Repost from another page I had

 

 

 

  America has an "all volunteer military".  But WHY are we all volunteers?  This question really needs to be addressed.  I rarely actively think about the reason I serve, but with the budget crisis in full swing and the politicians acting like a bunch of children, I've put a little time into this.  Here's how I see it, with a bit of my personal story.

  Every single Sailor, Airman, Soldier and Marine joined for their own personal reasons: love of country, steady paycheck, money for college...  I, frankly, joined to get out of my childhood town.  I tried college briefly but lacked the discipline to stick with it.  I wanted to do something with my girlfriend (now my wonderful wife of 15 years) that would guarantee a steady income, security for my family (wife) and would keep me out of the desert I grew up in..  I joined the US Navy for these reasons and have had an interesting career so far.

  I joined the Navy in 1995 and signed a contract for six years of service.  In exchange for my time, the Navy agreed to provide me with a paycheck, uniforms and the Montgomery GI Bill.  This would help pay for some schooling when I left the Service..  In addition to this, I also received additional money for college with the Navy College Fund.  This is an additional sum of money to help pursue schooling above and beyond the levels of the GI Bill.

  So there I was.  All set up with a job and a plan for my life after I got out of the military.  My father was retired Air Force, and I didn't want to stay in the military until that age.  I thought I could do my time and transfer my experience into the civilian world plus have the added attractor of a college degree.

  Now here is where most civilians don't know jack shit about the differences in military jobs.  Yes, there are numerous members with no college degrees who join the military.  There are also some that have degrees and choose to Enlist.  Yes, Enlist, not receive a Commission.  The military is a microcosm of the Country.  College educated, high school graduates, GED earners, preppy, nerdy, jocks, etc...  We have it all.  You take a test (for enlisted candidates) that tells the military how  well you "may" do in a certain area.  It is called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and scores you on Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension and Mathematics Knowledge.  The better you score, the more types of jobs are open for you.  Jobs range from simple to multi-faceted, dirty and hot to clean and air-conditioned.  Some groups get (seemingly) ridiculous sums of money for bonuses just to keep them in service, while others get nothing additional.  But whatever the case, they are fulfilling their end of the deal.  A deal that was made when they signed up for volunteer service.  And what is the carrot dangling at the end of a long career?  A retirement check.  One that begins when you leave the service and is there until you die. 

  I scored fairly well and chose the Fire Controlman (FC) rating.  FC's, to make it short, work on the electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics and other various systems on US Navy ships used to fight wars.  These range from 3D radars, Data Distribution Systems, Missile and Gun Systems and the support systems that keep these running (air, power and water).  I spent the first two years in the Navy attending electronics schools and earned the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 1140 for the AN/SPS-48E 3D Air Search Radar.

  Upon completing this course, and as is/was standard for the advanced electronics rates, I received orders to my first ship.  Here I am going to skip a bit and just say, I really had no intention of reenlisting!  I was going to stick with the original plan and take my college money and run.  But when I was standing 50 caliber machine gun watch onboard my first ship, at our first liberty port (Darwin Australia) of our 2001 deployment (my third onboard), two planes collided with the twin towers and all of my plans changed.

  Since that night, I have reenlisted twice and attended twelve more electronics schools.  I have completed my Associates degree, am working towards my Bachelors while working, and have made rank at a decent pace.  In 2005 I attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer (E7).

  I still enjoy serving my country, but a funny thing has happened.  There are discussions in Congress surrounding ending the current retirement system.  I am fortunate in the fact that my knowledge and experience can translate directly to civilian life.  But there are many in the military who cannot claim this.  We all are giving our time, our blood and in many cases our lives to defend the citizens of this country.  We sacrifice freedoms others take for granted.  We spend countless months and years away from loved ones.

  The general public seems to think that a deployed service member is only away from home for the time they are "in country".  They do not fully understand the time it takes to maintain the high level of proficiency that has made our military number one in the world.  And they certainly don't understand that most of this training occurs away from home.  Personally, just going to these additional schools I mentioned kept me away from my wife for three out of five years.  Onboard my current ship, these sailors have had to deal with a several month deployment just to get the ship to this port.  Then they finished a 7 month deployment and are scheduled to go again towards the end of the year.  They also have multiple assessments they must pass, all underway, that will keep them from their families.

  Servicemembers are spending more time away from home than the general public is aware.  And they are not alone.  This occurs all the time!  It seems to me, at least, that there should be something to give back to the service members when they successfully complete 20 years of honorable service!  Life insurance is for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but what about all of those who are risking that ultimate sacrifice daily?  What about those that are supporting the rights of those at home?  What about those who, for all practical purposes, give up some of their rights and freedoms just to serve?  What about the Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors (yes, Sailors have been augmenting the Army and Marine Corps since the beginning of all of this, it's another rant I may make but will keep it with "we're in the Navy, not the Army DAMMIT!) in the 110 degree heat, with mortar shells being lobbed at them daily while their lawmakers are on vacation threatening to take away their retirement?

  One argument I hear constantly is, "the taxpayers want...".  Well guess what, we pay the same damn taxes!  The only time we are exempt is when we are in specific areas of the world that are high in danger.  In my honest opinion, I don't think service members should pay taxes, but when I joined that was the rule and I understand it as part of my contract.

  Contracts, contracts, contracts.  All these things we sign.  To be honest, I do not recall enlisting and seeing any paperwork that said, "if you give the military x amount of years you will receive retirement".  I have not done that research, and probably will not do it.  It is just a known fact that members retire with pay at the end of at least 20 years.  Percentages of pay change, but the pay is there.

  So how do I see this playing out?  Well for starters, what will be the incentive for all of the "volunteers" to complete 20 years?  The answer, NONE.

  What will be the result if members lose their retirement incentive?  The answer to this is most certainly a mass exodus from the armed services.

  "Well, we can always train a replacement" is a mantra said by almost every Senior Enlisted and Officer I have had the pleasure of working with.  But with that repository of knowledge now leaving the military, who will train the new group?  Who will lead them if the leaders now have no incentive to stay in?  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are still those that will stay in.  Those that know they can't get a job in the civilian world.  Those that know the only place they can get away with the way they treat subordinates is to stay in.  Those that are truly gung-ho for the military way of life.  But these are not the majority of service-members.  The majority of service-members are just like you.  With families and bills.  Hopes and dreams for themselves and their loved ones.

  As the quote goes, "ALL GAVE SOME, SOME GAVE ALL".  Just think of how many more veterans you may soon see on the street...

  How can we expect to maintain an all-volunteer military when the volunteers, especially the career-long volunteers, are slapped in the face and told, "you're no longer worth it"?