Defending Our Defenders Stories

CDR Bert Ortiz, USN (Ret)
Posted by Bert Ortiz | May 11, 2012
I have served my country in the United States Navy honorably and faithfully for over 31 years, rising through the ranks from Airman Recruit to Commander.  I now own and operate a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business where I look to hire veterans and a veteran workforce.  Why?  Because I know they are among the most highly trained and talented employees available that share the same values of service and sacrifice as I.  

Throughout the years as I evaluated my continued service and advised others to continue their service, benefits and compensation packages were often at the heart in deciding whether to continue to wear the cloth of our nation as one of its defenders.  These packages were unquestionable in their firm backing by our nation and made the decision to continue serving or separate exceptionally difficult.  So I say with firm conviction that military pay and benefits are the core foundations of the all-volunteer force and are crucial to retain and maintain this highly educated and technically savvy workforce.   

I am genuinely and deeply concerned about the growing and continued attack on these pay and compensation packages, including health care and benefits for our active duty, veterans and retirees, flippantly labeling them as entitlements to be evaluated for cuts equal with other entitlement programs.  We have paid for our benefits through extraordinarily steep premiums and have earned our compensation.  These earned benefits are not entitlements and I take exception to the comparison.  I also continue to believe that the military career incentive package must be unique because military service conditions are unique and have no civilian comparison.  Continually enduring arduous and stressful combat deployments and family separation, where working seven days a week and often well over 18 hours a day were often the norm, have no equivalent.  Few Americans are willing to accept those conditions and least of all endure a single tour in uniform, let alone a career of 20 or 30 years.  So I can also unequivocally say that cuts to the crucial incentive packages that sustain a top-quality career force will undermine our military’s retention and readiness and directly affect the ability to support long-term national security.  Coupling this attack on compensation and benefits with the threat of pink slipping over 200,000 members of a battle experienced fighting force, leaves a hollowed shell to defend this nations interest in light of our highly volatile world climate.  We painfully lived through a similar period in a post-Vietnam environment… must we once again need to relive that lesson?     
Comments
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  • Michael Russo commented on 5/15/2012
    Bert, you continue to be a Great American!
  • Barry Wallace commented on 5/15/2012
    CDR Ortiz, thank you for your service to our country. Although not retired I served four years in the Army and another four in the VA National Guard. I currently write and review specification items for the Navy. To see the condition of some of the vessels is heartbreaking. I have been a mechanic for thirty years; maintenance is in my blood. I cannot stand to see good equipment that we paid a lot of money for rotting to the ground. During a ship check aboard the USS GUNSTON HALL, the one thing that really stood out in my mind is how much that ship looked like something from the Soviet Union. I also found a thirty caliber machine gun in its mount – unattended, uncovered, rusting away as the rain and snow fell on it. I thought about how my First Sergeant, who was Green Beret in Viet Nam, would have had someone’s head if he had seen something like that. At the listening session last night the comparison was made to the lackadaisical approach we took after WWI and WWII to our military and its readiness and the shape our military is in today; essentially, we didn't learn the lesson the first few times this happened. The trouble is if we fall as badly behind now as we did prior to WWII we may not be able to recover – assuming we are not past the point of no return now. Consider this: the United States had prestige, a manufacturing base that no one else in the world had, competitive skills, morality, we did not have a sixteen trillion dollar debt and our money was backed by gold – not more worthless paper. Getting back on track will not be as simple as rallying the people and cranking up our manufacturing base. During WWII, the media did its job, Hollywood was behind the war effort and people had a good, strong work ethic and took pride in themselves. We also had an unshakable faith in God. Unfortunately, none of these elements are in place today. Actually gearing up to produce war machinery and quickly train a fighting force would only be the beginning this time. We as a country today are pathetically inadequate morally and spiritually compared to the WWII generation. Those people had not become spoiled by more than fifty years of excess. Getting our military's financial house in order would only be the beginning, and pales in comparison to the work that it will take to rebuild our "moral infrastructure." Do you think you could get people today to give up their SUVs, cell phones, big-screen TVs, Harley-Davidsons or any of their modern-day comforts? How well do you think breadless Tuesdays and meatless Wednesdays would go over today? Ration books? Yeah right. Individuals would be all too happy with sacrifice – as long as someone else was making the sacrifices.
  • Jon Langejans commented on 5/18/2012
    I thought your story was well read. I on the other hand made a distinct point in my post about how the other 1% makes all of the sacrifices while contractors and civilians get rich of our service. Many things these groups do are not only necessary but are instrumental in keeping our force up to date. It's just that there is a lot of fraud, waste and abuse in these programs. The fact that my post was not published made me wonder if this panel is concerned with the 1% or the ones getting rich of their backs. I have many ideas on how to trim the budget but not one dime comes from the 1% that do all of the sacrifice.
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