One has to serve for twenty years before being eligible for a military pension. It’s not at all clear from the article as to why the ‘Shooter’ retired sooner.
Yep
Too Far You Say?
Let's Remember This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2An9Qch2pQ
Yes, for the most part since President Reagan left, it is. I wish he’d send me his resume, I’d find something for him. That’s what I did for the best part of 15 years at the unemployment office.
Since the end of World War II, America has typically either ignored its heroes or crapped on them.
They’ll get a better reception in heaven when the time comes (may it not be soon), where good works are unfailingly rewarded.
“Exit question: How can the guy who shot Bin Laden not be eligible for military health insurance?”
First of all thanks for posting this article. You know the answer to your question. Pension eligibility is the same for all soldiers. Period. End of story. However it would seem the military should do something unofficially to offer protection in this case.
I’m a little skeptical.....when I left the Army there were job placement classes and a database of companies willing to hire ex-soldiers. You’d think the SEALS would be a tight knit group that helped each other find work in a similar fashion.
Also for some reason I envisioned the ‘shooter’ would be much younger. A guy with sixteen years in would be a squad leader type....not a point man.
Ask Ira Hayes.
“ultimately it’s the tale of a hero abandoned. No pension(!), no health care(!!), family troubles, little help transitioning to the private sector”
Heroes and non-heroes alike shouldn’t have to worry about going back to private life and living as most Americans do without government help.
The no pension, no health insurance, no help is the situation of many a taxpaying citizen.
The real story is not that he wants a pension, insurance and other help, the real story is that after 16 years as a SEAL, having to live as the rest of America does under the burden of government and regulation, he finds it so hard that even someone who knows extreme mental and physical hardship finds it unbearable.
It is what government has wrought upon us that this man cannot simply rely on his ably-demonstrated wits, his personal fortitude, and his hard work to provide the things that he needs to be successful.
This guy has an interesting story to tell, and he may well be able to personally profit from it. I wish him well.
I’d bet, with this guy’s military resume, he’d be welcomed back to the service for his remaining 4 years. Something isn’t adding up, and it seems like there was some odd reason why he bailed. I don’t know what his deal is, and we may never know what’s really happened here, but as I said, he’d be welcomed back, if he is healthy enough to serve.