How is this double-dipping?
When I raised my right hand I was told that in a few years I'd be a veteran and I would have the help of the Veteran's Administration including things health care. That was 42 years ago. Have things changed? Wasn't this ALWAYS the way?
When I reupped every time, I was told that if I could stay in long enough to retire, my health care would be for life. I would get (depending on my rank at retirement and how many years I served), a certain amount in retiree pay for the rest of my life. THAT WAS THE DEAL!
I didn't demand it or cause it. I agreed to it by reupping. I had to continue with the lousy pay for my skills and the deployments, drills, and potential combat (yeah, I'm Air Force, so not! Seriously, the Soviet plan in Europe in my time was to use Spetznat to take all us USAF people out, and we couldn't even get a firearm to defend ourselves).
Now had I gotten into any serious trouble, say even a DUI or something, I could have lost it ALL even after I served 19 years and 364 days. The deal was you had to survive the 20 and put in for retirement--and retire.
Of course, right before I retired they came up with Tricare and started closing all the Base Hospitals. We were told free health care for life was no longer going to be offered. That retirees were costing the military too much... I heard a lot of complaints about how I could get another job, and really didn't need as much as they promised.
So what is the opposite of double-dipping? Half dipping? Because that's what's really going on.
I was there before you. In 1968 (68-76), and I did 8+ years so please don’t give me the ‘I re-upped, 42 years and all that.’
I did the same - re-upped and extended more than once. I didn’t make a career of it. And if you are trying to tell me throughout your entire tenure in the military you were ‘always guaranteed’ free-everything on retirement, that’s disingenuous and you know it. Even when I left in 1976 they were limiting retirements based on rank. And even then, it was understood that VA healthcare was for the ones not able to have anything better.
You might be able to shine that off on someone else, but I was there, too and I don’t believe you.