Military Lets Down Its Members, Again

Obviously, it's a much bigger deal that we don't provide the members of our military with proper protection in combat zones; soldiers whose tours of duty are cut short after injury in the field are asked to return their signing bonuses; and the way we treat veterans is deplorable. However, I wanted to share a little story which is indicative of the utter disregard afforded the brave men and women of our armed forces on all levels.

I work for a moving company, and today I spoke with a very nice lady living in Northern California who needed to move to San Diego. She and her husband are both in the military and have been separated for the last 4 years due to orders which kept her in NorCali and her husband in San Diego. Now her orders are to move down to San Diego with her husband; however, the army or whichever branch she belongs to only budgeted for a local move.

Their logic apparently is that since her husband already lives in San Diego, and she is moving into San Diego, that it is a local move. Nevermind that it's like 700 miles away.

So, even though the military has ordered her to move, she will probably have to take out a loan to make up the difference between what the army will pay and the actual cost of the move. I asked her if she could contact someone to explain the situation and get them to modify the allotted amount, but she said "orders are orders." WTF. Good thing I never joined the Air Force -- I would have gotten kicked out for sure! Anyway, the point is that the military establishment routinely gives individual soldiers the short end of the stick, whether it is a mundane issue like moving costs or a life-or-death issue like proper body armor. This is NOT okay.