as for the pay of the military..that is a tough call. i dont think that you guys should be sent overseas to babysit other people. your job is to protect this country, but say that we pulled out of these places like iraq or kosovo...how would that impact the active military guys? do you get 'laid off'? I will admit, im not sure what would happen if there were no skermishes around the world for you guys to go crush...
There is an example of why your campaign can’t succeed; the country would find you are not ready for the office. There are places around the world where US Troop can be brought home, Germany can defend it self. South Korea could defend it self with US support based in Japan. As for being laid off congress mandates the number of troops in the armed forces, one thing Iraq showed Washington was that we need a larger standing military force. I doubt congress would cut Army and Marine troop levels. Did you know as we fight in two major theatres the Air Force is cutting troop levels so it can afford to replace its aging aircraft?
Your intention that a regular guy needs to win the office is admirable, you just aren’t the guy at the moment. A third party candidate that could win sounds great but it’s much harder in real world practice.