Free Republic

Dear Senator Cruz: I am a great admirer of yours. I have a suggestion, which would be to offer up a bill guaranteeing combat-grade benefits to US military personnel engaged in this widening Ebola battle carried out on foreign soil. These folks are risking their lives, and every American knows this. They did not sign up to fight horrific diseases and undoubtedly have paltry training to do so. You know and I know that of the several thousand military people engaged and sent over there, a hundred or so are going to come down with this horrible disease and die....

They will now only get the $7.50 daily proration for the individual days they are actually serving in harm’s way instead of for the whole month. (DOD) Barack Obama cut pay for military men and women serving in harm’s way starting this month. The Army Times reported: Starting this month, some troops will begin receiving less Imminent Danger Pay when a new policy takes effect that will prorate the standard $225 monthly IDP stipend. Under the new policy, troops will be paid only for the actual days they spend in the danger pay location, defense officials said Thursday. Under the...

While I understand that only a fraction of the population of this nation is directly affected by what you are about to read, I would never-the-less like to remind you that the remainder of the population is affected coincidentally. While the majority of the American population probably never even considered the Armed Forces as a possible career objective, there are those who never considered life without serving their country, in uniform, on a field of combat. Most of these young men and women never take the time to internalize some idealized vision of charging death for God and Country,

While I understand that only a fraction of the population of this nation is directly affected by what you are about to read, I would never-the-less like to remind you that the remainder of the population is affected coincidentally. While the majority of the American population probably never even considered the Armed Forces as a possible career objective, there are those who never considered life without serving their country, in uniform, on a field of combat. Most of these young men and women never take the time to internalize some idealized vision of charging death for God and Country, they...

The Shark Tank: President Obama’s latest policy outrage makes no attempt to hide his contempt for our military, as he is ordering that our troops serving overseas in war zones overseas are not to receive combat pay unless they are being shot at. A Marine who lives in Florida has just posted a note on Facebook which stated that he received a letter from his PayPal account that he would only be receiving his Hazard pay (Imminent Danger Pay) if he is actually in a hostile area and at risk of being Shot at. So I just got a letter...

he change, which took effect yesterday, was included in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law Dec. 31. The act called for DOD to pay service members imminent danger pay only for the time they spend in areas that qualify for the pay. In the past, service members received $225 per month if they spent any time that month in an area where the pay was authorized. Now, service members will receive $7.50 a day for days spent in these areas.

Obama said it. His Secretary of Defense said it to Chris Wallace–the combat actions in Libya don’t count as “hostilities” and thus, do not fall under the War Powers Resolution. Showing off his puckish sense of humor, Gates said Libya is a “kinetic action”, not an actual war. The Pentagon, however, disagrees. Troops engaged in the Libyan Kinetic Military Action are receiving combat pay. "The Defense Department decided in April to pay an extra $225 a month in imminent danger pay to service members who fly planes over Libya or serve on ships within 110 nautical miles of its shores."...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2008 – Military personnel serving in combat zones are eligible for an economic stimulus payment, an Internal Revenue Service spokesman said today during an “America Supports You Live” interview on BlogTalkRadio.com. While combat pay generally is nontaxable, servicemembers are permitted to count this pay on their 2007 or 2008 income tax returns if it helps their eligibility, Clay Sanford explained. “A military person who would not normally file a 2007 tax return because the 2007 income is not taxable, can file a 1040A with the IRS and receive the stimulus payment,” he said. Servicemembers should report...

To: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison August 31, 2003 As a parent of a young man serving in Iraq (U.S. Army) and retired Navy Chief, I’m very concern with many things taking place today that directly affects our young men and woman serving in Iraq. 1. Reduction of combat pay: It’s a rare day that my son and other young man are not shot at or have to deal with unexploded ordnance. Yet, the pentagon and our President claims they do not have the funds to pay our serviceman combat pay approved before going into battle. With combat pay, many young...

<p>Associated Press A soldier of the 101st Airborne Division stands near a Humvee destroyed by an explosive in Mosul on Thursday. Eight soldiers were injured in the blast, but their names and units were not released Thursday.</p> <p>WASHINGTON -- Senate approval Thursday of a $368 billion Defense Department budget should bring a sigh of relief to thousands of Tennessee soldiers and their families who worried about possible pay cuts.</p>

Empire on the cheap Pentagon's sneak attack on soldiers' combat pay News-Journal editorial Last update: 15 August 2003 Speaking to cadets at the Citadel in South Carolina on Sept. 23, 1999, Candidate George Bush sounded outraged. "Thousands of members of the armed forces are on food stamps," he said. "Many others in uniform get Army Emergency Relief or depend on their parents. This is not the way that a great nation should reward courage and idealism. It is ungrateful, it is unwise, and it is unacceptable." Bush liked that last line so much that he repeated it, word for word,...