US military needs to be completely revamped

[Mushroom]

When will we see an honest recruiting poster with a homeless vet on it?

The "homeless vet" trope has been overblown for decades.

Most of those who claim to be "homeless vets" are outright frauds. And the majority that really are vets have substance abuse issues that they refuse to deal with.

 

[Mushroom]

However none of the Chinese or Russian carriers could reasonably survive an engagement with an American carrier.

Of course, they do not even have carriers. Literally as their name states "Aircraft carrying missile cruisers". Only enough aircraft for a CAP, not enough to conduct any real combat missions.

 

[Dayton3]

In a war it would be one of the functions. However none of the Chinese or Russian carriers could reasonably survive an engagement with an American carrier. I’d be willing to bet that all four Russian and Chinese carriers together couldn’t defeat a single U.S. carrier.

What makes you think that? And you should know that they wpuldn't have to.

 

[Mushroom]

Vacate some of the airforce bases and move the planes and personnel to another base.

Actually, that has been done in a way.

US Vets is a private non-profit that does indeed house and feed homeless vets. And many of their facilities actually are located on former military bases.

However, the problem there is that the bases are turned over to the city it is in, and the majority of them are resistant to doing so. I know about 20 years ago they looked at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, but the city of Vallejo outright refused to let them set up there. And the same was every other former military base in the Bay Area, all had unoccupied housing facilities but not a single community let them move in to take over part of it to care for veterans. They tried for years to get a facility there, and every single community from Oakland to Sacramento refused to let them do so.

U.S.VETS | Veterans Housing, Counseling, Career Development and Support

U.S.VETS is on a mission to end veteran homelessness through services designed to help provide housing, mental health support, and more.

usvets.org

 

[Mushroom]

there has been no time outside of wartime where anyone was required to serve for any period of time

Uh, not true at all.

The Korean War ended in 1953, and the US only had a token force of advisors in South Vietnam until 1965. That was 12 years in which the nation was not in any wars, yet they still had a draft.

The US also had a draft starting in July 1941, five months before the US was dragged into the war. There was also a limited draft from 1948 until 1950 when the Korean War started.

 

[Mushroom]

Genocide. Nice.

That is not genocide. Saying that is like saying that it was genocide to fight the Germans and Japanese in WWII.

 

[Mushroom]

Barbers Point in Hawaii is like that now...still lots and lots of homeless on the beaches.

Are they vets?

It won’t solve the issue of homeless vets. Thats sad to hear though. Why do you think it is like that?

Actually, yes. Everybody housed at Barber's Point is a vet.

I know because that facility is run by an organization I already mentioned, US Vets. And every single person they take care of is a proven vet that does not have a Bad Conduct or Dishonorable Discharge. Vetted by the VA, and clean of all drugs and alcohol for at least 30 days prior to being admitted.

In fact, some of the largest problems US Vets has in taking care of veterans is the locations (not enough where they are needed), vetting (most that try to apply are fakes), and their being clean and sober for 30 days before admittance. They even work with the local VA to provide treatment for those that want to be admitted by are still using.

And at least 1/3 wash out of the program in their first month. Most times because of relapsing to substance abuse. There really is not much you can do for an addict that refuses to get clean.

 

[Mushroom]

We never found squat.

The Intel was wrong. Happens. Doesn’t help when Saddam wanted us to think he had WMD.

They found them all over the nation for decades. Even the government of Iraq turned over two bunkers of the stuff to the UN when they signed the Even the New York Times reported in 2014 that they had discovered almost 5,000 munitions in Iraq after the war ended.

And in 2009 when Iraq joined the Chemical Weapon Convention, they turned over 2 bunkers full of the stuff to the UN as well as production facilities.

Iraq submitted its initial declaration on 12 March 2009, and has declared two bunkers with filled and unfilled chemical weapons munitions, some precursors, as well as five former chemical weapons production facilities

India Completes Chemical Weapons Disposal; Iraq Declares Stockpile | GSN | NTI

web.archive.org

Heck, just look at WIkileaks. A ton of the stuff released there was about the discovery of Iraqi chemical weapons.

Scattered throughout the roughly 392,000 documents illegally published by WikiLeaks are accounts of U.S., coalition and Iraqi forces recovering chemical munitions left behind by Saddam Hussein’s overthrown regime.

WikiLeaks’ Inconvenient Truth about Iraqi Chemical Weapons

Buried in the WikiLeaks avalanche of documents related to the war in Iraq are various reports about the discovery of chemical weapons caches inside Iraq—reports which contradict the revisionist narrative about the genesis of the war.

www.heritage.org

By late 2003, even the Bush White House's staunchest defenders were starting to give up on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

But WikiLeaks' newly-released Iraq war documents reveal that for years afterward, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs, encounter insurgent specialists in toxins and uncover weapons of mass destruction.

WikiLeaks Show WMD Hunt Continued in Iraq - With Surprising Results

By late 2003, even the Bush White House’s staunchest defenders were starting to give up on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But WikiLeaks’ newly-released Iraq war documents reveal that for years afterward, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs...

www.wired.com

I love how many people keep repeating that lie, especially when it is so easily proven by multiple sources to be a lie.

 

[candycorn]

Actually, yes. Everybody housed at Barber's Point is a vet.

I know because that facility is run by an organization I already mentioned, US Vets. And every single person they take care of is a proven vet that does not have a Bad Conduct or Dishonorable Discharge. Vetted by the VA, and clean of all drugs and alcohol for at least 30 days prior to being admitted.

In fact, some of the largest problems US Vets has in taking care of veterans is the locations (not enough where they are needed), vetting (most that try to apply are fakes), and their being clean and sober for 30 days before admittance. They even work with the local VA to provide treatment for those that want to be admitted by are still using.

