European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday april 18, 1986 " " " imm writers disagree on the Quality of military life is id r � none to f i 4 a a. _ _ _ this is in response to the recent letter entitled gis have it  you Are absolutely right when you say the military has it Good. And the military services Are going to have it better in the future also. In the Early months of 1935 the 18th held artillery received its first Model a Fords to replace the horses that pulled the artillery caissons in fort Sill okla. This was one of the first of Many vast and great changes that the military services would undergo. My father was a private in 1935 and to this Day he boasts about the introduction of that equipment. Mobility was the key. Dur ing this time he had a monthly income of $21. The Only soldiers that were allowed to have their families with them during this Era were officers. The food in the mess Halls left a lot to be desired. The billets these soldiers lived in were open Bays with no privacy. Pos privately owned vehicles were unheard of during this time. I joined the military in 1966 with a monthly paycheck of $76. I also lived in open Bays. I also had to have permission to leave the Post. I had no driving privileges not to mention that i could t afford it. I was single. Some soldiers were married but their family had to most of the time reside with mom and dad or their in Laws. Even though the times were hard the Quality of life in the military was improving. What i am trying to say is that the timeshare changed. With the equipment the military has and the Upkeep that is required not to mention the introduction of still More sophisticated equipment the need for skilled soldiers to operate this equipment is crucial. Our free Dom depends on these soldiers abilities to carry these jobs out. If you Don t like the changes and the Way of life now just wait 10 More years. If the government thought the military was being overpaid they would t adjust our pay the Way they do. The military benefits Are con stantly under scrutiny and we have lost part or All of some of them. If i Don t retire in a couple years and the army says i can remain on Active duty i will and for As Long As i am in the military i will fight for the benefits of the soldiers. I have soldiers that can t even pay their rent or keep food on their tables All month an this is 1986. Staff sgt. Ted e. Hardin Kaiserslautern taxpayers to include soldiers we pay taxes too Are paying for Security and peace of mind. We keep Vigil Over a world that civilian taxpayers created and we Are prepared at a moment s notice to die for our cause. That i think should entitle us to a Little consideration if not appreciation. When a Soldier volunteers he ensures that the draft which is distasteful to so. Showcase praised the current Usan showcase 86 tour is probably the Best two hours of entertain ment i have seen put on by air Force Mem Bers of Europe. The professionalism the performers put Forward showed the out standing Talent that is within the european Heater. To All members of the Safe Talent show a thank you for the four nights of entertainment you gave Span Dahlem a. Everyone knows not All can win first place but just to be Able to compete in the finals shows you were among the Best. The very first show of showcase 86 was performed at Span Dahlem a Germany on easter sunday. This also shows that you were truly out to entertain whatever sacrifices you have to make in your private lives. Best of Luck to All who will go Forward to the air Force world wide Competition at Minot fab n.d., in May. Master sgt. Barry Mccole and family Span Dahlem a Germany Many remains a contingency for emergencies and not a mandatory Way of life for our children. The pay and benefits of the average sol Dier is far behind that of his her civilian counterpart. Study after study has proven this most were sponsored by the . Government. Has this writer Ever tried to catch a free military hop the majority of people i know give up and Fly commercial. We get 30 Days leave but when it Falls on weekends and holidays it still counts for leave unlike civilian employees and the private sector. It really does t matter because most training schedules Don t consider weekends or holi Days anyway. The housing and commissary benefits the latter is a constant target of the government for erosion of benefits Are in tended to supplement the pay we get. While the civilian counterpart stays Home or where he wants to Settle the sol Dier is constantly on the move unable to build equity in a property unless he entrusts it to a third party. The hardships on his children and wife Are Many. You Are unable to establish Long term friendships unless you Are stationed together again. Community life is never More than a temporary place to live be cause it won t be Long until that next per manent change of station pcs and when can the Soldier Settle in a corporation establishing a skill to be used in Industry As most of his civilian counterparts have done there s not much use for machine gun ners grenade throwers and artillery men on the outside and there can Only be employ ment for so Many tank Drivers in the civil Ian world. We appreciate greatly what our country has Given us but we believe we work for it and work hard. The vast majority of us remain in uniform not for the benefits but to serve that higher Ideal with patriotic Fervour and resoluteness of purpose. The privileges we have and that austerity continually threatens Are a fringe Benefit for our Devotion. Without them our ranks May thin but the Core would stand firm capt. Philip a. Esteban Friedberg Germany. First of All let s talk about medical care. I respect the military medical profession. I have never had any problems what Soever in getting treated for my ills. Unfortunately with the military moving towards combat ready doctors i think my family and i Are going to be using champs quite a bit. And after dealing with that program one time i regret Ever having Todo it again. Champs made me Well aware of How expensive medical care is on the outside since they deemed it so necessary to let me pay most of the costs associated with the birth of my second son in a civilian Hospital. One year after my son was born i was still receiving Bills which champs so politely declined to pay. It was awfully Nice of them to let us pay 95 percent of the total Cost and not even have the common Courtesy to respond to our constant queries As to Why we were footing the majority of the charge. Excuse me if i seem ignorant but Don t civilian companies provide health care plans for their employees which pay most if not All of the emergency room costs you speak. And yes 1 can catch a military plane Back to the United states to compare costs in the stores. However it s not free As you state. It costs $10 one Way if you want to endure the aggravation of driving to Frank Furt and wasting four Days of your precious leave waiting for the flight out. During