This was just forwarded to me...thought I would post it for all to see.

Shame on ungrateful Americans!!! They tend to take advantage of the their right to free speech before they stop to think who has defended and protected that right these past two hundred years! Another case of putting the mouth in motion before putting the brain in gear!

Subject: Contesting Military Raise

On 12 November, Ms Cindy Williams (from the Laverne and Shirley TV show)
wrote a piece for the Washington Times denouncing the pay raise(s) coming
service members' way this year - citing that the stated 13% wage gap was
bogus. A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought
to get a bonus for this!
_____
Ms. Williams:

I just had the pleasure of reading your column of 12 Nov, "Our GIs earn
enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted
overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every
month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank
account. Checking my latest leave and earnings statement (LES), I see that I
make $1,117.80, before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run
that through Windows' Calculator, I come up with an annual salary of
$13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center (AFNCC), where I am part of
the team responsible for the administration of a 5,000-host computer
network.
I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems
equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the
Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three
years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year, nor does it pay less than this. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.

Also, you tout increases to Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance
for Subsistence (housing and food allowances, respectively) as being a
further boon to an already overcompensated force. Again, I'm curious as to
where this money has gone, as BAH and BAS were both slashed 15% in the Hill
AFB area effective in January 00.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you have NEVER had the
pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon
yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for
attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off
AFDC, WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying
soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN, I leave the choice of service branch up to
you. Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it
will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and
friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience".

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and
children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note
that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends
meet while the primary breadwinner is gone, obviously they've been
squandering the vast piles of cash the DOD has been giving them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial
favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a DFP (Defensive
Fire Position, the modern-day foxhole), shivering against the cold desert
night, and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on
shift to relieve you for chow. Remember this, trade whatever MRE
(meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or
cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything, this gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be
long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for
it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the
points you present in your op-ed piece. But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will
defend to the death your right to say it.

You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment
rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and
sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your
collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and
under conditions that would make most people cringe.

We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we
can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And you, Ms. Williams,
have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve? Rubbish!

A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC

I dunno about the rest of the forum, but I think we need to find A1C Bragg and give him a massive Atta-boy. I think he hit the nail right on the head. I didn't get to read Cindy Williams' column, but I'm sure if I did, I'd be seeing red. But then Again Ms Williams is also probably the type who will say that Johnny Walker was tortured into his confessions about his involvement with the Taliban. Far as I'm concerned people can agree or disagree with the military, the use of the military, and the tactics of the military. But by saying the military shouldn't get a pay increase is, to me, an assinine remark. Especially when you figure an Airman's bring home pay is about the same as an Asst Manager from McDonalds. Personally I'm proud of my servicemen and women who stand on the wall and the sacrifices they make, so Ms Williams can blast them. But I could make the cheap shot and say that ALL Servicemen and women have gone on to other endeavors and I think all have been succesful at it. I have yet to meet anyone affiliated with the Armed Forces that isn't trying to salvage thier careers like an actress that shall go nameless after she left Laverne and Shirley.
...Guess I should get off my soapbox. Thank You Jeremy for pointing this out

AMEN!! People like that make me so furious that I get sick to my stomach. When are these jerks going to wake up?
I recently lost my father to cancer (Agent Orange related) after a long fight. He was with 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam. Due to wounds sustained, he had to leave the military. My father fought for over ten years to get 100 percent disability while working several civilian jobs. These people don't realize what our soldiers and their families go through.
I watched the pain (both physical and mental) that my father went through daily. I've listened to the heart-felt stories. I remember just before he passed away, seeing him cry for twenty minutes as a newscast showed the Clintons in Vietnam hugging, smiling and taking pictures with the North Vietnamese. The same Clinton who refused to go to serve his country. But in spite of all he had gone through, he would have gone and done it all again.
I don't think we honor or take care of our vets near enough. If these people have a problem with it, that's fine. They don't have to live here. Its absolutely disgusting that our soldiers sacrifice so much for us, yet are bombarded with this kind of garbage. I just want to say to all of our soldiers ( especially Special Operations, for which I have a special place in my heart. You guys don't get half the admiration you deserve.), I love all you guys from the bottom of my heart and I wish you and your families the best in everything. God bless you all and keep up the good work. Hopefully, I'll be joining you in about a year. Hooyah!

Don't believe everything you read.

This is an urban legend. (See Below)

Origins: No, actress Cindy Williams, who portrayed sweet, lovable Shirley Feeney on the 1970s sitcom Laverne & Shirley hasn't been writing newspaper articles denouncing our "overpaid" servicemen. Back in January 2000, a different Cindy Williams -- one who is a senior research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was once assistant director for national security in the Congressional Budget Office -- contributed an op-ed piece to The Washington Post (not the Washington Times) in which she criticized a proposed 25% pay increase for military personnel (on top of a 4.85% raise that had just been enacted). In her article, Ms Williams maintained that claims that servicemen in the military suffered a 13 percent "pay gap" relative to the private sector were inaccurate, and that military personnel were already well paid compared to the average American

The response quoted here was indeed drafted by the airman named, although it was not published in The Washington Post.

http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/outrage/gipay.htm

Vince,
Thank you for your clarification. I do owe an apology towards (shirley) Cindy Williams and now I have to make some phone calls calling off the airstrike on Boo Boo Kitty

Vince,

Someone told me that samething today. It was the Washington times and another Cindy Williams working for the government. That is what he said anyways. Thanks for clearing it up, but either way, Airman Bragg done a good job.

I wish I knew that before I posted it.