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- Thread starter Goodfou
- Start date
Just like closing some bases in the name of saving money is now showing itself to be a bad idea, getting rid of the chaplain corp may seem like a good idea now but long term would be really bad.
Perhaps, but in the grand scheme this is going to be about priorities. Do you want a robust Chaplaincy, or can we ratchet that back so we can afford combat capabilities? That's what this is really all about. DoN is facing several very costly recapitalization requirements in an era where DoD budgets are likely to be fairly static. Of all the tough choices we may be faced with, scaling back the Chaplaincy seems like an easy one.
Until MSNBC gets wind of the Navy decreasing resiliency resources for Sailors, and Fox News gets wind of Chaplain billets being cut. And all the disgruntled junior enlisted on Reddit have another arrow for their "FTN, old folks don't care about the troops" quiver.
Betcha the controversy and image hit wouldn't be worth savings that could be realized elsewhere, but that's just my gut feeling without running any numbers. How do you square "we're really serious about reducing the suicide problem" with "we're cutting resources whose sole job is Sailor and family resiliency" from a messaging perspective?
Not optimistic this will actually happen, but it'd be great if it did. We may or may not need a Chaplain Corps, but we sure don't need so many of them >O-3. Definitely not Flags. Speaking of Flags: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/does-us-navy-have-too-many-admirals-89416
How much do we spend for NMCI, and what performance do we get for it? Ref - recent SECNAV vector comparing quality of IT services to cleanliness of the office bathroom. I read a lot between the lines there.
How about LCS? Sell them back to Ray Mabus. How about the "HR Community"? What do they bring to the table, and why do they promote at ~100%? NavFit98A isn't much of a FITREP bullet.
We could play this game all day.
How much do we spend for NMCI, and what performance do we get for it? Ref - recent SECNAV vector comparing quality of IT services to cleanliness of the office bathroom. I read a lot between the lines there.
How about LCS? Sell them back to Ray Mabus. How about the "HR Community"? What do they bring to the table, and why do they promote at ~100%? NavFit98A isn't much of a FITREP bullet.
We could play this game all day.
The article focused heavily on the chaplaincy, however there is significant bloat in all staffs and the admiralty that needs to be addressed. Sure, there are more chaplains per capita than WWII, but there are also drastically more Admirals now than in WWII as well. How many RPs could we keep if we got rid of an admiral?
It also gave no costs associated with a reduction, so how much of the $40billion would realistically be cut, even if you cut the entire 2,000 members of the chaplaincy? Chaplaincy requires almost zero hardware costs. They typically work out of extra offices in already existing buildings or work entirely out of the base chapels. In 20 years I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shiny new building built specifically for Chaplins. What does cutting people from the chaplaincy corps actually do?
I don’t have a problem with reducing the Chaplaincy but it misses the larger point, if the intent is to reduce personnel costs.
More importantly, it’s a slippery slope to prioritize hardware over personnel. For example, AFSOC has specifically created a resiliency program to address mental health, and chaplains are a big part of that. Big Air Force is coming around to the same conclusion after seeing how much it’s helped in AFSOC.
I think it would serve the Navy well to follow suit. Getting rid of Chaplains is a bad idea.
Yeah, I think if DoD needs to save personnel costs, we need to seriously re-evaluate our GOFO manpower requirements. I’d totally buy off on asking if Chief of Chaplains and JAG actual, for one, could be knocked down a star. And whether any other flag billets need to be reduced in rank and have their staffs trimmed. That stuff hits us for decades with pension obligations.
I would much rather have a qualified psychologist and psychiatrist for suicide prevention and "family resiliency" than a Chaplain, which again, is always available outside the front gate. DoN doesn't have to have the clergy on the payroll for Sailors to use them.
Having seen firsthand the effect that a chaplain has on the resiliency of airmen, you are 100% missing the point.
Agree.
Nobody said get rid of them. Use more efficiently is the theme we're going for here.
Only if they replace the runway with a treadmill, and re-activate Tomcats to fly HVAAP for them.Could the Navy could save money by having chaplains fly Zombie S-3’s?
Holding on the AIRWARRIORS MEME COMPLETION checklist until someone wears choker whites to a dining out in the process.
I’m not sure about the Navy these days, but the amount of leased office space once being used by the Army was astonishing. When the newish SecDef was SecArmy he was all over this, ending several leases and pushing several staffs back back to bases. He was pretty good at closing his ears to all the political screaming.
Efficiency in operation is always the key. I think it’s a bit disingenuous to say that the most cost saving measures come from reducing the size of the chaplaincy Corp.
OK. You're free to think that, but again, nobody here is saying that.