTAINTY THAT THESE AND OTHER DECISIONS CREATE BOTH AMONGST OUR PEOPLE AND IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY UPON WHICH WE RELY. THE LACK OF A LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION TO AVOID SEQUESTRATION IS DEEPLY REGRETTABLE. THAT SAID, WE MUST ENDEAVOR TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION AS WE FACE IT, NOT AS WE WISH IT COULD OTHERWISE BE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF OUR PEOPLE FOREMOST IN MIND, EVEN AS WE TRY HARD TO KEEP WHOLE THE FORCE STRUCTURE WHICH SUPPORTS THEM. WE WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO KEEP THE FLEET AND FLEET MARINE FORCE FULLY INFORMED AS FOLLOW-ON DECISIONS ARE MADE.

7. RELEASED BY RAY MABUS, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.//
BT

OK. Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer then find this out.

THIS NAVADMIN ANNOUNCES THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE NAVY OFFICE OF HAZING PREVENTION (OPNAV N137) AS THE LEAD NAVY ENTITY FOR HAZING POLICY AND FOR TRACKING SUBSTANTIATED CASES OF HAZING OF UNIFORMED SERVICE MEMBERS. OPNAV N137 WILL MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF SUBSTANTIATED HAZING EVENTS THAT WILL BE USED TO MAINTAIN A HISTORICAL RECORD AND TO PERFORM TREND ANALYSIS. OPNAV N137 WILL MAINTAIN AN ACCOUNT OF ALL HAZING OPREPS AND ANALYSIS RESULTS WILL BE REPORTED TO THE CHIEF OF NAVAL PERSONNEL ON A QUARTERLY BASIS.

I thought we had a hazing prevention organization already - it's called the "Leadership Triad."

Does this excuse make the story any better?

The creation of OPNAV N137 through a reorganization of existing OPNAV assets is the result of a careful, deliberate assessment of current hazing incident report tracking methods and the desire for more formalized oversight of substantiated hazing incidents.

What were those BSC? How many billets from your BA/NMP did you move around? What did they do?

All I know is that we have shifted billets around in order to support a job that gathers numbers to create metrics. Metrics to create PPT for briefings. Briefings that are used to support the existence of jobs that have nothing to do with the actual warfighting requirements of the Navy. Jobs that do one thing - give jobs for people in a certain industry. You figure it out.

... HAZING SHALL BE TRACKED AT THE COMMAND LEVEL BY ASSIGNED COMMAND MANAGED EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (CMEO) PROGRAM MANAGERS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORS (EOA) AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (EO) PROGRAM MANAGERS. CMEO PROGRAM MANAGERS SHALL ADVISE THE COMMANDING OFFICER TO ENSURE TIMELY REPORTING OF EVENTS. CMEOS DO NOT RECEIVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON HAZING, BUT OPNAV N137 IS AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS ON POLICY AND CLARIFICATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. EOAS AND EO PROGRAM MANAGERS SHALL ASSIST SUBORDINATE OR LOCAL CMEOS IN THE COMPLETION OF REPORTING AND MENTOR CMEOS IN ADVISING COMMANDING OFFICERS.

Not enough money for NAVSEA to get ships inspected and maintained properly .... but for the (D)iversity industry ... plenty of wampum for make work jobs for the unemployable.

So, if Joe Taxpayer really doesn't care - don't blame them; they just wish they had your job the last five years, then they probably would not have been foreclosed on.

---

UPDATE: So, how many net-taxpaying families out there are making more money now than they have every had? Well, as the guv'munt cries poverty;

In its latest Budget and Economic Update, the CBO forecasts that federal revenue will top $2.7 trillion in 2013, slightly higher than the $2.6 trillion the government collected in 2007, when the last recession officially began.
...
In fact, the $2.7 trillion in revenue will be the most money the federal government has collected in history.