Vets called 'cry babies'

[SoCalDem]

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/7062866.htm

Posted on Tue, Oct. 21, 2003

Vets called 'cry babies'

Responses to Saturday's column, "Veterans fighting new wars," included a call from a reader who called retired disabled veterans "cry babies" for wanting both full retirement and disability checks.

"They receive retirement checks," he said, "you can't bankrupt the government because people have served in the military. It was a volunteer thing, and people chose to do it. America is at war against terrorism. There are plenty of benefits out there for military now. You can't bankrupt the government just because you think you deserve something all the way to the grave. It's ridiculous."

...snip.....

But when the military got real, the situation changed. Service members were actually called upon to leave kith and kin and put their lives on the line for the country. Some people who'd planned to retire were told they were no longer eligible for retirement. They needed to stay put. All of a sudden this already stressful military lifestyle took on added dimensions.

...snip....

What the caller may not understand, or may choose not to understand, is that many of these veterans were wounded in battle -- in service to this country. Their injuries didn't disappear simply because they were able to remain in service for 20 years. Many were in the infantry when wounded, then reassigned to more support positions after that. It's one thing to balance the books on their backs during peacetime, but when this country is at war, stories about negative treatment of veterans and retirees don't help recruiters. The caller suggested that instead of complaining, these veterans and their spouses should get second jobs and their children should work. That's beside the point, but many of them do. Others can't.

Then of course, there are those who want the money they believe is owed to them. Money is tight every place. Veterans and their families can't really afford to back off the federal government because legislators say they can't afford to pay the cost. And people like the caller might want to remember that being in the military is not the equivalent of a free lunch. Being in the military is being on call 24/7; plus, service people pay taxes just like the people who chose not to be a part of the armed services.


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Contact Kaffie Sledge at [phone] or [e-mail]

[LibertyorDeath]

1. Send this F%c%er to Iraq now right Fu%#ing now

[jonoboy]

2. some mistake

"you can't bankrupt the government because people have served in the military. "

uhhh???

surely it's Dubbya bankrupting the country .

[leetrisck]

5. As Donald Rumsfeld said to the vets

"If we give you this (concurrent receipt), what do we get in return?

[izzie]

3. Read freepers on this. They seem to hate vets.

:shrug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Oh sure, vets are crybabies

I bet the person who wrote that never ever even attempted to serve his country in any capacity. Doesn't he realize that vets literally put their lives on the line for him????? I know he doesn't realize the psychological trauma that battle induces? I'd like to see him walk up to someone like Max Cleland and tell him that vets don't deserve everything the country can give them. Hmph. This bozo is probably one of the richest 1% who got the big tax break, too.

[teryang]

6. This issue is a lot more complex than people think

...first of all many more veterans who didn't make it to retirement have been denied benefits than retirees. These people are forgotten in the scramble for veterans compensation. The VA legal reforms of the late eighties were supposed to help these wartime veterans. It didn't and they are still getting screwed. On a relative basis, retirees are way better off. They get medical benefits and compensation already FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. A large number of these veterans will draw social security benefits in addition to that. Most veterans now get nothing or next to nothing because they are not retirees.

There are some contradictions in retirement pay law. In some respects retirement pay is current compensation. Yet, retirees who draw disability generally cannot be recalled. If you are receiving current full military retirement compensation how can you be regarded as disabled? Disability pay is regarded as an offset for loss in earning capacity. If you are receiving lifetime federal compensation and benefits what earning capacity have you lost?

Politically powerful veterans lobbies campaign for the retirees so they can double or triple dip, while less fortunate veterans without any compensation and virtually no medical care fall by the wayside.