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Budget Cuts? 1,000 Additional Marines to be Sent to Afghanistan

There are 20,000 Marines in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Apparently, that's not enough as the U.S. is about to send another 1,000.

Overall, there are 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. What about the Pentagon budget cuts announced today?

Cutting up to 47,000 troops from the Army and Marine Corps forces — roughly 6 percent — would be made easier by the withdrawal under way from Iraq, and the reductions would not begin until 2015, just as Afghan forces are to take over the security mission there.

One way the Pentagon plans to recoup some money: charging vets more for health insurance:

To make ends meet, Mr. Gates also announced that he would seek to recoup billions of dollars by increasing fees paid by retired veterans under 65 for Defense Department health insurance, even though Congress has rejected such proposals in the past.

And what won't be affected by the cuts:

The president’s budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which is due by mid-February, would freeze discretionary spending, but that would not apply to military, veterans and Homeland Security programs.

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    Everybody but me and Golden Sachs (none / 0) (#1)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Jan 06, 2011 at 08:31:16 PM EST
    will be pinched hard.  I've never been so loved, protected, and cherished in my life.

    Gates plans to pinch you, too, MT. (none / 0) (#2)
    by caseyOR on Fri Jan 07, 2011 at 01:14:18 AM EST
    Gates has stated that he believes TriCare benefits are too generous. His plan includes proposals to increase  the amount of money veterans under the age of 65 pay for their health care.

    Can raising monthly premiums and co-pays on active duty military families be far behind?

    Parent

    I won't feel that pinch for another (none / 0) (#4)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jan 07, 2011 at 08:14:09 AM EST
    20 years.  We will have univesal healthcare by then :)

    Parent
    And yes....making active duty pay (none / 0) (#5)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jan 07, 2011 at 08:16:17 AM EST
    is very far behind as long as we are at war.  They won't apply additional stress to active duty families because then people get out or won't deploy due to hardship clauses that exist.

    Parent