"Chaptered Out" of the Military

[Morpheus]

I just read an article regarding how soldiers in the US Army are being "Chaptered Out"

Has anyone else heard about this going on? Is this 'news' that I just missed?

76,000 soldiers 'chaptered out' of benefits since 2006 | Al Jazeera America

Read More

 

[Stevenav]

Wow, it's almost like the feds are TRYING to build an army of american citizens with combat experience that when asked to join a militia to overthrow the federal government that those citizens will FLOCK to such a cause.


I mean think about it.

You have these wounded combat vets that are expecting to be treated with respect and honor for their sacrifice and getting treated like this.

If the bubblegum hit the fan these members (with combat experience and a wealth of skills and an axe to grind) might be prime candidates to recruit into a citizen army.

And then on top of that....President Obama is even trying to purge the officer corp of high level commanders and firing generals at an alarming rate.

Now if it were me and if the bubblegum really did start hitting the fan... I'd have been contacting these generals and other upper rank officers and asking them if they'd be interested in helping to train, direct, and lead civilian militias the way they know needs to be done in military action (without all the hands tied bullbubblegum the feds do the military) against domestic threats.

You know... maybe we should institute a policy amongst fellow gun owners to help bring these wounded warriors in. Build strong and friendly ties with them and help them out. Never know when that sort of camaraderie might pay dividends.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Outrageous, but not new, abuse like this has been common in the recent past. I'll stick with the Militia

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

This isn't a new thing. Guys can (and do) get chaptered out for a variety of reasons. For example, in the old days, being gay would get you chaptered out. In addition, some chapters are "in lieu of prosecution." Others are for failure to adapt, having a personality disorder...you can't just say "chaptered out" without digging into each individual case and figuring out why the person was put out of the military.

 

[U201491]

This isn't a new thing. Guys can (and do) get chaptered out for a variety of reasons. For example, in the old days, being gay would get you chaptered out. In addition, some chapters are "in lieu of prosecution." Others are for failure to adapt, having a personality disorder...you can't just say "chaptered out" without digging into each individual case and figuring out why the person was put out of the military.

? 76,000 ?

 

[Dunerunner]

76,000? Was that just the Army or all branches? Huge number and it looks like an attempt to defer having to financially support vets with benefits, to me.

 

[xymotic]

The military is HALF of our entire GDP.

There's 2.5 million or so active and reserve military service men and women. 76k is not at all a 'huge' number. How many people get fired in a city the size of Seattle every year?

 

[Stomper]

The military is HALF of our entire GDP.

Mmmm.... Not quite, from what my Google-Fu has found for 2012 its more like $6.8billion @ 4.4% of GDP (give or take a few Obama-phones). You're off by a decimal point-ish, to say the least.

World military expenditure in 2012 is estimated to have reached $1.756 trillion, with the U.S. accounting for about half of world-wide military spending. North Korea spends just under 40% of their GDP on military spending, however.

Maybe you were thinking the National Debt which is expected to exceed 100% of GDP very soon.

There's 2.5 million or so active and reserve military service men and women. 76k is not at all a 'huge' number. How many people get fired in a city the size of Seattle every year?

It's easy to say when you're not one of those 76,000....

Reminds me of a statement from a former world leader...

A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.

- Joseph Stalin.

 

[clambo]

This isn't a new thing. Guys can (and do) get chaptered out for a variety of reasons. For example, in the old days, being gay would get you chaptered out. In addition, some chapters are "in lieu of prosecution." Others are for failure to adapt, having a personality disorder...you can't just say "chaptered out" without digging into each individual case and figuring out why the person was put out of the military.

Its just as Ross said, people get chaptered out everyday. 76,000 isnt such a huge number, I wouldnt be surprised to learn that was an average year.

 

[Stomper]

You CAN get chaptered out for having "man-boobies"... Unless of course under the new rules allow for gender reassignment while on active duty.

 

[RicInOR]

My first thought is "Al Jazeera America" is the source?! If it had been the NY Times then we would know not to trust it.

