Project 2025 – a disaster for American preparedness

The bulk of this post was written before the assassination attempt on former President Trump.  However, the events of July 13^th have no bearing on the content of this post.

By now you’ve heard about Project 2025, MAGA Republicans’ and the Heritage Foundation’s plans for a “reform” of the Federal government if Donald Trump is elected in November.

Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, saying that he doesn’t know anyone involved with it. In fact, his own Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is working for P2025.  One of the architects of P2025 is John McEntee, Trump’s Director of White House Personnel when he was in office.  A board member, Russell Vought, was named policy director of the Republican National Committee this past May.  Further, Trump’s own Agenda 47 bears a striking resemblance to P2025.

You’ve no doubt read some of the major items of P2025, but here’s a quick refresher:

Social issues and Reproductive Rights:

• End marriage equality
• Complete abortion ban - without exceptions
• Restrictions on contraceptives
• Use taxpayer money for religious schools and include Christian beliefs in public school curricula
• Pack the Supreme Court with Justices who will ban all DEI initiatives and enable the above

Medicare and Social Security:

• Raise the retirement age
• Cut Social Security benefits
• Cut Medicare
• Repeal the Affordable Care Act
• End price controls on medications, such as the Biden-era price cap on Insulin

Environment:

• Defund the EPA
• Deregulate Fossil Fuel production
• Increase Artic drilling

National Security:

• Defund the FBI and Homeland Security
• Use the military to break up domestic protests
• Retire senior military personnel and stack the upper-ranks with Trump supporters.

 

Let’s talk some more about the military items, which are not getting the publicity much of the rest of P2025 is receiving.

Buried among the nooks and crannies of P2025 are items detailing benefit cuts for veterans and active-duty military personnel.  Part of that is to move part of the VA to the private sector.  Part includes benefit cuts to disabled veterans.  What an outrageous slap in the face to those who have been harmed defending our nation.

Do we really want our active duty and retired military to have to jump through more hoops?  Particularly those who are disabled or need mental health care? 

Our nation’s defenders are not especially well paid.  You may have heard “they get free room, board, and food on Uncle Sam’s dime.”  That’s not exactly true.  Military personnel receive a modest salary, from which certain things are deducted, along with some supplements. 

Live on base or on a ship?   That’s $380 per month deducted from your pay since the food is provided.  And if you only serve part time on the ship, and get food elsewhere some days?  Too bad, they take the whole $380 anyway.  It doesn’t help matters that most base galleys have limited hours which often do not fit well with the realities of military scheduling.  Low ranking personnel, such as Army and Marine Privates, Navy Recruits, Sailors and 3^rd Class Petty Officers (E1-E4), live in barracks.  This is exactly what happened with a young Sailor friend of mine when he was at his post-boot camp technical school and after he had been assigned to his ship.  

There are also supplemental allowances added to base salary, such as a uniform allowance.  An enlisted Sailor’s wardrobe includes Dress Blues, Dress Whites, Service uniforms, camo-style Type III Working uniforms, and, if on a ship, Coveralls.  Sailors are expected to have at least one of each Dress uniform, two Service uniforms, three Type III uniforms, and three Coveralls.  There are also accoutrements to the various uniforms, from the proper footwear to straps to hold dress shirts in place to rank and rating patches – all of which the Sailor must pay for.  Being American made, uniforms are expensive; and service members are expected to keep them well maintained – dry cleaning is recommended for Service uniforms.  Plus, one must remember many of those entering the military are teenagers who are still growing and will need replacement uniforms.  If the Sailor keeps in good shape and maintains his uniforms, they won’t have to be replaced as often and he can keep the unspent allowance.  This encourages military personnel to be thrifty and healthy by taking good care of their clothes and their bodies.

