mcchrystal ball

Stanley McChrystal’s $8,868-a-Year Golden Parachute

Though General McChrystal was a four-star general when he announced his impending retirement from the Army two days ago after being replaced as the commander of the war in Afghanistan, he was about a year and a half short of receiving a four-star general’s pension. But despite not leaving under the best of terms, Obama is going to pull some strings for McChrystal anyway, because he’s just magnanimous like that, and he also probably wants the general to go easy on him in his tell-all autobiography, which may or may not be entitled McChrystal Clear. “We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that he, somebody who has served the country as ably as he has, can retire at a four-star level,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday. According to CNN, this involves merely “waiv[ing] a Pentagon rule” due to McChrystal’s “honorable service.” Once it’s done, the general will receive $12,475 a month throughout his retirement instead of $11,736, a difference of $8,868 a year.

Obama to guarantee McChrystal a 4-star pension [Reuters]
White House to let McChrystal retire with 4 stars [CNN]

Stanley McChrystal’s $8,868-a-Year Golden Parachute