Homeless Veteran USAF Colonel Now Lives In His Car Because He Cannot Find A Job

Photo: At the peak of his career, Freniere was a special assistant to General Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan (right)

From The Pentagon To Life In A Van -- Philly.com

After a 30-year military career in which he earned three graduate degrees, rose to the rank of colonel, and served as an aide to Pentagon brass, Robert Freniere can guess what people might say when they learn he's unemployed and lives out of his van:

Why doesn't this guy get a job as a janitor?

Freniere answers his own question: "Well, I've tried that."

Freniere, 59, says that his plea for help, to a janitor he once praised when the man was mopping the floors of his Washington office, went unfulfilled. So have dozens of job applications, he says, the ones he has filled out six hours a day, day after day, on public library computers.

So Freniere, a man who braved multiple combat zones and was hailed as "a leading light" by an admiral, is now fighting a new battle: homelessness.

Read more ....

Update: From commanding the skies to sleeping in a minivan: Homeless veteran USAF colonel now lives in his car because he can't find a job -- Daily Mail

My Comment: Talk about bad luck .... but here is the sad part .... most homeless vets do not receive the pension that he now receives.

U.S. Military To Cut Generals And Admirals

Pentagon Trimming Ranks Of Generals, Admirals -- Washington Post

With the Iraq war over and troops in Afghanistan on their way home, the U.S. military is getting down to brass tacks: culling generals and admirals from its top-heavy ranks.

Pentagon officials said they have eliminated 27 jobs for generals and admirals since March, the first time the Defense Department has imposed such a reduction since the aftermath of the Cold War, when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted the military to downsize.

Read more ....

Update #1: Pentagon Reducing Numbers of Generals, Admirals -- ExecutiveGov
Update #2: U.S. Military to Have Fewer Generals and Admirals -- Latin American Herald Tribune

My Comment: As the above graph shows, there has been a burst in the number of Generals and Admirals employed by the U.S. military since 2001 (for more info on this growth, go here). But with the wars winding down .... and no reason to have such a large complement of senior officers .... the cuts are now coming.

Unfortunately .... Army NCOs are going to be cut also.

Longest-Serving General And African American Retires

Photo: Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers

Defense Dept.’s Longest-Serving General And African American Retires -- Washington Post

When Al Flowers was born, his grandmother brought him home in a shoe box and sat all night by the wood stove to keep him warm.

When he was 10, he went to the tobacco fields with the adults, “cropping” leaves by hand and dumping them in a cart drawn by two gray mules.

He lived in a tin roof house with no running water and bathed in a No. 10 washtub.

Coming of age, he thought: There must be something more.

There was.

This month, Maj. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers, 63, retires from the U.S. Air Force as the military’s longest-serving active-duty general.

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Update: DOD's longest-serving general retires after 46 years -- Stars and Stripes

My Comment: He must have some great stories to tell for his 46 years of service.

U.S. Military Retirement Benefits Targeted For Cuts

Military Retiree Benefits Vulnerable As Congress Struggles To Cut Debt -- MSNBC/New York Times

Deficit agreement under which Pentagon must find billions in reductions may force cuts once considered unthinkable.

As Washington looks to squeeze savings from once-sacrosanct entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, another big social welfare system is growing as rapidly, but with far less scrutiny: the health and pension benefits of military retirees.

Military pensions and health care for active and retired troops now cost the government about $100 billion a year, representing an expanding portion of both the Pentagon budget — about $700 billion a year, including war costs — and the national debt, which together finance the programs.

Read more ....

More News On U.S. Military Retirement Benefits Targeted For Cuts

Retiree Benefits for the Military Could Face Cuts -- New York Times
Obama deficit plan would re-examine military retirement -- Stars and Stripes
Obama plan calls for new Tricare fee hikes -- Air Force Times
It's Official: Military Retiree Benefits on the Table -- Time

My Comment: If this news does not make you aware on how much the U.S. military has declined in the past few years .... that we are now positioning ourselves to punish our military retirees .... nothing will.

Will There Be A Pension For U.S. Soldiers When They Retire?

Military Retirement System Broken, Board Says -- Stars And Stripes

NAPLES, Italy — The military retirement system is unsustainable and in dire need of repair, according to an influential Pentagon advisory board.

The Defense Business Board — tasked by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to find ways to reduce the DOD budget — says annual Treasury Department payments into the system will balloon from $47.7 billion this year to $59.3 billion by 2020.

Read more ....

My Comment: From my perspective .... the U.S. military pension is very generous. Having said that .... it will still be terribly unfair for the soldiers who were promised one thing when enlisting .... but after serving faithfully for years and are near retirement are then told that the old promises can no longer can be met.