Once promoted to E-5 (Sergeant or Petty Officer 2^nd Class), they are moved out of the barracks and provided with a housing allowance.  That’s what happened with my dad when he was promoted to PO2 in the 1950s, and that’s what happened to my young sailor friend.  The housing allowance varies based on the cost of living where the sailor is stationed, and my young friend happens to be stationed in one of the most expensive locations in the US.  It’s certainly not his fault that the Navy decided to build one of its largest bases there.   Thus, his housing allowance is relatively high.  The apartment building where he lives is on base and part of a private/military cooperative effort.  In exchange for the convenience of living on base, they take his entire housing allowance.  He’s currently looking for a less expensive apartment off base, which will allow him to pocket any leftover housing allowance and use that money to get a used car.  (My dad rented a room above a woman’s garage.)  If you think that means he’s ripping off the taxpayers, then remember: once he moves off base, his on-base dwelling becomes available to another newly promoted Sailor.   

P2025 proposes to “reform” these types of allowances by making military personnel return any unspent allowance.  This is a false economy because active-duty personnel will not be incentivized to maintain their uniforms and find less expensive housing.  They will simply neglect their uniforms and find the nicest place their allowance will cover.  P2025 also proposes to penalize married military couples who live together by making them share the same housing allowance, even though families require more space than single people.

I recently spoke with my Sailor friend about some of these points.  This person is politically moderate and not partisan.  But when I advised him of these proposals, his reaction was what you’d expect of a Salty Sailor: “[Unprintable quote redacted.]”

Here’s a fact that Putin enablers among the GOP and lefty-loonies like Jill Stein would like you to forget: America has enemies – two of which pose an existential threat to our nation.  The first of these is Russia.  Putin's stated goal is to reestablish the de-facto empire that existed under the USSR.  True, initially Putin played nice with us after 9/11, but the government over which he seems to have an iron grip has become increasingly hostile since George Bush took us to war with Iraq in 2003.  Trump and his enablers seem content to appease Putin on everything from his brutal invasion of Ukraine to his open interference in our nation’s elections and politics.  Joe Biden is the only President who has strongly stood up to Putin – not Bush 43, not Obama, and certainly not Trump - over whom Putin seems to hold some unspoken power.  As for China, though they are not exactly an enemy, they do not wish us well and mainly have exploited us for their own economic benefit.  Trump makes a big noise about China, but his businesses have benefited from Chinese (and Russian) investment.  Under Joe Biden, China has dropped from America’s number one importer to third place – behind Canada and Mexico. 

We have enemies aside from Russia and China, such as North Korea and Iran, but only Russia and China have the military potential to engage in a war with us which would be catastrophic for the planet.  China’s bullying of Taiwan is surpassed only by Russia’s bullying of Ukraine.  History has taught us the dangers of appeasing bullies.  Prior to 1939, the European powers declined to enforce the Versailles treaty and stood by while Hitler’s Germany rearmed.  Following Kristallnacht, not one European leader spoke out about what happened – only U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt issued a rather tame rebuke.  When Hitler invaded Austria, the world did nothing.  He continued to build his military, ranted about how ethnic Germans were being treated by the Czechoslovakian government (just as Putin would use the supposed treatment of ethnic Russians by the Ukrainian government 80 years later) and then was given tacit approval to invade the Sudetenland by Neville Chamberlain. 

Thus, we must maintain the world’s strongest defense as a deterrent to Russian and Chinese military aggression.  Trump and his P2025 supporters are content to throw uncountable money at the military-industrial complex to fill defense contractors' pockets.  But when it comes to the well-being of military personnel, they could not care less.

All branches of the US military are already dealing with shortfalls in recruiting and retention.  With unemployment at historic lows, fewer and fewer want to take on an arduous, potentially hazardous job with low pay.  As the nation moves slowly toward cannabis legalization, few want to subject themselves to periodic urinalysis tests which, if positive, could result in a dishonorable discharge and a blot on their resume.  That’s exactly why President Biden has pushed so hard to raise military pay and improve benefits. 

When I read of P2025’s plans for the military, knowing how they will affect recruitment and retention once implemented, I can’t help but wonder: Who stands to benefit if our military is less prepared; if the ranks are thinned from cratering recruitment and retention; if service members’ morale is low?

America’s enemies, that’s who.   And it would be very interesting to know where the backers of Project 2025, including the Heritage Foundation, are getting their money.  Is there a Russian connection?  Is there a Chinese connection?