"Clinton did starve the military budget. Ask any regular soldier in the army and he/she will tell you that many of the posts have substandard barracks that would be condemned by civilian standards, and some of their training equipment is old and decrepit and they waste time repairing it and keeping it running. "

Uh Oh! I work in Government procurement, and, no, my job has nothing to do with finding women named Monica.

The above statement is partially true and the situation has little to do with Clinton and lots to do with the various rice bowls and empires within the Defense Department. I have seen war fighting capability on some bases scarificed for facility improvements on others. I have seen so many instances of wasted funds that it would curl your hair. Generally these decisions were the result of inadequate management and poor oversight, not the decreased budget.

We are working with a drastically decreased budget. There is no argument there. But when the budget is decreased it follows that programs should be reconsidered and wasteful ones should be eliminated. On our base we have consolidated offices and people into the smallest footprint possible and are now demolishing the empty buildings. It is up to us, the taxpayers of this nation, to demand that congress push the defense department, and every other department, to review and eliminate wasteful spending. Unfortunately the lobbyists and politicos will never allow that to happen. No one can fight the inertia of deadwood in place.

Gotta stop! I'm getting up on that old soap box and I don't need to go there right now.