Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
By Linda D. Kozaryn
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait -- Defense Secretary William S. Cohen
brought gifts. He brought congressmen, entertainers and
media. But what really caused troops in the Persian Gulf to
whoop, whistle and holler was the promise of more pay.
“I listened to you very carefully when we talked last time,
and I asked you what issues were on your mind,” the
secretary reminded soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at
this desert base outside Kuwait City. “You mentioned two
things -- pay and retirement.”
The mass of troops released an acknowledging “hooah,” and
from the midst of the crowd, someone yelled, “Show us the
money. Cohen quickly replied: “We’re going to show you the money.
We’re going to have the largest pay raise since 1981. We’re
going to have a 4.4 percent increase starting next year.
We’re going to change that redux [retirement] program from
40 to 50 percent.”
Cohen had announced at the Pentagon a day earlier that the
military is seeking a 4.4 percent pay raise for fiscal 2000
and a 3.9 percent hike for each of the five following
years. The proposed retirement package calls for a return
to a 50 percent of base pay retirement after 20 years of
military service. The redux retirement package -- effective
for service members who came in after Aug. 1, 1986 -- gives
service members 40 percent after serving 20 years.
At each stop in the Gulf, military men and women applauded,
cheered, stomped and whistled when the secretary announced
the new pay and benefits proposal. Many hailed the raise as
long-overdue and a step in the right direction.
The secretary elected to personally carry the news to
service members on the front lines of the recent showdown
with Iraq. So, he invited 60 or so staff and guests on a
60-hour, 13,240 mile trip to remote sites on the Arabian
Peninsula and to the USS Enterprise in the Persian Gulf.
Enroute to the Gulf aboard a National Airborne Operations
Center 747 out of Offut AFB, Neb., Cohen explained why the
trip was important. “We need to get out there and remind
the troops how indebted we are as a nation to what they’re
going through,” the secretary said.
“They don’t get overtime,” Cohen continued. “They don’t get
double time. They have to leave their families at a
moment’s notice. It’s a tremendously stressful life they’re
engaged in.”
Despite the hardships, however, service members are
committed to the military, Cohen said. “We have the finest
force in the world and that’s because of the quality of the
people. We have to keep that quality up and that means we
have to be competitive with a robust economy. We can’t
quite match it, but we may be able to compensate in other
ways. If there are things we can do to lessen the burden,
we want to do them.”
Hawaii Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and Pennsylvania Rep. John P.
Murtha accompanied Cohen on the whirlwind pre-Christmas
trip, as did Marine Corps Gen. Anthony C, Zinni, commander
U.S. Central Command, and the services’ senior enlisted
members. At each stop, the military leaders and congressmen
thanked service members for taking on Saddam Hussein and
voiced support for the proposed compensation package.
Inouye, who earned the Distinguished Service Cross and lost
an arm during World War II, told the troops, “I’m an old
infantryman myself. Let me assure you, the Congress of the
United States will swiftly approve the pay raise and the
retirement program.”
Murtha, a former Marine, later teased service members
aboard the USS Enterprise assembled under clear blue skies
with temperatures in the mid-70s. “Twenty-six hours ago,
when I left Pennsylvania,” he said, “it was 26 degrees and
snowing -- so you should be happy to be here.”
At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Murtha spoke of
the nation’s gratitude for the sacrifice military members
make serving the nation. “The country is dedicated to the
troops that are serving all over the world. But this is not
only one of the most difficult, it is absolutely the most
important national security deployment in the entire world
today.”
Zinni, Desert Fox commander, told the troops they’d
performed magnificently. On the way to the Gulf, he
recalled what a tense time it was during the operation,
waiting each night for the safe return of all the strike
aircraft. “I can’t think of anything better than to be out
there with the people who made it happen,” he said.
Facing America’s military men and women from the stage at
Camp Doha, Zinni said proudly: “I’ve been asked over the
past several days why Saddam Hussein didn’t put up more
resistance, why he didn’t move South. When I look out and
see you, there’s no doubt in my mind why the sucker
wouldn’t fight.”
At Prince Sultan Air Base, a remote, high-security site
where about 4,000 service members enforce Iraq’s southern
no-fly zone, Cohen told airmen he took what he learned from
service members to the president and to the chairman and
vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The pay raise proposal shows defense leaders are aware of
the sacrifices and stresses service members face, Cohen
said. “We want to make sure we give you the best quality of
life we can. We want to stay as competitive as we can with
the private sector. We want to make sure we can keep you in
the military.”
Aboard the USS Enterprise, things were relatively quiet
until Cohen and his party showed up. It was four days after
Desert Fox strikes ended, and the more than 5,000 sailors,
Marines and guests aboard were enjoying a no-fly day. For a
few hours, Cohen changed all that. The secretary and his
wife, Janet Langhart, came aboard bearing gifts and music.
Along with news of the pay raise, Cohen announced that ATT
had donated about 34,000 $10 Global prepaid calling cards
for troops in the Gulf, and at bases in Bosnia, Croatia and
Hungary. Service members at other bases in the Gulf could
call home at half price rates using AT&T’s Global Military
Saver Plus calling plan.
Then Langhart introduced a few friends -- singer-
songwriters Mary Chapin Carpenter, winner of four country-
music Grammy awards, Carole King, whose songwriting career
spans three decades and includes the best selling female
solo album, Tapestry, and David Ball, one of country
music’s newest stars.
“They could be on tour,” Langhart said. “They could be in
the studio writing music or with their families. Instead
they chose to be here with you.”
American Forces Press Service
