Posted on 10/29/2001 4:37:20 AM PST by Constitution Day
I intend to write my Congressmen and Senators TODAY!
The rumor was that Fort Polk's housing authority had secured some sort of regulatory exemption from the state of Louisiana; otherwise many of the houses would have been condemned and demolished.
Of course, given that our funeral detail firing squads had to go buy ammo at Wal-Mart (lack of battalion funds, you know), this is sadly unsurprising.
I wish I could say that story was unbelievable.
However, I have too many relatives in various branches of service that I have heard similar accounts from.
I was visiting a friend who was married to a Navy Corpsman and who was living in Tarawa Terrace II apartments at Camp Lejeune. I don't know how old these apartments are, but I lived in those apartments after I was born over 30 years ago. Anyway, she showed me the ceiling in the kitchen that had watermarks and a repaired hole in it. My friend told me that there was a water leak, and water started coming through the ceiling. She said they fixed the hole in the ceiling, but not the water leak. She said they'd already fixed the ceiling 2 or 3 times, every time the water came through, but that they had yet to fix the leak.
Housing must have improved considerably since that time.
I retired after 27 years in the military, so I can speak from experience (and with objectivity)
I agree that overseas housing is less than desireable, however; stateside housing isn't even necessary with today's pay standards...read on.
The article states a "base pay" for a "Staff Sergeant with eight years" as about $25,000. THAT is only a partial picture! What the article FAILS to mention is the Housing Allowance, Ration Allowance, Local Allowance, and a couple of others. Those payments boost that salaray considerably (to much closer to $36,000/year).
Military housing residents do not pay for utilities or appliances (those airconditioners, refridgerators, ranges, etc.) Nor do they pay taxes on the allowances in excess of base pay!
Interestingly, the mention of roaches and mice in Ohio just may indicate a bit of lack of maintenance and upkeep on the facilities? I have seen this before...shoddy personal care of the premesis, since there is no cost and no accrument of tangible note.
Perhaps the military should reconsider these "benefits". In the days of conscript service and low pay, benefits like housing, commissary (and believe me, your local supermarket is priced the same or at worst 5 to 10% higher than the commissary)and PX (again, stocked with Armani and Waterford, but lacking in affordable and reasonable items) are no longer necessary.
Pay and allowances are now at a very comeptitive scale (and then some...don;t take my word for it...look up the pay charts and find out base pay, housing allowance (and make sure you get the local COLA figures), subsistance allowance, etc., then compare that with local salaries...you'll be surprized!)
I do not begrudge our military reasonable consditions, but the whining is skewed...this article didn't address the better areas and made it sound as though every house was a shanty...it just isn't so!
Wing commander came around to check out the new place, wanted to know why everyone was sleeping with their doors open. I was Charge of Quarters that week, and had to explain that it was because it was so hot in the rooms, and because the windows wouldn't open, we had to do something for air circulation. He called health services at the hospital and they came and checked and we were averaging around 90-95 degrees in each barracks room. Civil engineering had a new cooling system on order...due to be installed in November.
I was lucky to live at a show base. While our barracks and housing weren't the worst, they were better than a lot of places were. Our barracks was re-done only because we were the closest to Las Vegas Blvd, and it looked bad having this old style barracks sitting so close to the road. Eventually, all the barracks in the quad were refurbed, they were finishing up the last one as I was getting ready to depart the base in 1994.
It's not real surprising. We always felt that if Congress/Senate had to live in military housing instead of voting themselves payraises to buy themselves fancy houses...that we would have much better facilities to live in. The odds of that happening are about as good as my being recalled to go back in the Air Force.
I am only 31 & have never been in the military, but have heard some negative things from family & friends.
I was hoping that I would get more of the "real story" from some other Freepers!
The "shoddy personal care" you mention most certainly aggravates an already poor condition of these housing units.
I will wait for more reaction to this post before I fly off the handle!
FRegards,
CD
!
"Congress appropriated $890 million this year to replace and renovate 6,800 family homes worldwide. Bush, who wants the services to eliminate substandard housing by 2008, two years ahead of the services' schedule, proposed spending $1.1 billion next year to construct or improve 6,300 family homes and to support private development of an additional 28,000." Last month's terrorist attacks and the new focus on fighting terrorism will not curtail efforts to improve family housing, Edwards said."
Chill out...Bush is going to take care of it, come hell, high water, or terrorists.
Base pay: $2046 monthly
Housing Allowance: #888 monthly
Subsistance Allowance: $230 monthlyTHAT IS AN ANNUAL SALARY OF #37,872
That salary is $18.20/hourly...wages in Albuquerue come nowhere close to that and anyone making that figure can certainly afford housing...quite nice housing!
The article didn't tell you that! And, the salaries take a sharp upturn at the twelve year point...the Marine avistor (Captain) also didn't mention that his "re-enlistment bonus" as a flying officer would be in excess of $80,000!
Again, in today's military and at the pay we now have, housing shouldn't even be something the military should be maintaining or providing (except for the single troops).
See my post #12.
BTW, I do agree with that statement. So should anyone who believes in smaller, more efficient government.
I've lived in some appalling base housing over MY 20 years of active duty, and there are some that are worse than others, there are some that are TRULY horrendous, and there are some that aren't bad. These are probably valid complaints.
I'll see your "voice of experience" and raise you.
BTW...nearly 30K a year IS $14.42/hour...not a bad wage!
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