January 1, 2006: Attempts by the Department of Defense to cut back on some expensive, and questionably useful, weapons systems (like the F-22, and DDX destroyer) have failed, and the services are now trying to shed people to pay for needed technical upgrades. The un-killable programs are well protected by politicians who do not want to take the heat from voters for "losing jobs" if these programs are cut back, and people lose jobs.