Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission; they’re not like us
There’s been a hue and cry raised recently across the online military community in regards to the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. Someone has noticed that enlisted folks are not represented on the Commission. Military.com profiled the nine-member commission and they’re all former members of the military (and one civilian who worked in the Bush Pentagon), but they come from the upper-echelon of the officer corps. From another Military.com article;
Robert Wert, a retired senior master sergeant in the Air Force described the commissioners as “the upper echelon” of retirees. “They are surely the most comfortably retired military members in our nation,” he wrote in an e-mail. “As well, they have likely landed prominent positions in the civilian world making six figure incomes or more.”
“To use these gentlemen as a gauge for deciding on military compensation for the rest of the 99.9 percent of average military retirees is disingenuous,” Wert added. “Of course they wouldn’t mind giving up their Tricare or other benefits, since to them it is mere pennies on their grand financial scheme of things. But for the average military retiree, every dollar taken away in benefits makes a big difference in their and their family’s livelihood.”
That’s what we’ve been saying all along. The general officers and the senior sergeants, who will all have comfortable retirements, as well as comfortable follow-on jobs in the private sector, have all come out and told Congress that adjusting the way that the troops are compensated will make them better, but their retirement, their own income is fairly secure.
You know what? Ever since I was in the military, I never minded paying my fair share to my country. When I got out of the military, I looked around me and noticed that members of the military were the only ones taking the cuts to the benefits and compensation while the rest of the country demands more and more. The president has said that he wants to cut healthcare costs to all Americans while the Pentagon hikes healthcare costs to military retirees. And the services’ chiefs of staff cry, “yes, sir, three bags full”.
I guess they thought that a commission of senior officers would go along with the Pentagon’s desires to cut compensation and that veterans would just go along with them when we’re dazzled by their stars and eagles.
Category: Veterans Issues
It’s funny to me. I was medically retired as a SFC with a bad back after servicing 21 years active duty. Still can’t run or stand for long periods. I get my retirement and VA takes out a percentage than gives it back to me, it’s less than 50 %. A few years later I met up with a Captain I knew, he retired a Colonel after 25 years service. He said he went to VA about his knees and now he gets 80 % disability. Still plays tennis and runs 2 miles everyday. I can’t even walk around the block without holding on to something. Always thought it was based on rank and not disability. Been fighting with them for over 20 years and still nothing. Not fair.
I have no faith whatsoever on in the Chiefs of Staff. They are yes people promoted for political considerations. Did you guys see GEN Dempsey bullshit honoring the friggin saudi king?
Appointed by the administration and congress critters…not a surprise the result is a commission out of touch with reality. However, I’m shocked at exactly how far out of touch they are; the proposed changes, if implemented, will likely mean the end of a successful volunteer fighting force.
It’s always been our burden, the enlisted guys that is. Although there are some good senior officers out there, most of them go along with the program to save their own 6. Just like they do while in uniform. The one’s that call bullshit in any administration normally get their walking papers. I wonder if Jonn and the TAH boys could get a list together of the real combat commanders that told the liberal suits to go screw themselves? That would be an awesome panel to decide for us.
I guess the rich man’s war is still the poor man’s fight.
Not that socialism would be any better.
I wonder how the VA would be if it was run by a bunch of retired senior enlisteds? I guess a lot of vets would love that. ;o)
When it comes, the revolution is going to be ugly.
Figuritivility speaking of course, your are correct.
The days of the servant leaders like Omar Bradley are long gone. The military leaders of today only think of themselves…..
Veterans that need the compensation do get screwed, and when it comes to cuts service members usually are the first to feel it. But, in all fairness, (One form of getting compensation from the military) getting disability through the VA is a system that a lot of military members themselves abuse. There are people getting nearly 100% for bullshitting about head injuries and PTSD from IED’s and mortar rounds that they were 500M+ away from that they know, deep down, did not affect them whatsoever. I, for the reason alone of people screwing the VA out of disability they don’t deserve that someone else does, will never claim anything from the VA (Unless I lose a limb or something to that extreme) to try to make up for all the people who abuse it. I’m not saying that everyone on disability through the VA is lying, and it might even only be 5% of the people on it who bullshitted in some manner to get it. But if just 5% of people on disability through the VA lied to get it and are getting 1000$+ a month, that is a ton of money. There are plenty of other changes that need to be made, but I think one of those changes is maybe looking at what some people are truly collecting money for, I don’t care what rank they are or were. No one should be abusing this system so they can get some extra money every month because “A mortar round/IED blew up 400 m away from me” or “I saw a dead body.” (Just examples) I hope everyone that collects disability for some bullshit that they made up or greatly exaggerated for the sole purpose of collecting disability for PTSD that causes them no real problems at all realize they are part of this problem and that they are shitbags for it.
