The Department of Defense along with the support our own Marine Chairman of the Joints Chiefs, General Peter Pace and a Reserve Marine General Officer endorsed an increase in military health care fees.  They claim they have not been keeping up with the costs civilians have to pay.  You believe this crap!   And from a couple of our own too.  Yeah, no kidding our health care costs are lower.  They are suppose to be lower to offset the simple FACT we don’t/didn’t make as much as those who decided not to serve and sacrifice.  Remember them?   The thousands that “had more important things to do” than serve their country.  If military health care benefits have to be on par with civilian costs, why not everything else; military salaries, housing benefits, sacrifices, etc, etc. The fact that our health costs are not keeping up with the civilian sector is a good thing; we deserve the break!  After all who did all the sacrificing, who moved all those times who left families behind who ran the risk of being killed or worse disabled and who did it all for a salary that was near or in many cases at the poverty level.    

The erosion of military benefits over the last two decades has been appalling.  What are those of us who serve and served disposable assets?  Where is the GRATEFUL NATION TAKING CARE OF THOSE THAT SERVED?  Those that are serving and those that served are the first the government always uses to offset increase government costs.  Why not look to those that stayed behind and had the opportunities to make those bigger wages with less sacrifices and tap them.  Helping to defray increased costs associated with the military can be their contribution to the freedoms they enjoy and didn’t have to sacrifice for.  Service men and women have sacrificed enough already, especially those that have made the military their career.   I always thought the idea behind lower costs associated with health care, commissary privileges, etc was to off set the FACT we don’t make as much as our civilian counterparts.  They want to increase and take away the last remaining benefit to make it COMPARABLE with civilians, than make everything in the military comparable with the civilians right now and make some retro-active.  Is this another lame brain move by the same sort of folks that brought us the “high three” military retirement plan.  That was just another way to screw the serviceman out of a couple bucks and it did wonders for retention.  It didn’t take long before it was view as not such a good deal and started an exodus.  Rightfully so too! 

Where is the moral courage on the part of our own to stand up and say this isn’t right?  Why is it that those that move within the beltway whether in uniform or not all start sounding alike after a while?  I am sure this increase in health care will not affect either one of those two generals, but what about the average military retiree who had to struggle after retirement, is still working to make ends meet or worse yet is living off a fixed income.  The military retirement check doesn’t go all that far to the surprise of many civilians coupled with the fact that military folks worked for lower wages during their careers and their Social Society, which is based on your income, isn’t comparable to many civilians either.  When is enough, enough!  Why does it always seem that those who are always willing to stand up and protect and defend this country keep getting screwed?  And to make it worse, this is all the plan of the Department of Defense and supported by current military “leadership”.  What the hell is going on?  When and who is going to start taking care of those of us who made the decision to serve this country….WHEN!  Where is the leadership NOW, where is that morale courage to stick up for what is fair, NOW?  Is the government really concerned about taking care of those that serve and served?  Or are we just a disposal asset to be used and abused whenever and where ever those that don’t want to serve or sacrifice need us and then so easily can renege on promises now with the support of some of our own.  KEEP THE PROMISES, TAKE CARE OF THOSE THAT ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE; let’s get back to the basics of understanding that “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards”.  How about a square deal for once!