And at least 1/3 wash out of the program in their first month. Most times because of relapsing to substance abuse. There really is not much you can do for an addict that refuses to get clean.

Thanks.

 

[Mushroom]

What makes you think that?

They are not actually aircraft carriers. They are guided missile cruisers that carry a small number of fighters.

The Kiev class could carry up to 12 fighters, the Kuznetsov class could carry up to 20 fighters. Even a WWII escort carrier like the Sangamon class could carry 32 fighters.

In comparison, a US Nimitz class carrier typically has around 65 fighters on board, but if required can actually carry a staggering 130 Hornet or F-35 B/C fighters.

Hell, even the America class amphibious assault ship typically will house 20-25 F-35B fighters, and it is reported that in a maximum aircraft configuration it can carry over 50 fighters.

But 12-20 fighters? That was a joke even for a WWII era escort carrier.

 

[pknopp]

The Intel was wrong. Happens. Doesn’t help when Saddam wanted us to think he had WMD.

Thousands and thousands dead. Oops.

 

[pknopp]

Nope, everyone should sacrifice for the good of society. I’m in favor of everyone, male or female being required to do two years of national service in a non-resident program. It could be military, something like the old Civilian Conservation Corps from the depression or something else that would enforce a regimented lifestyle and independence.

And I support scaling the military way back.

 

[pknopp]

That is not genocide. Saying that is like saying that it was genocide to fight the Germans and Japanese in WWII.

They both declared war on us. Huge difference. We didn't outright lie ourselves into that.

 

[pknopp]

They found them all over the nation for decades. Even the government of Iraq turned over two bunkers of the stuff to the UN when they signed the Even the New York Times reported in 2014 that they had discovered almost 5,000 munitions in Iraq after the war ended.

And in 2009 when Iraq joined the Chemical Weapon Convention, they turned over 2 bunkers full of the stuff to the UN as well as production facilities.

India Completes Chemical Weapons Disposal; Iraq Declares Stockpile | GSN | NTI

web.archive.org

Heck, just look at WIkileaks. A ton of the stuff released there was about the discovery of Iraqi chemical weapons.

WikiLeaks’ Inconvenient Truth about Iraqi Chemical Weapons

Buried in the WikiLeaks avalanche of documents related to the war in Iraq are various reports about the discovery of chemical weapons caches inside Iraq—reports which contradict the revisionist narrative about the genesis of the war.

www.heritage.org

WikiLeaks Show WMD Hunt Continued in Iraq - With Surprising Results

By late 2003, even the Bush White House’s staunchest defenders were starting to give up on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But WikiLeaks’ newly-released Iraq war documents reveal that for years afterward, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs...

www.wired.com

I love how many people keep repeating that lie, especially when it is so easily proven by multiple sources to be a lie.

We never found squat.

 

[Mushroom]

Thanks.

They helped me a lot from 2000-2002 when I needed it, and have supported them for decades. They really are an outstanding organization, that only exists to help homeless vets as well as those at rick of being homeless. They also run programs for chemical dependence, job training, and at least in California are registered with the state as a Halfway House for veterans leaving incarceration.

In fact, back in 2008 before I flew back to Fort Bliss, I made sure to stop by and visit. And the founder Dwight Radcliff came out to meet me himself. He remembered me when I was there, and was shocked I was in the military again. Out of the thousands they had assisted, I was the first he was aware of that was ever able to join the military again.

It really is a fantastic organization, and honestly does all it can to help veterans. One of the few that I really do trust as most of the staff are people who had gone through the program themselves.

And this can be seen in their financials. Only 1.5% goes to "Executive Compensation" (under $1 million total), and $0 goes to "Professional Fundraising fees".

United States Veterans Initiative - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica

Since 2013, the IRS has released data culled from millions of nonprofit tax filings. Use this database to find organizations and see details like their executive compensation, revenue and expenses, as well as download tax filings going back as far as 2001.

projects.propublica.org

Compare that to say Wounded Warrior Project, Where in the first year they had to file an IRS 990 paid their executives 1.9% ((just over $1 million), and 3.1% (over $1.7 million) was spend on professional fundraising. And in their latest filing executive take home 1% of the money raised ($2.89 million), and spends 3.3% on fundraising ($8.99 million).

Wounded Warrior Project Inc - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica

Since 2013, the IRS has released data culled from millions of nonprofit tax filings. Use this database to find organizations and see details like their executive compensation, revenue and expenses, as well as download tax filings going back as far as 2001.

projects.propublica.org

WWP spends as much each year on just fundraising and salaries than the entire US Vets program brings in.

 

[Mushroom]

We never found squat.

So the NY Times is lying? Wired is lying? Wikileaks is lying? Even the UN is lying?

That is denial beyond belief.

 

[Mushroom]

They both declared war on us. Huge difference.

What exactly is the difference?

 

[pknopp]

So the NY Times is lying? Wired is lying? Wikileaks is lying? Even the UN is lying?

That is denial beyond belief.

We lied. Thousands died.

 

[pknopp]

What exactly is the difference?

I'm not sure the wisdom of even trying to address this ignorance.

 

[August West]

Most of the South Vietnamese wanted us there. Shown by how many fled when the North won.
North Vietnam had major military and material support from CCP China and the USSR.
USA leaders were worried as to what would be the threshold that starts global WW 3, hence we held back, that one hand tied behind back analogy.
Had we bit the bullet, invaded the North and removed their communist regime, that war might have ended with a USA victory.
If China and Russia didn't do what they did in Korea 1950-1953.

Yes indeed. The Vietnamese who sided with the invaders had to flee.