Budget Cuts
- Thread starter 040726
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,059
Buddy- at the risk of sounding more brusk than I intend to- Surely you don't really expect anyone on this forum to answer this do you? The SecDef announced the 2015 budget proposals yesterday- The short answer to your question is : "Maybe- who knows until there is actually a budget." Just do the best you can and don't worry about things that are totally outside your control or even influence.
Last edited:
Well Bruno, I guess you don't know, but someone who has read the proposal might have some insight into the scope of the cuts. I am not losing sleep over this issue, but the question is legitimate in that these cuts will affect the future of the military and its future leaders.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,059
Well - I'm not trying to hurt your feelings and if anyone has a crystal ball- they are free to chime in. But my take remains the same. Having looked at SecDef and Administration proposed budgets and actual adopted appropriations for a long time now- my advice stands. What they propose, what eventually gets adopted and how that affects you or your kid and the service he/she is shooting for in the immediate and long term future is pretty well opaque. It will affect somebody for sure- but who? How? When? Anyone who tells you that they have anymore than guesses- is full of stuff and if you are trying to make plans based on what just got released yesterday- you probably will have better luck walking on water.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2011
- Messages
- 1,332
Obvious question has an obvious answer....
ERAUMattmom
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2012
- Messages
- 443
And if anybody shows up with that crystal ball ...I'd like to ask it a question or two about lottery numbers!!!
Pima
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2007
- Messages
- 13,900
+1 Kinnem.
If you look at the AF as any kind of insight it is going to impact you somewhere down the line. They announced their cuts about 6 months ago.
Currently, AFROTC has informed the class of 14 non-rated cadets that if they don't get enough of them to voluntarily leave than they will be force to do a RIF (reduction in forces). Their AF career will be over before it even started.
Thus, the knee bone is connected to....
Now, remember that the military budget is like a pendulum it swings both ways. Nobody on 9/10/01 saw what would happen the next day. Had 9/11 never occurred these cuts may have occurred years ago.
If you look at the last big cuts that occurred in 92/93 it mimics our economy today. There were less scholarships available during those years, but the pendulum swung back while those cadets were in college. In 98 the military that had seen pay raises like they are seeing today, personnel that saw RIFs and SERBs, low promotion rates now saw double digit pay raises, higher promotion rates and no RIFs/SERBs. That is how fast the pendulum swung back.
IOWs you have 4 years before you really need to be concerned, especially if you follow the advice given by 99% of posters when it comes to the scholarship. Make sure you can afford to attend the college without the scholarship. They allow that first year as a no harm no foul because many cadets decide that this life does in reality does not match up to the illusion they created in their mind.
Good luck.
Now kinnem, thanks for placing that silly song in everyone's mind...what bones are connected to the hip bone?
If you look at the AF as any kind of insight it is going to impact you somewhere down the line. They announced their cuts about 6 months ago.
Currently, AFROTC has informed the class of 14 non-rated cadets that if they don't get enough of them to voluntarily leave than they will be force to do a RIF (reduction in forces). Their AF career will be over before it even started.
Thus, the knee bone is connected to....
Now, remember that the military budget is like a pendulum it swings both ways. Nobody on 9/10/01 saw what would happen the next day. Had 9/11 never occurred these cuts may have occurred years ago.
If you look at the last big cuts that occurred in 92/93 it mimics our economy today. There were less scholarships available during those years, but the pendulum swung back while those cadets were in college. In 98 the military that had seen pay raises like they are seeing today, personnel that saw RIFs and SERBs, low promotion rates now saw double digit pay raises, higher promotion rates and no RIFs/SERBs. That is how fast the pendulum swung back.
IOWs you have 4 years before you really need to be concerned, especially if you follow the advice given by 99% of posters when it comes to the scholarship. Make sure you can afford to attend the college without the scholarship. They allow that first year as a no harm no foul because many cadets decide that this life does in reality does not match up to the illusion they created in their mind.
Good luck.
Now kinnem, thanks for placing that silly song in everyone's mind...what bones are connected to the hip bone?
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2010
- Messages
- 2,242
No and yes...now that we have an answer the next question is, how does that affect the actions of a young student who wants to be a future leader in whatever force we end up with in 5 years. There are still going to need to be Lieutenants, and unless someone loses their mind there will need to be ROTC Battalions to produce those Lieutenants. And there will still be scholarships to compete for.
ThunderHawk
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Messages
- 27
Well, not "nobody."
not to hijack the the thread but just curious.
IOWs you have 4 years before you really need to be concerned, especially if you follow the advice given by 99% of posters when it comes to the scholarship. Make sure you can afford to attend the college without the scholarship. They allow that first year as a no harm no foul because many cadets decide that this life does in reality does not match up to the illusion they created in their mind.
Anybody have any info on the number of cadets that leave their respective programs after the first year?
IOWs you have 4 years before you really need to be concerned, especially if you follow the advice given by 99% of posters when it comes to the scholarship. Make sure you can afford to attend the college without the scholarship. They allow that first year as a no harm no foul because many cadets decide that this life does in reality does not match up to the illusion they created in their mind.
Anybody have any info on the number of cadets that leave their respective programs after the first year?
AND more competition. I like to think most kids sign up for ROTC to serve our country (perhaps this is a wishful thinking). With fewer of everything, less chance for active duty, less pilot slots, and so on.
If you are a great kid, should still get a ROTC scholarship, should still get active duty, should still get whatever branch/specialty you want. However, if you are not so great, things got more uncertain (i.e. before the cut, okay for scholarship/active duty/pilot)
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Messages
- 808
Or so we hope. Who knows how AD/branching selection will work in the years to come. Frankly, I was suprised that CC didn't cut as many AD slots this year with all the hype there was about it.
To the OP, from one cadet's prospective - I can't tell you how it will affect down the road. I can say though, that originally for this semester, FTX was suppose to be canceled due to budget cuts. However, things (somehow) changed to the point where we are now able to have a spring FTX. Keep in mind that I also go to PSU - one of the bigger Battalions in the nation ... so imagine the budgets for some of the smaller Battalions ...
CG Smith released some structural changes to AROTC back in the fall of last year. He wants to instate a form of summer training program for cadets between freshman and sophmore year. From speaking with cadre, the reason for this is to weed out the people who might later on drop Army - in essence, to save money down the road.
CG Smith also wants to have 2 iterations of LDAC. One during the traditional summer between Jr. and Sr. year; but one also in the summer between Soph. and Jr. year. And the traditional LDAC iteration from what I heard is being bumped from somewhere around 28 days to around 63'ish days.
... where all this money will come from is still a mystery to me.
Meanwhile, back to kinnem's crystal ball
