http://www.stripes.com/house-passes-defense-bill-with-benefit-cuts-money-for-obama-war-strategy-1.317211

COL (Join to see) we are already feeling the cuts right now in funding for schools and annual training in my brigade and I am sure Army Reserves and DoD wide. I know the school slots are being cut as well. This will start hitting us in our individual pockets as well.

For our younger service members, the smaller raise (early in their career) impacts them greatly over the course of their careers.

A couple specifics of the article:

◾ Basic housing allowances will go from covering 100 percent to 99 percent of costs, while the military hopes to eventually bring that down to 95 percent.
◾ Tricare pharmacy copays will cost troops $3 more, which could still be on track to meet the Pentagon goal of requiring $30 more out of pocket for prescription medicine within a decade.
◾ The $1.3 billion budget for base commissaries around the world will be reduced by $100 million. Brass wants a total of $900 million in reductions.

Bottom line is we have to reduce spending if we want to get the deficit under control however, I'd rather see some restructuring in many of the social programs....seems like we give away so much (internally and externally) without a good return on the investment (especially internally). I don't like that we have programs that encourage people not to challenge themselves, where they'd rather stay at home and watch Jerry Springer and Maury instead of working.....just something wrong with that when we look at our young Warriors and ask them to continue to march to the beet while falling behind the cost of living....grrr!