Posted on 01/06/2014 6:47:49 AM PST by LSUfan
After a 30-year military career in which he earned three graduate degrees, rose to the rank of colonel, and served as an aide to Pentagon brass, Robert Freniere can guess what people might say when they learn he's unemployed and lives out of his van:
Why doesn't this guy get a job as a janitor?
Freniere answers his own question: "Well, I've tried that."
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.philly.com ...
Retired after 30 years as a Colonel. Certainly not unusual.
No, certain things still don’t add up. He has an income of over $3,000 per month from his pension. Are we saying that he has debts and college expenses, etc. for his kids in excess of that, leaving him no money to live on???
If he truly has huge debts, bankruptcy relief is a possibility. Could his kids get student loans, if he’s really spending such a big piece of his income paying his kids college expenses? Can his kids get part time work to work their way through college? Then he can spend some of his own money to get himself a place to live?
I gotcha. It's no wonder why women love men in uniform -- they can always win the alimony battle.
I WILL resist the “Temptation” to be SNARKY!
Valley Forge Military College Cost: $42,575. Nuff said. It’s called “choices”.
Then, declare bankruptcy and start anew.
We're not knowing the full details of this story here. The sons may have to adjust their college situation and the debts can be restructured.
Exactly. There are locations in the western part of Virginia in which he could buy himself a comfortable, moderately sized house and retire for the rest of his life. Something's missing from this article.
No argument, but illustrating that reading the whole article is helpful sometimes.
Definitely a ‘fluff’ piece, but at least it’s not promoting the idea that ‘the economy is recovering’, as are almost every other story; it’s not.
Really a number of separate issues here: Lifetime public servant (military or not) & the inability to cope in a free market after securing THREE (?) degrees of higher education.
Makes one wonder why at least one of his children are in a ‘military academy’ for higher education and whether either of his children have learned a damned thing from 30 years of service that have led to, well...nothing. Choices certainly play a part here. I don’t care to hear about dyslexia & ADHD coming from a man that served 30 years & earned 3 degrees; what BS.
“Divorce industry” is an apt observation, as is the undoing of America’s social fabric (family) by progressive liberals.
I agree. I was in the military, and met many servicemen with a very entitlement-based mentality. “Whats Uncle Sugar going to do for me next?” Thats why they liked the military so much... they felt like someone was “taking care of them.”
This guy needs to take responsibility for his life. No one is taking care of him anymore.
“After a 30-year military career in which he earned three graduate degrees,...”
Three grad degrees in what?...Lesbian midget folk songs etc?
Not sure what to make of this.
You may have hit on something: The possible ‘entitlement mentality’ of his children.
‘I’ would not continue to go to college on my father’s dime while my father lived in a van. I suspect many here would parrot that.
There’s family, then there’s ‘family’. It’s supposed to be a 2-way street.
But again, we’re all armchair-diagnosing here on the basis of one reporter’s writing...
A Lieutenant Colonel with 20 makes about $40,000
Witch gets HALF.
In many cases...not only did they put up with a horrible woman for 10+years...but now they half half the paycheck. She'll remarry and mooch off some other dude...and still get half. I have a good friend who this happened too. She was a witch...and now lives in Peurto Rico where she gets half. Another buddy of mine divorced his drunk (and mean) of a wife with about 2 months to spare. Otherwise SHE'D be in Kentucky right now boozing it up on his pension.
Hopefully, I've learned from some of the mistakes I made with my two oldest children, both in their mid-20s.
I had anticipated working until my 11YO son graduated from college, basically until I was 70.
I'm rethinking that position. My son's goal is to matriculate at UT-Austin, which means he'll have to finish in the top 8% of his class. I'll provide the support and resources he'll need to reach that goal, but I'm staying on him to supply the sweat equity.
I'm NOT going to foot the bill for him, as I've done for the other two. It fed into their entitlement mentality, which they have shed since entering the work force.
My better half is on board, and why shouldn't she be? Our parents provided support, but my wife worked her way through college, and my degrees were earned through ROTC and the GI Bill.
2013 basic pay for an O-6 with 30 years is 10736.70/month. I know he retired in 2006 but it hasn’t gone up that much. Retiring with 30 years gives you 75% of that or close to $8,000/month. Times 12 is $96,000/year. Am I missing something here? This story smells to high heaven.
The article says he is paying for both his sons’ education at two different universities plus bills he had when he lost his last job.
Retired pay for an 0-6 over 30 for 2010 was 92,221.44 before taxes. That $40,000 figure is bunk.
And they unwittingly cut their own throats by voting Democrat.
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