A little context would help. Having read this I still have no idea what the issue is.
Posted on 11/17/2004 6:30:53 PM PST by FireChuNow
Dear N.I.P. (Nationally Important Politician)!
You were probably elected to office with the votes of many of our brave and sacrificing military men AND women! You probably think you support the Troops! You probably think veterans who have finished their active service all deserve fair and equitable treatment. You probably think our veterans are not bullied and treated as scapegoats by other U.S. national politicians. IF SO, YOU ARE TERRIBLY MISTAKEN! Please read to the nearby end of this letter in honor of the many of us who are combat veterans and, even more, our roommates who were Killed In Action!
There is an issue of GRAVE injustice which affects both active duty and retired military women and men. This injustice is the legislation contained in the sneakily passed, last-minute Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA), 10 USC Sect. 1408! When will Congress introduce legislation to revise the unfair portions of this 1981 law? Please help stop the unfair treatment of our military men and women. Here's how you can help:
There is an organization, the ULSG, http://www.ULSG.org which supports the rights of all veterans and active-duty military and is finally challenging the 1982 Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, 10 USC Section 1408 et seq. The USFSPA, in fact, invalidates the US Supreme Court's 1981 pro-veteran ruling (McCarty v. McCarty, 452 US 210, 1981) that military retired/retainer pay is NOT subject to division in divorce proceedings.
A hearing is scheduled for Fri., 19 November, on a motion to dismiss. It seems the judge in this case feels that it should be left to the individual states to act in this matter. WE feel that is not accurate because the Federal government MADE the law and it falls to the Federal Government to rectify it!! A motion to dismiss must not be approved or it will create an unconstitutional denial of due process of law as well as its other injustices!
The USFSPA's unfairness is even MORE egregious because, since it was passed, so many states developed "no-fault divorce" which does not require ANY grounds for divorce any more! It only takes ONE of the marital partners who wants "out" to abandon their marriage unilaterally even though they were not mistreated and have no other grounds for divorce! The USFSPA was, supposedly, created to save marriages and families, but it has resulted in the perverse irony of letting the NON-MILITARY SPOUSE DESTROY THE MARRIAGE IN ORDER TO GET A WINDFALL PROFIT FOR LIFE BY BEING UNFAITHFUL & UNACCOUNTABLE, THEMSELVES!
The USFSPA absolutely DESTROYED my family of adulthood (there was NO OPTION that it permitted me to do differently)! It made my mentally unstable wife even MORE unstable, destroyed my PhD program during my last semester of classwork, and ripped my disabled, minor son away from me & my nurturing, psychologically-trained academic background! What does it profit a spouse of a military person to gain the whole world and lose her own soul (& that of their children)? About $1000 per month, LIFETIME, FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS A 100% FAITHFUL SPOUSE! (These cases are not decided case-by-case -- even though my marriage was established 14 years BEFORE the USFSPA was invented and applied retroactively!)
IF YOU ALLOW Virginia's Federal Judge Cacheris TO DISMISS & AVOID THE USFSPA RECONSIDERATION, OUR COUNTRY WILL REAP MORE OF THE WHIRLWIND: EITHER 50% OF FUTURE MILITARY MARRIAGES WILL DIVORCE BEFORE THEY HAVE 10 YEARS IN SERVICE, OR OVER 50% OF HIGHLY-QUALIFIED, CAREER MILITARY PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO ABANDON THE SERVICE TO SAVE THEIR RETIRED PAY FROM BEING DIVIDED FOR LIFE!
PLEASE HELP SECURE FAIRNESS FOR ACTIVE-DUTY MILITARY & RETIREE VETS!
Sincerely,
RICHARD I. KOETEEUW, SR.
LT COL, DECORATED USAF COMBAT VETERAN OF VIETNAM, GRENADA, & CENTRAL AMERICA (Also, B.A., M.A., 2ND M.A., "A.B.D.," & FORMER, LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR)
If you really support your troops copy this letter to your Congress Crook today.
God, what a waste of time!
Ain't gonna happen.
Condolences, but how is this breaking news?
P.S. Welcome to FR.
I applaud his threatening tone...
Thanks.
The issue is the person who posted the rant is going through a nasty divorce and is facing the fact of having to split her military pension with her ex.
Cry me a river and welcome to the wonderful world of divorce.
Former spouses of the retired military would like to get a piece of the retirement pie.
Not my letter, just posting. New to this site, doesn't appear very friendly. Will try anything once. Constitutional rights for career vets is the issue. Supreme Court rules you can't reclassify miltiary retirement pay, Congress back-dated law to circumvent USSC. Our lawsuit intends to prove such but Judge declares it doesn't belong in federal court.
Good guess but not even close. Not going through divorce and miltiary retirement/retainer pay is not a pension. keep up with current events then you know the Army is recalling retained vets. Get the facts first.
How about putting into civy english the following statement:
"The USFSPA absolutely DESTROYED my family of adulthood (there was NO OPTION that it permitted me to do differently)! It made my mentally unstable wife even MORE unstable, destroyed my PhD program during my last semester of classwork, and ripped my disabled, minor son away from me & my nurturing, psychologically-trained academic background! What does it profit a spouse of a military person to gain the whole world and lose her own soul (& that of their children)? About $1000 per month, LIFETIME, FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS A 100% FAITHFUL SPOUSE! (These cases are not decided case-by-case -- even though my marriage was established 14 years BEFORE the USFSPA was invented and applied retroactively!) "
as a civilian, you lose half your pension also if you get a diviorce. If you work 10 years and get a divorce after 8 years she/he would get 1/2 your pension for the 8 years...you would get 2 years full pensions and 8 years half pension. Welcome to the real world of divorce. This is CA law I am speaking of, but I believe it is true in most states. Why should military get a better deal than civilian on divorces. I am a vet by the way...
I'm exiting the conversation and hope your issues get resolved.
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