Preach it, Jordan! I couldn’t agree more.
Jordan,
here is a link to a table of all recipients of VA disability and actual health care costs for VA treatment. chrome-extension://gbkeegbaiigmenfmjfclcdgdpimamgkj/views/app.html looks like 5% of total disability compensation is $2457593.00
Interesting comparison since the IRS states they don’t collect 8 Billion a year in taxes that they’re supposed to.
So, roughly 50 Million a year in disability compensation for Vets. Even that is “nothing” comparatively. We, the taxpayer, just spent 18? Million bucks on King Barry’s two week vacation to Hawaii. (The VA’s administration budget was increased how many billion?)
Its understandable your frustration, but if you have a valid injury, accept the disability Jordan. You’ll only hurt yourself in the long run, unless you win the lottery or get a job with healthcare that will cover your pre-existing conditions.
I have bad ankles, bad knees, a bad hip, a bad back, a bad shoulder. I didn’t have bad everything even 5 years ago. It adds up and the pain gets worse after 5, 10, 20 years. You might very well feel fine when you get out. But when you hit 40 or 50, you could very well feel it.
I could go on and on about Gummint waste, but I think you get the point. If you need it, that’s what the VA is (supposed to be) there for.
Jordan, if you can look yourself in the mirror and say, “I would gladly pay $450 (or whatever they’re offering) out of my own pocket every month for the rest of my life, if I could buy back my healthy knees / back / hearing / sleep,” then you should take the money.
One little quibble. “Seeing dead bodies” well there is seeing dead bodies and seeing dead bodies. After doing my fair share of biometrics on bodies I assure you that “seeing bodies” does effect one.
The real problem with PTS is threefold. 1. There is no objective why to diagnose it, I can’t give you a blood test to figure if you have it and how severe you have it 2. Is varies in severity from people who don’t like explosions or fireworks, can’t watch movies with dead people in them and have an occasional nightmare but who normally function in such a way that it only effects them somewhat to those who have much more severe forms and everything thing in between. 3. Who gets PTS and why/what event triggers it is unknown and different from person to person. Some of us never think twice about getting shot at but seen bodies really messed us up. There is no one standard cause which makes diagnosing it and giving disability for it extremely hard.
What is really subjective is pain. Pain cannot be detected by machines or lab work ups. I have constant back pain. The level of pain depends on what I am doing and how much pain I am willing to endure. The pain levels come much easier than 30 years ago. Unless you have the same Doctor(VA) for a long time most Doctors just scan the first page of your med file. the Doctors see too many Vets to personally remember your med history. Joe
I agree with you both, but like you said Eric “If you need it, that’s what the VA is for” and like you said SSG E “If I could buy back my knees/ back.” These things would say thought that you actually are suffering from the problems you are trying to claim. You sound like you are suffering from legitimate pain Joe, you should then by all means be collecting disability. And like you said Redlog, diagnosing it is really hard for PTSD. That is my point though, ig it is legitimate issue, you really can’t sleep, you really can’t be in large crows, dead bodies really did affect you, then by all means you should get the money you deserve. My point is I know 100% for a fact there is people who bullshit about these problems to get the money and only to get the money and not to get help whatsoever. Just take that number Dana said for example, if 5% of people lie to get that money that is $2,457,593 going to people who claim, “That dead body I saw through my ACOG from a mile away fucked me up” that could be going to someone who really did get messed up from a dead body. I know of people who are getting disability from mortar rounds going off a significant amount of meters away from them (I don’t want to say any names because I don’t want some person to see and call me out and get an ARCOM for it) and they absouletly 100% do not have PTSD. And that one person is not the only person who has ever pulled that shit to get money from the VA. I am not trying to deny or discredit any real mental or physical problems one might have from their military service, I am saying to deny and discredit the ones people greatly exaggerate and say they have just for the sole purpose of getting that check every month when they know that they are fine.
EDIT BUTTON WHERE ART THOU / POST-POST SPELL CHECK BUTTON
BOHICA!
This is just like “Obamacare”. The ones that created it and passed it don’t care because they won’t have to use it.
Barry or his family will never have to worry about a 10,000 dollar deductible, or how they are going to pay for braces for their kids or grandkids. Obamacare is for the peasant class.
These guys don’t care because they are out. They want US not to care because we’ll be grandfathered. I’m curious how much they got paid to sit on this “commission” and what they’re getting out of the deal next.
If I were president for a day, I’d have them all recalled to active duty and digging a hole and filling it back in for 23 hours and 59 minutes of that day. Maybe that would remind them of why the VA and compensation is there, for the lower ranking guys who won’t have million dollar salaries waiting for them.