that four Days the Money that s being crammed into a hotel could easily be used for the fare on a civilian plane. So As you can see i m a Little resent Ful of your attitude although you say it s the military folks who have the attitude problem. And now that i be addressed your concerns let me ask you some questions of my own. How often Are you aroused out of your sleep at 3 . Because someone decides it s time to Check on your health and welfare everything from your military uniforms to your underwear is scrutinized to make sure that you re not endangering yourself or anyone else. And when that s done it s time to head to the bathroom to fill a Little bottle with whatever you can Muster at that Early hour. How often Are you put on the Scales to make sure you re not too fat to Lead your company into War it does t matter that the holidays just passed and you re Only one Pound overweight. It s the fat boy pro Gram for you. Yes we have it Good in the military. Otherwise i would t have wasted eight years of my life so far. I Don t need anybody telling me that this is the Volunteer army i hear enough about that from newspaper articles which constantly Tell me that i m a part of the farce Force although i be yet to find any examples to support that theory. And if it seems like people in the military Are so Well off maybe it s because we be Learned to budget ourselves with what we do earn. We Don t get any freebies. Everything we receive is justly deserved. Sgt. Bob Beckstead Nellinger Germany we the military members and our fam Ilies complain to make life better for the military Community. We Are trying to make the Best out of the taxpayers Money not to mention that we Are taxpayers ourselves. As for the comparison to the civilian standards of living there is very Little civilians Are far More stable than the military and have far More Freedom of Choice. Sure we have enough Money to live " but do we not deserve it and More we Are sacrificing our lives for our country. The Ball could  at any time is it too much to ask that we receive decent prices medi Cal care and housing As a Soldier in the . Army i ask that you hear these cries As a Way of helping to improve the military Way of life not just As some person saying i Don t appreciate what i  spec. 4 Michelle Grant Kaiserslautern. Let s talk about the savings we receive in the Post Exchange and commissary. Well i m sorry but some of us do prefer Economy shopping rather than doing our business on base. At least on the Economy we can buy what we want and not what the military thinks we want. I Don t need a $50 pair of pants when i can go to k Mart and get two pairs for even less. The prices in the commissary May be lower but they never seem to carry what you need. As a result it s another trip off Post to the local store to get the item. This is an All Volunteer Force i for one am very proud to be wearing the uni form that is serving and protecting my country. That is Why i am not making $30,000-40 000 a year and i just happen to be one of those e-5s that you Are talking about. � my annual income As an e-5 plus the extras quarters rations Etc is $19,024 a year and my annual mandatory deductions before i receive my pay is $3,197, which leaves me an annual income of $15,826 to pay for my existence rent utilities food Bills and entertainment compared to the civilian making $30,000-40,000 a year be fore taxes. Now concerning our medical care sure we have a Good medical plan to keep Down the medical and dental costs but so does that civilian and in most cases their trip to the Hospital or doctor s office will Cost that civilian just As Little As it does for my dependents. I know this for a fact because i had such a medical plan before i came into the Mili tary service. My daughter Cost me $1.35 when she was born on the civilian Economy before my military service started. The Only time that we get free utilities is when we live on base. I live off base now and i do not even receive cola. Those living in base housing Are also their own yardman and a lot of those same people own their own stoves refrigerators washers and dryers and have to maintain them a their own expense. In fact if you care to Check it out most military families live on the Economy be cause there is not enough base housing to go around. When renting a place to live on the Economy military As Well As civilian person Nel do not have to be their own plumber or electrician and if you happen to live in an apartment Complex nor do they have to be their own yardman. This is All the responsibility of the landlord. Staff sgt. Lance p. Sheeley Ramstein a Germany my response is this it s a dirty Job but someone s got to do it if you Are so under paid and unhappy with your Job Why not give up your larger salary and join the army just to see for yourself that we Are not overpaid and never will be. Freedom costs my Friend. Sgt. James Kerr Kirc Goens Germany though i have never written to your newspaper before i could not hold my pen still any longer. While it is True that commissary and Exchange prices Are lower than the stateside Economy prices by about 20 percent Good shopping can overcome much of the differ ence. The advantage is mostly in convenience of Low prices under one roof As com pared to watching for sales at several different stores. Concerning medical care i have yet to be treated for a minor scratch at any Type of medical facility. However if you want to pay for this Type of injury feel free. Seriously unlimited medical and dental care is one of our biggest Selling Points for recruitment and retention. But did you know that is guaranteed Only for the Mili tary member depending on availability dependents May have to use champs Cost sharing and have Only emergency Den Tal coverage in the Continental . Only limited dental care is available overseas. Master sgt. Charles e. Chambers Ramstein a Germany. I for one resent the suggestion that members of the military and their families should live As second class citizens. Our government officials certainly Don tall we ask is to have the same Quality of life As those our spouses have sworn to defend. I that asking too much there Are several things that you need Tobe made aware of 1. My husband is also a taxpayer. 2. If my husband chose to perform his Job outside the military he could easily make $30,000-$40,000. He s been offered such Posu ions before but chooses to be in the military to serve his country. 3 the amenities that you mentioned Are not add on they Are part of the total salary package. My husband chooses to be in the military because we feel that what he does is important to our country. We As a family Don t enjoy the Long hours he frequently works 50-60 hours a week or the separations re motes toys Etc or even the frequent moving around. Yes there Are some com & t "i1 but they Don t come anywhere close to what we give up. We Don t ask that you stand up and to a that s not Likely to happen. We Darlene j. Sevin Ramstein a Germany