Posted on Aug 16, 2018
The American Legion: Fund troops over parade
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Responses: 13
The American Legion can’t be apolitical when they lobby Congress over veteran benefits. Doesn’t mean they take a party line, but they are right when it’s going to cost 80mlion dollars to host this waste of time, yet all the troops get is a 2.1 or so pay raise?
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
That seems good that we could do the pay raise and parade... I personally hated parades but I understand that we are the 1% of America that serve...The 99% need to learn about us.Or do you think we should just sit in the corner and be quiet. (Active duty, has requirements, but us retirees or vets, it is our time to stand up for our active duty and make the non-serving remember the military.)
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SSG Warren Swan
SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint we should never forget where we came from, at the same time we need to ensure those behind us don’t follow our mistakes. Even with us here, our replacements need to carve out their own slice of history and make it their own. Someone will pick up their ruck and do the same. With that there is one constant...none of us want/need/desire to see a parade that is about us, our sacrifices, yet we’re the ones charged with doing it. We got museums, monuments, a shitload of movies, and battlefields galore. If the 99% can’t figure out how to honor us, go to a damn battlefield and listen to the folks running the tour. We don’t fight in dress uniforms, polished vehicles, or stripped weaponry. Why spend money to show a false picture? This parade isn’t going to close the military/civilian gap and the troops won’t be ‘thankful’ for doing it.
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
SSG Warren Swan - I agree with you, but also know that the budget for recruiting ads is high and needed. As the economy goes up and we have low unemployment recruiters will have more trouble recruiting. They will be increasing the advertising budget for recruiting. Anyone want to bet against that statement? The parade would have been a good for advertising.
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This is refreshing to hear; a leader of a veterans organization acknowledging where our nation's focus should be concerning veterans. And truly spoken, until our troops are home what does a parade for the military speak.
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
Maybe beccause troops have done well? So do you want a parade every 30 years or since 1991ish? I think many in USA were not born since the last parade. What do they know about the military.
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The legion is supposed to be involved with things like care for vets, and since all that money is budgeted by politicians through the political process, they of course must be involved in politics. Why do you think presidential candidates go speak to vet orgs during the campaign and lay out all their promises. She is absolutely right that 92 million for a parade is ridiculous. And how in hell did the estimate change from the 12 million put out last month and 92 million? That sounds like a political move to hide the true expense of this ego trip for Trump. We don't need to remind the American public that we have a military. They know, and it's been fighting wars continually for 17 years. A shiny parade won't serve that purpose anyway. Sure, people will see it and go "that's cool" and then go back to their daily routines, and the taxpayers will be out 92 million dollars for the president's feel good moment.
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SFC Joseph Weber
The Trumpinator made such a big deal about saving 12 million by canceling readiness excercises with South Korea to appease North Korea but does not blink an eye on wasteing millions on a parade.
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SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint
The funds could come out of military recruiting fund$. That parade would be a great advertisement.
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