Change spouse protection act
I would like to comment on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s lack of knowledge — or better yet, as he stated, “I’ve never heard of it’ — comment regarding the Uniform Services Former Spouse Protection Act.
I find it appalling that he’s never heard of this act. This act has been around at least 23 years and it’s done 23 years of injustice to the military retirees.
I’ve been in the military for 18-plus years, and when I retire I have to give a portion of my retirement to my ex-spouse. I give in excess of $1,000 a month now for support of my two kids, which I don’t mind. But the heartburn I have, and I assume many retirees have this same heartburn, is that my ex-spouse makes in excess of $50,000 a year; coupled with the child support, her income exceeds $62,000 per year. She has a college degree and works as a paralegal. She lives in a $190,000 home and drives a $57,000 vehicle.
Now, I ask, what sacrifices has she made? I’m the one who had to endure the hardships of the military (secluded bases, numerous deployments and training exercises, inclement weather, missed educational opportunities, etc.).
This act needs to be revised immediately. The numbers of military divorces are on the increase and it looks like with more and more deployments, divorces will continue to rise.
The time has changed and this act needs a change. With this act in place, Congress has forced all divorced soldiers to secure employment after the military, but is that guaranteed? And what happens, or do leaders care what happens to the men and women who have sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears for this great country we call the United States of America?
Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth L. Cherry
Camp Taji, Iraq
Fear and loathing in Doha
I could not help but laugh upon reading a fellow soldier’s account of the atrocity that is Camp Doha, Kuwait’s rest and recuperation program. Let me briefly recount my own experience:
We begin with briefings, customs and lockdown, a lovely area consisting of 60 metal folding chairs for 200 people. Fifty Meals, Ready to Eat are readily available for the same 200. Just before departure, we are informed that our plane is “broken” and we will not leave for four more hours. Three hours go by. We find that our flight has been further delayed and we won’t leave for three more hours. I assume our plane is still “broken” and consider raising my Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance coverage. Hours pass. Our flight is canceled and we will have to repeat the whole process tomorrow at 0600. We head for the billeting.
It is a warehouse filled with bunk beds, each equipped with a filthy mattress. We are told not to turn off the giant overhead lights and no sheets are provided.
There are no showers in the area, and more than 200 people share the same four portable toilets.
We are told to go to the post exchange to purchase a set of sheets if we so desire. Many of us dump our gear and hustle to the PX. As it happens, the PX closed at 2000, forty-five minutes prior to when we were told to go there.
We are booted from our billets at 0200 to make room for others. More than 200 people shuffle outside. At 0600, we go back through customs and shakedown, and are back into the cement room. Three hours pass. Our flight is delayed for four hours. Finally, we depart.
I would not wish the tender mercy of this R&R service and support unit on any human being on this Earth.
Spc. Steven Kalliavas
Camp Victory, Iraq
To officers: Listen to NCOs
Out in the trenches this past year, I have a unique viewpoint (detainee operations/battalion surgeon work at Abu Ghraib prison, field surgeon with the infantry — 1st Cavalry — in Baghdad, at the troop medical center in Balad, and at the battalion aid station in Al-Asad). I have been shot at, mortared, lost friends, and cared for the wounded. There is one thing I have seen all over theater and I want to speak out about it.
I see inexperienced officers in a combat theater. They interfere with experienced convoy, platoon, squad leaders and first sergeants. They forget that a good officer takes advice from those with combat experience. It is not indecision or weakness to involve them in decisions; they have valid concerns and opinions. Some officers/noncommissioned officers in charge are more worried about a soldier’s appearance than what that bone-weary soldier needs.
Commanders should walk among their troops to get a feel for their morale and needs. Have officers become more concerned with writing each other up for Bronze Stars and promotions?
I have worked with Marines and with soldiers. They meet their quotas; the Army does not. Look at how soldiers working in the field are treated. If command provides no support for a job well done, a life saved, a convoy/mission completed, how can we expect the soldiers to re-up?
I have watched a general speak to detainees and ignore the troops. Another acknowledged the troops for a job well done, and morale lifted 100 percent.
Our soldiers endure grueling missions, get bombed, shot at, and get little sleep. Those officers out there who are ignoring the advice of seasoned warriors, or never visit the troops in the trenches, are losing a great opportunity. It is an honor to command. Use it well.
Maj. Alea Morningstar
Al-Asad, Iraq
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=30636
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