We Support our Troops.....But!
"Jeebus h. Christ! Is about the only thing I can think of to say in response to this one".
That was the accompanying comment written by my friend, author Joe Galloway, when he sent me this article from the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Apparently in it's infinite wisdom the Department of Defense is making some soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq pay for their meals while in the military hospital.
Surprising? Not really when you consider some of the other pronouncements coming from DoD recently. Like the "study" currently being done that would aim to considerably lower benefits to Veterans in the future. Veterans benefits, like a free education, decent retirement pay and medical benefits, have long been a lure to young people in joining the military and a just reward for a hard life of service in harms way. Now the reasoning seems to be that American citizens volunteer for our armed services, they know the dangers in the job, and so they should not receive any special treatment beyond the abnormally low wages received for serving and protecting the Nation.
Despite all the election time high speaking from most politicians about how we love and support our servicemen and women, the sad truth is that mostly it's a lot of hot air. The bottom line is money and a reelection ticket that can show that "we lowered our spending" for you the taxpayer.... and oh yeah, the voter. This reminds me of the situation currently ongoing in our area of West Texas. The Veterans Administration is "studying" the possiblity of closing the large regional Veteran's Hospital in Big Spring and transfering services to smaller clinics. The V.A. press releases state something to the effect that they are doing this "to better serve our servicemen and women......." Sadly, whenever I see that the Dept. of Veterans Affairs is doing something to "better serve me", I know I'm screwed.
******************
The following comment arrived by email from a retired Army Officer......
"Ah, but you don't know the half of it. Lets say I'm so *Bleep*ed up I'm on IV drip for six months in a coma. Under the current miserly government regulations which are passed by Congress and not the military, I would be charged for three meals a day for six months or about 180x$8.10 a day. We are the only *Bleep*ing army on the planet that charges its troops to eat in the field and in combat!!!! During DS/DS the *Bleep*suckers took my BAS back each month because they were giving me MRE's and other crap for the 7 1/2 months I was deployed. I lost 30 lbs on their largesse. Congress needs to fix it for everybody, not just the wounded. Why should a soldier give up his Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) WHICH IS TAX FREE AND DONE IN ORDER TO INCREASE HIS MEASLY *Bleeping* PAY because he is now being shot at??? How could we be so stupid!!??"
"Jeebus h. Christ! Is about the only thing I can think of to say in response to this one".
That was the accompanying comment written by my friend, author Joe Galloway, when he sent me this article from the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Apparently in it's infinite wisdom the Department of Defense is making some soldiers wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq pay for their meals while in the military hospital.
Surprising? Not really when you consider some of the other pronouncements coming from DoD recently. Like the "study" currently being done that would aim to considerably lower benefits to Veterans in the future. Veterans benefits, like a free education, decent retirement pay and medical benefits, have long been a lure to young people in joining the military and a just reward for a hard life of service in harms way. Now the reasoning seems to be that American citizens volunteer for our armed services, they know the dangers in the job, and so they should not receive any special treatment beyond the abnormally low wages received for serving and protecting the Nation.
Despite all the election time high speaking from most politicians about how we love and support our servicemen and women, the sad truth is that mostly it's a lot of hot air. The bottom line is money and a reelection ticket that can show that "we lowered our spending" for you the taxpayer.... and oh yeah, the voter. This reminds me of the situation currently ongoing in our area of West Texas. The Veterans Administration is "studying" the possiblity of closing the large regional Veteran's Hospital in Big Spring and transfering services to smaller clinics. The V.A. press releases state something to the effect that they are doing this "to better serve our servicemen and women......." Sadly, whenever I see that the Dept. of Veterans Affairs is doing something to "better serve me", I know I'm screwed.
******************
The following comment arrived by email from a retired Army Officer......
"Ah, but you don't know the half of it. Lets say I'm so *Bleep*ed up I'm on IV drip for six months in a coma. Under the current miserly government regulations which are passed by Congress and not the military, I would be charged for three meals a day for six months or about 180x$8.10 a day. We are the only *Bleep*ing army on the planet that charges its troops to eat in the field and in combat!!!! During DS/DS the *Bleep*suckers took my BAS back each month because they were giving me MRE's and other crap for the 7 1/2 months I was deployed. I lost 30 lbs on their largesse. Congress needs to fix it for everybody, not just the wounded. Why should a soldier give up his Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) WHICH IS TAX FREE AND DONE IN ORDER TO INCREASE HIS MEASLY *Bleeping* PAY because he is now being shot at??? How could we be so stupid!!??"
