Misguided perceptions.

Published on October 4, 2004 By dharmagrl In Misc

In my local newspaper there is a section entitled 'Sound Off'. People get to call in and 'sound odd' about news stories and public affairs.

In this morning's paper, I found this little gem:

It always amazes me how many retired military are political conservatives. They have spent 20 years or more in the service with free food, clothing, housing, unlimited medical care and a pension after 20 years - all provided by government tax-payers. Other Americans have to struggle and pay the taxes the military lives on.

Is this really the perception the general public have of the military? Do you all think that we get all these benefits, that we're living large off of your tax dollars? That we eat for free, get our clothes for free, that we have money to burn?

I'm interested to see what your responses are.

Comments (Page 1)

JillUser

on Oct 04, 2004

I don't know any conservatives that think that Karen. My perception is that our military take housing and or education benefits in lieu of higher salaries. The medical coverage is far from unlimited! I don't know a single person personally (that is I am not saying it doesn't happen) that got wealthy off from the military.

I think anyone who would say such a thing is an immature, uneducated, unappreciative asshat. Are they referring to rations and uniforms and free food and clothing? **Wow!!**

dharmagrl

on Oct 04, 2004

Are they referring to rations and uniforms and free food and clothing? **Wow!!**

You're very well informed...I'm impressed!

I think that they must be.....because that's the only *free* clothing and food that I can think of. Basically, active duty people who live in the barracks get a meal card that entitles them to eat at the chow hall. They don't get full BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence) in their paycheck. Once they move off base or get married, they get BAS (how much it is all depends on their rank). The 'free clothes' is because of the uniform allowance they get once a year.

Thanks for the support, Jill!

CamMeg

on Oct 04, 2004

Oh G~d forbid you feed a solider that puts his life on the line just by enlisting! What about the "Free" food,clothing,education,housing ect.... we pay for our criminals? This individual that sounded off needs to think about these things instead of making A~S~S~umptions of what they seem to believe is factual information.

Have a good evening.

~Peace,LoVe,Health & Happiness~ extended to you.

dharmagrl

on Oct 04, 2004

Oh G~d forbid you feed a solider that puts his life on the line just by enlisting!

Thank you!! It's not as if we're just sitting around and getting all these benefits for doing nothing.....there are TDY's, deployments, spearations, being on call 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, not to mention putting yourself in harm's way in the middle of some godforsaken desert....oh, and they pay taxes too. Peple seem to think that they don't, for some reason.

I think I'm going to respond to the asshat who called in that article. I think I'm going to lay it down from a military point of view.

chiprj

on Oct 04, 2004

HOLY CRAP! Makes me want to write a letter to the editor of that newspaper. FREE stuff? Man, where do I get in line? I've been in for 12 years as of tomorrow and I'd really like some FREE stuff. I EARN what I receive.

Every year the Army gives out a packet of papers to every Soldier. It covers all the benefits they earn in a financial sense. It figures in basic pay and all allowances. This way, a Soldier can apply for credit (new car, house, credit cards) and claim the full spectrum of pay. It also factors in the saving we get for using the PX/Commissary. But, these are all part of the pay system.

Uniform allowance? That's to replace the uniforms that have holes in them from battery acid or razor wire. Or the ones that are stained orange from the Hawaiian red mud I lived in for 5-15 days at a time.

FREE food? I get standard BAS - most married folks that live with their family do. That is equal to what it would cost me to eat all three meals in the dining facility. The Army doesn't expect me to drive 10 miles to the nearest dining facility to eat my meals. Single folks get to eat at the DFAC. Once again, it's not free, it's part of the pay system.

FREE housing? Well, the military has to put Soldiers up somewhere. Once again, it's part of the pay system. These days, it's more the the Army's benefit to pay the housing allowance and let married Soldiers house themselves and their families on the economy. The military has gone as far as privatizing on base housing. It's much cheaper for the Army and it benefits the Sodliers, but it's still figured into the pay system.

FREE medical care? Unlimited? Again, the service recognizes that military members must stay healthy to fight. What we get is equal to medical insurance. Family coverage has payments and copayments. Just like any private job does. Once again, you guessed it, it's part of the pay system.

Pension after 20 years? Well, just because the federal government has seen fit to keep a system in place that many civilian companies have gotten rid of or limited in extreme ways, doesn't mean it's not earned. Today's retirement packages are reduced from what they were twenty years ago. And every year, we watch Congress in hopes that they won't decrease the package after they vote their own raises in.

The kicker? Soldiers pay federal income taxes. That's right, our taxes go into the pool of money that pays our own salaries!

I'll end with this. It doesn't matter what an outsider wants to call it. FREE stuff or earned benefits. At the end of the day, it's a volunteer service and if we want to keep it that way, we have to be competitive with outside employers to keep the best servicemembers in the service. And if a retired servicemember feels conservative (and I'm guessing maybe being against public welfare systems in general was the thrust of the initial comments?) it may be because they know the difference between FREE and EARNED.

Sorry if I got a little ranty there. I'm not necessarily against welfare, just pissed off about the assumption that what I get is FREE!

Janders

on Oct 04, 2004

I think that the money healthcare, rations and uniforms are payment for a job, just like any other. I go to work everyday, and so do people in the military. They should be reimbursed for working....duh!

Myrrander

on Oct 04, 2004

With all the stories about finacially struggling soldiers I have read, including soldiers having to apply for food stamps and other aid, I'd like to smack whoever wrote that "free stuff" crap upside the head with a size 18 combat boot.

Whatever our soldiers might get "free," or in payment, isn't ANYTHING near enough for having the courage to volunteer to possibly DIE to protect this country. I think that willingness is pretty priceless.

dharmagrl

on Oct 04, 2004

Chip, you got an 'insightful' for your rant...I thouroughly enjoyed it!

Janders - people seem to think that military members should not get what people in the civilian world do, apparently.

Angloesque

on Oct 04, 2004

Personally I've never had this perception. And until JU, I've known very few people in the military--just an uncle who's in Iraq and a couple classmates who joined to get their college paid for--so I'm learning a lot here.

Cheers.

-A.

SSG Geezer

on Oct 04, 2004

If I can recall 25 years ago, The Marine Corps took all the money for my uniforms out of my pay.
That is how I got a paycheck for 470.00 after three months of basic training. Asshat indeed!

chiprj

on Oct 04, 2004

Chip, you got an 'insightful' for your rant...I thouroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks. That was a pretty big soapbox for me to step down off of, by the end...

Bahu Virupaksha

on Oct 05, 2004

The life of a soldier is nasty and at times cruelly cut short, but I do respect a person who gives his life for a cause, but he must be told the truth. If we look at the World War II so many young persons gave thei today so that we can have a tomorrow.. This is not a cliche.Providing Free rations is not the issue, but taking a man away from his family and putting him in the middle of nowhere and he does not know what he is fighting for.

greywar

on Oct 05, 2004

taking a man away from his family and putting him in the middle of nowhere and he does not know what he is fighting for.

our guys are pretty damn sure what they are fighting for Bahu. Want to know what that is? Look here.

dharmagrl

on Oct 05, 2004

Providing Free rations is not the issue, but taking a man away from his family and putting him in the middle of nowhere and he does not know what he is fighting for.

Umm, yes that is the issue. It's the issue here, anyway. Perhaps you should read the original article before you start spouting off your anti-war propagandist bull crap. Greywar is right, our guys know very well that they're fighting for.

In the meatime, here's a trolling rating for you, and a nice warm spot on my blacklist. You'll be in good company there.

SSG Geezer

on Oct 05, 2004

And the door slams in the trolls face, leaving him/her alone with the goat.
HAha!

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