Freedom of Speech

I'm all for freedom of speech. In fact, I wish more liberals would say exactly what they feel, because if they did, the majority of Americans would realize how stupid they are and never vote for another liberal again.
However, then there are idiots like this guy. Now, again, I'm for freedom of speech. But there's a line that you need to be careful around. And he's stomping all over it.
Now, in order to have a civilized discussion about this, I used the same figures he uses when he says that our military is overcompensated. Let's look at base pay. An E-3 after two years makes $1384 a month. That's $16608 a year. That's $7.98/hour based upon a 40 hour work week. Anyone who has been in the military KNOWS that there's no 40 hour work week. Not bad, but you certainly couldn't raise a family on it, or get rich on it. Add in Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and it goes up a tad. The most it will be a month is $420, and that's if you're stationed in the New York City area and live on Staten Island. That's the 14% BAH rate, at the standard $30/point rate. So, let's look at that E-3 again, his salary of $1384 a month turns into $1804/month. (All taxable, by the way, as opposed to what this idiot is saying, unless you are out of the country, then it's taxed just like all the other expatriots who work outside the country). That's still only $21648/year. And I can guarantee that the $420 doesn't cover much in the way of rent in Staten Island. Just looking around, I saw rent between $750-1450/month. And you only get BAH if you live off base. If you stay on base, you don't.
Yes, there are some additional allowances, hazardous duty pay, combat pay, etc. But truly it's a pittance. Yes they get free medical care. Ever been to a VA hospital? Imagine that, but worse. Basically, the doctors that work at military hospitals are either the ones who are paying back their obligation to the military and can't wait to get out, or the doctors who couldn't get hired anywhere else and like the 9-3 hours. Ask anyone who's been to a military hospital (other than Walter Reed which is an outstanding hospital). They'll tell you.
Free uniforms? OOO...now THERE'S a reason to complain. Those fashionable browns and greens really go with our eyes. Idiot....
He also uses salary numbers that are just idiotic. An E-5 in two years? Yeah, right. If someone DOES make E-5 in 2 years, they DESERVE that $1877/month because they're a hard charger. If they were in the civilian world they'd make a helluva lot more.
Example- I have two friends who do the exact same thing. One in the civilian world, one in the military. They both run warehouses. One makes $2647/month ($31k/year), one makes $45k a year (plus overtime). The one that makes more, his warehouse handles such important things as Fritos, Lays potato chips, and the like. The one that makes less handles such insignifcant things as body armor, kevlar helmets, boots, etc.
So, instead of bitching about how the military is place where all your money is going to waste, perhaps you should be complimenting them on their ability to be thrifty. Just think how much this moron would complain if they paid the going market rate.
And don't get me started comparing the computer guys. The average security guy in the AirForce. E-4, with eight years in: $2329/month ($27948/year). Average computer security guy in industry with TWO years experience? $70,000/year. Do the math.
Another example: 0-8 (Major General) with 20 years experience gets $10742/month. That's $128k a year. Not a bad chunk of change. But when you consider that the average Major General has thousands of people working for him, putting him about the same position as a Senior VP or even a President of a midsized organization in the civilian world, perhaps you'll reconsider that this is such a large amount of money. The CEO of Cisco, John Chambers made $350,000 base salary last year, even though the company performance was not so great. That's not counting bonuses, options, etc. The CEO of FifthThird Bank, a large midwest bank with 20,000 employees, makes $990k.

So, bottom line, if this jackass wants to complain about our military blowing up ancient relics from the Babylonian times, go ahead. If he wants to complain about the occasional civilian getting whacked in the process of us taking out hundreds of bad guys, feel free. But if you're going to complain about the pay in the military, get your head out of your ASS, and get a clue.
By the way, this guys info:

Michael Crook
201 E. Jefferson Street
Suite #301
Syracuse, NY 13202
ATTN: FTT
Phone: 315-295-2602
AIM: SMSupportDesk
Yahoo Messenger: fttcattdesk

And if you want to see a picture of this ween: http://www.michaelcrook.com/bio.html
He's pretty much what I expected. Bad haircut, dark circles under the eyes from watching pr0n on his 'puter until the wee hours, bitter because he can't hold down a job, as witnessed by his multitude of 'experiences'.