 

[xymotic]

Mmmm.... Not quite, from what my Google-Fu has found for 2012 its more like $6.8billion @ 4.4% of GDP (give or take a few Obama-phones). You're off by a decimal point-ish, to say the least.

Your google fu sucks.

6.8 Billion? In 2011 we spent 11 billion on just the f35!


The straight budget is 680 billion, not counting the wars.

Military budget of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


You're right though it's not half of GDP it's half of all of the US budget.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I was stationed at Ft. Cartoon in the late 70's and never heard of this unit. Must be new...

 

[Stomper]

Your google fu sucks.

6.8 Billion? In 2011 we spent 11 billion on just the f35!


The straight budget is 680 billion, not counting the wars.

Military budget of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


You're right though it's not half of GDP it's half of all of the US budget.

And your reading comprehension sucks...

There's GDP, then there's the budget, then there's discretionary spending.

You originally said HALF OF OUR GDP, so which stat would you prefer to run with? It's going to be all convoluted no matter which source, or which scale, or otherwise that you choose, because even the tools who run this shipwreck don't really have a grasp of a $&@%#£ THING, except for how much money, sweetheart deals, and under aged interns they can score.

Try this link, it appears to be completely objective (no garantees though)

http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

 

[xymotic]

And your reading comprehension sucks... There's GDP, then there's the budget, then there's discretionary spending.

You originally said HALF OF OUR GDP, so which stat would you prefer to run with? It's going to be all convoluted no matter which source, or which scale, or otherwise that you choose, because even the tools who run this shipwreck don't really have a grasp of a $&@%#£ THING, except for how much money, sweetheart deals, and under aged interns they can score.

How many times to I need to admit I made an error about GDP and say: "You're right" before you stop arguing the point? Just let me know and it'll save a lot of time.

You are the one that pontificated about a decimal point missing and then claimed the military was 6.8 billion. That's not GDP, Budget, OR Discretionary spending, and BeeTeeDubs you missed it by a COUPLE decimal places.

At the end of the day the point is that in an organization with
2,500,000 employees,
76,000 getting turfed out for whatever reason doesn't strike me as a particularly onerous number. Particularly when we don't know how many were replaced or what the causes were.

 

[Stomper]

How many times to I need to admit I made an error about GDP and say: "You're right" before you stop arguing the point? Just let me know and it'll save a lot of time.

You are the one that pontificated about a decimal point missing and then claimed the military was 6.8 billion. That's not GDP, Budget, OR Discretionary spending, and BeeTeeDubs you missed it by a COUPLE decimal places.

At the end of the day the point is that in an organization with
2,500,000 employees,
76,000 getting turfed out for whatever reason doesn't strike me as a particularly onerous number. Particularly when we don't know how many were replaced or what the causes were.

Hey?! You try to get work done, while trying to "fat-finger" on an iPhone touch screen.... Typos, man.... Typos!


Now, lemme hear you say it one more time... "You were right", c'mon!

 

[xymotic]

My obamaphone is voice activated because my fingers are too fat to type on it from way over here on the unemployment couch.

But I'm skeptical that 680 goes to 6.8 as a typo. So you were just un right on that

There, I said it. You were (non)correct!

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

I was stationed at Ft. Cartoon in the late 70's and never heard of this unit. Must be new...

They redid a lot of the unit designations during the mid 80s. For example, the 3AD had the 32nd and 33rd Armored Regiments before the ROAD, but not after. Now, the 32nd Armored is a cavalry regiment. Real bizarre reorganization.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

This number is NOT a significant number when you look at total numbers. Yes, if you are one of the 76K that get chaptered out, it is serious, but honestly if you get a chapter discharge, you worked for it, or had a condition that required it (pre-existing mental defect, etc).

Not all chapter discharges mean you loose benefits, not all are "bad" paper, only a few (Chapter 5, if I remember right and they haven't changed the numbers around)...

Those of us who have been in know what these are...and the guys that get them usually aren't top shelf guys any way. (I still remember the guy we called "Ace"...he was such a card)...

 

[Mark W.]

76,000 in 7 years guys. So just 10,600 per year on average out of a Military of what's the guess 2.5 million that's a pretty small percentage.