Pay the piper.

A favorite expression of my Drill Sergeant was, "Somebody's gonna have to pay the piper." and what he always meant was that we'd gotten away with something horrible (like having scuffs on our boots, or getting a fork to eat with at chow, or sitting down while on fireguard) and we were about to have to pay for it (usually in push-ups, laps around the building, or really anything else that makes you puke if you do enough of it).

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Pres. Obama has decided it is time for the US military to pay the piper. Granted, the military has been carrying an insane burden, or shall I say, the same few troops have been doing so, for nearly the past decade, in the form of these wars, multiple deployments, and stuff like that, but what nobody who's reeling against this wants to acknowledge is the other side of that coin. Do you have any idea how many thousands of dollars in combat pay we pocketed over the course of Thak's deployments? Do you have any idea how much free shit he got while in Iraq? You can go there and just ask for uniforms for absolutely no money. He came home with something like 15 uniforms and 3 new pairs of boots we did not pay a dime for. There are TONS of perks that have come with these wars, and they haven't come cheap.

Bottom line: While the rest of the American people were worrying for their jobs, and scrambling to keep their homes, every military family on the planet was taking discounted vacations to Disney World, and buying cars they never could have otherwise afforded, with the combat pay that was amassed during a tour or two. That's not to say that the combat pay wasn't earned. Let's send your husband away for a year or more, and you tell me if you don't want a little compensation for that. It is, however, to say that the military has born absolutely none of the brunt of the economic downturn that has affected our country so much. Why should we be so immune from everything? People are bitching and moaning about not getting a pay raise for a few years? Dude, there are people in the private sector who haven't had a JOB in a few years. Take your steady paycheck and be happy.

Now, I do understand that there are families who are struggling, and that will make it just that much harder for them, but maybe it will teach a lesson to those who follow, like, make sure your husband has enough rank to support your family before having more children. It's time for military families to learn personal accountability, and back up some of that loud and proud flag waving with real dollars and cents. You want to be patriotic? Do your share to fix our economy. Like Drill Sergeant always said, it's time to pay the piper.