WITHOUT WAR, “REDUCTION IN FORCE” COULD BE ON THE HORIZON
from an Air Force retiree
(Jun. 7, 2020) — The deep state is very deep. That’s the problem. Trump had made a lot of enemies. Mattis is just one of them. Mattis was a registered Democrat when he was appointed secretary of defense and Trump mentioned it. Trump has been a peacemaker not starting any wars and in many cases, though he threatens, war was not necessary. This upsets the military-industrial complex greatly as war and rumors of war bring in the bucks.
As you are aware I am a 20-year Air Force officer and legally retired, not medically retired as are many who were wounded and got the retirement check earlier than the 20-year minimum. I’ve seen a lot of scare tactics to keep the war system going. I also saw the “peace scare” of 1992 when the Soviets crumbled, thanks to President Reagan. There was a reduction in force and termination of government contractor contracts; “termination for convenience” it was called and justified as a peace dividend. Shook up the system. Military reduced the force by offering up or out changes in promotion programs. They even waived the 20-year requirement down to 15 years times 2.5% times base pay and got rid of many that way. Kind-of paying off folks to get out. A friend of mine retired a rank higher than I did as a major but wound up with less in his retirement check than I did owing to the 2.5% for 5 years that I had over him! (I being a captain with 20 years total). May never see this again, but Trump’s peace approach could lead to another “peace scare.”