President Obama’s Defense Department is sending thousands of pink slips to soldiers — while they are actively working in combat zones. The layoff news itself does not come as a surprise, but the delivery of that news is beyond questionable.
Imagine risking your life on a daily basis in an active combat zone in Afghanistan, and being told your country no longer needs you.
Via the New York Post:
In a stunning display of callousness, the Defense Department has announced that thousands of soldiers — many serving as commanding officers in Afghanistan — will be notified in the coming weeks that their service to the country is no longer needed.
Last week, more than 1,100 Army captains — the men and women who know best how to fight this enemy because they have experienced multiple deployments — were told they’ll be retired from the Army.
The overall news is not unexpected. The Army has ended its major operations in Iraq and is winding down in Afghanistan. Budget cuts are projected to shrink the Army from its current 520,000 troops to 440,000, the smallest size since before World War II.
What is astonishing is that the Defense Department thought it would be appropriate to notify deployed soldiers — men and women risking their lives daily in combat zones — that they’ll be laid off after their current deployment.
According to a new report, the U.S. government wasted roughly $100 billion last year by sending government paychecks to people who were not eligible for those taxpayer dollars. Yet here, budget cuts are causing the Army to contract to it’s smallest size in 70 years.
Budget cuts so extreme apparently that the Defense Department can’t wait until these soldiers are home and out of harm’s way before telling them the’re fired.
Cross-posted at the Mental Recession
