According to the 2009 budget information, combat operations and all military benefits are only 9.8% of the budget and this includes the hospitals that Congress gets treated at. I heard cutting defense and reducing the stock pile of nuclear weapons costs about the same as the tax loopholes ($1 trillion). I would rather defend the country than continue to allow corporate greed.
I agree with Sharon Osbourne in that our military families should be taken care of for life if a loved one is killed in battle. I also agree that our ex-military should not go homeless or hungry. At any time they don’t have funds from other employment, they should continue to earn their military pay. I would like to add that every service man and woman should be treated for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) upon each return from a violent tour of duty. According to Tim Daly there are about 18 attempted suicides a day by our military. And now they’re saying the drug being given for PTSS is ineffective; I wonder what the psychiatrists and drug companies will do now to help our military.
In addition to our military not being taken care of, here’s an example of how else they are treated. After spending 29 years in the Army, Sgt. Major Rob Dickerson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was injured in Iraq while training Iraqi troops. He suffered major injuries and all his Iraqi troops were killed in a bombing. The Purple Heart was not issued because he didn’t have a Casualty Feeder Card that is issued by a medic when US troops are injured while working with American troops. As the medal was deserved he pursued getting and did receive the Purple Heart through the peace time chain of command. The medal was shipped COD and the Sgt. Major had to pay $21 for it. The Army tried to make this right by issuing a letter of apology and a money order to pay for the COD charges. Unfortunately, the money order was sent in the wrong name and after 2 years no new money order has been received. This is no way to treat our military. The medal should have been issued without his pursuing it, it should not have come to him COD and if it hadn’t, he wouldn’t be waiting more than 2 years to receive the money owed to him.
I see JR Martinez who was injured in war. He was burning while conscious, had 33 surgeries and still has a sense of humor and a good outlook on life. And he’s not alone, the lives and limbs of 1,000s of our soldiers are taken from them. In the Iraqi war alone, as of October 21st, it was reported more than 1 million troops served, 4,482 died and 32,213 were wounded. On October 19th on The View, Elisabeth stated 11.7% of veterans and 16.7% of blacks are unemployed (I don’t know how a black veteran is counted.) So, I’m tired of hearing about the money that will be taken away from the rich if there is a tax increase when most of them give no consideration to the people fighting for them.
On October 13th, GMA reported that home foreclosures rose 14% in third quarter of 2011 and on October 18th they reported that for the first time since February, credit card late payments rose while major banks reported profits; CitiGroup went up 74% ($3.7 billion) and Bank of America $6.2 billion (it lost its #1 status to JP Morgan Chase). I don’t know why the rich can’t or won’t understand that without our military they would not have the freedoms and opportunities they have that allow them to be rich and live, not a good life but, a better life than 99% of the people.
If being in the military was a crime, our military would be fed, clothed, housed, educated, and have medical care and exercise equipment for life. It’s time we show them at least as much respect as we show to our criminals. Of course I’d like us to show them more than that.
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