Just Out Of Curiosity

[HARDCORE]

A QUESTION?

?I think that most of you know who I am by now, and that I have an opinion on virtually everything!?

Yesterday, I posted a piece entitled - ?A MUST READ, WORST CASE SCENARIO!? Upon checking further, I have discovered that the young sailor that I mentioned was not alone in what happened, in that with all of these ?recalls and extensions? of military service, many more fell victim to ?Murphy?s Law? (If anything bad can happen, it will)!

I also noted on the tube this morning that ?President Bush? is seeking hundreds of billions for his new ?Defense Budget!? Money that I hope will be used to solidify our defense posture, improve the standard of living for our Armed Forces, and develop a defensive and offensive capability that is, in a word - ?AWESOME!!?

Yes, I have tossed my share of ?Righteous Rocks? at certain ?Powers That Be? over the treatment of veterans and active service personnel alike, but this ?Verbal Hand Grenade? is aimed, not at the bureaucracy (not this time anyway), but rather at the few in the private sector who view war and national emergency as naught but a financial opportunity! The parasitic and plastic bastards who view American blood and sacrifice as an opportunity to gain a fat bank account! These slugs, as you all know, can be found in business, in governments around the world, and yes, a few even reside on the sacred side! (opinion)

Getting back to that ?Navy Kid and His Family? that I mentioned yesterday, the lad who?s wife and infant daughter were handed an eviction notice (in the dead of winter at that), are receiving threats of repossession on their one form of transportation (an older auto)! And even a nationally-known department store, where they bought winter baby clothing for their infant daughter (on credit), is bugging the hell out of them! A department store, I might add, that has not been without their own financial problems of late!

Well, some (who have been there themselves, and that is most of us) have opened up their hearts by supplying some food, counseling, etc, to help out this patriotic little family! However, the problem with that old car and apartment still persist, even as we speak.

And no, ?ABSOLUTELY NOT?, is this a plea for assistance, as this ?Patriotic Little Navy Family? is finally getting some help (I hope) from some caring entities in the San Diego area!

What this is all about (more or less), is to ask if many of you (like me) feel that it is heartless, crass, cold and un-American, to toss a military family out into the cold because of a ?Armed Forces Paper Work Glitch? (especially in a time of war or national emergency)?

Remember now - ?This lad (an E-4), has already been deployed, and is serving aboard ship even as we speak. He has five years (I believe) of honorable service, and through no fault of his own, he and his family have been suffering at the hands of the military and private sector because of an unfortunate ?Navy Paper-Work Glitch!? He, and many more servicemen and women, have (I fear) had their paychecks held up, in some cases for months!?

?So how are they making ends meet you ask? Far too many are not!!?

What kind of national support is this, when a few who?s rights, liberties, and maybe even asses, are being protected by military personnel like this kid, are literally betrayed by a few greedy and heartless bastards.

?Is this not wartime profiteering at it?s worse?? (Just a question, laced with my personal [incendiary] opinions?!)

?VERITAS e HONRE? (Truth and Honor!!!!!!)

[TheOldSarge]

HC,

I know not what event you are referring to. But I DO know something about Uncle Sugar's shortcomings in the pay department.

I spent 21 years on active duty and had a family all of those years but the first three. I had my share of pay problems ... both while deployed/assigned overseas and while on stateside duty.

In the late 70s, Congress themselves putzed around and failed to pass a budget bill. We did not get paid anything for October or up to the 15th of November. If it had not been for a few hundred dollars in savings and the kindness of the local credit union, we would have starved or ended up in America's version of debtors prison.

The credit union offered interest-free, 60 day loans up to the amount of your last regular pay. All you did was get the money from them and they got your check when Congress finally got off their collective butt. It was a Godsend for me and mine.

I also remember being deployed to SEA with boys from S. California. Their families were on food stamps to get enough to eat. Many of the active duty members refused to go grocery shopping with their spouses out of shame.

Another time, I came back from an extended TDY where I had taken a small advance on my TDY pay. When I filed my final voucher, the clerk, military E-3, gave me a pay voucher for what amounted to about $300 too much... precisely what I had been advanced. I pointed it out to him and he reworked the papers and said it was the correct amount. I challenged it again and asked for his boss. An E-6 came out and did his thing on my paperwork and came up with the same figure as the E-3. Silly me took the money and over the next month or two, spent it.

You guessed it! When military pay dept found the error in an audit, I was dunned for the full amount. They took it from my pay, without any warning to me, and lectured ME on MY responsibility to manage my finances. Never mind that mil pay is there to SERVE! Never mind that I contested the pay when I got it and they insisted I had it coming. When you owe Uncle Sugar, he wants it all at once and he wants it NOW.

Hope all works out for the young sailor and his family.

The Old Sarge

[HARDCORE]

Thanks Sarge, I hope it works out too!!!