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“The military isn’t some grand welfare program that some people consider it.”

Neither my husband nor I have ever expected “some grand welfare program” when either I joined or he did. There were companies out there that offered higher pay, but less in terms of health care benefits. The military offers health care, yet most care for family members is done through tricare which pays out so little that fewer and fewer good physicians will take tricare patients.

As patriotic as my husband is, he is determined to take good care of his family. He puts that first and will choose in future career choice decisions based on what is best for us.

To say that using the term “earned” rather than “given” is splitting hairs is absolute bullshit! When someone expects something for nothing, like welfare, that is being given something. When someone, like my husband, works his way through college and attains a set of qualifications that both the military and civilian companies are competing for, they have earned that. Once working for either the military or civilian company, they are still earning their benefits just like they are earning their pay. That is not the same as expecting something for nothing or expecting something more than what you are worth. It’s not the same as being “Given” something up and above what you are worth. I say those that risk their lives to defend us are worth a hell of a lot more than what they are getting.

It really disgusts me to know that there are so many of our best and brightest, who were also raised to be patriotic, and therefore accept not only less of a standard of living and pay than their civilian counterparts, but also accept risks to their lives, health, and future earning potential, just to be shown the attitude you have shown in your posts. I don’t care if it’s a highly educated officer like my husband, or an 18 year old high school graduate joining up to go to the front lines. The relatively uneducated 18 year old in that example still has a certain set of qualifications that the military needs. Patriotism, bravery, mental and physical strength, etc.

I agree, that nobody should expect the VA to take care of their non-service related illnesses, however it is more complex than that. There are things that can go wrong with one system or part of the body that affect others. The amount of disability that is given to disabled vets for their duty related disabilities is deplorable too. A young man or woman who can never see, hear, or walk again has forfeited his or her future earning potential and will live in extreme poverty if left only to what disability pays. Somehow, I have a feeling that’s okay with you too.

What will happen is that we’ll have a lot less high caliber people who are highly motivated to better themselves and the quality of life for their families volunteering to serve. We’ll have to go back to the draft and we know from the Vietnam experience what that leads to. It leads to a lot of men serving who are not patriotic or loyal to this nation and many who even have disdain for it. I’m not saying that pay and benefits are all that motivates one to serve. I’m saying that if they are so unappreciated that they can’t even get basic health care, the same type GIVEN to illegals for free for real, in return for their sacrifices, there will be less and less high caliber people willing to serve regardless of how patriotic they might be otherwise.