European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday july 10.1987 writers respond to general s comments about $71,000 salary i was rending a recent Siars and stripes when i came across the article about ctn. John a. Wok him jr., the retiring army chief of staff. Ii is unfortunate his pay has been capped since 1973. But 1 find it very disturbing and almost laughable that a lot of our senior officers cannot afford to put their kids through College and Purchase a House on a meager it t ,000 roughly a year. 1 guess i should just forget about purchasing a Home myself since i am just an enlisted service member with six Yean in the service and a person who qualifies Tor too sumps. I also have a kid that can qualify for reduced lunches in most schools stateside. Space. 4 Darid ticker fold Germany. The old military saws erosion of benefits or As Gen. Wick Hun puts it the incentives Are eroding were reiterated As they have been every year since i joined the Navy in 1969. During this time the United Stales has become debtor nation. Civilian living standards Are declining while the military Stilt Calls for an exemption from the consequences of today s economic realities the general who claims he has talked to a lot of senior officers said the 1 can t afford to put kids through College and they can t afford to buy a  no wonder the stars and stripes is always saturate with such trivial laments As Why do 1 need my ration card to buy Swiss miss or the Exchange does t carry menthol Silva thins in the crush proof Box this kind of mass Media it belching from the army Flag level and from a general knocking Down $71.000 a year is bound to encourage same piteous wallowing in from the sloughs of the Junior ranks. Can t afford to buy a  ludicrous poppy cock. If the most senior member of the military an d 8,9 or 10, can t buy a House obviously an 0-6 or below can t either. No military member can buy a House. The average enlisted person earns less then 20 per cent of a general s pay. The average enlisted probably can t afford even a car by the general s accounting. Without having the statistics in front of me i would say conservatively that fewer than 10 percent of . Households have an income of $71,000 or More. If the general is Correct about affording a House then fewer than 10 percent of the . Families own a Bouse and fewer than 10 percent of american households put their kids through College. The real free world Economy is governed for the most part by Supply and demand. Gen. Wickham warns that if he pay situation does t Imp corp he military is going to be condemned to people voting with their feet . Getting out of the military.  concludes his comments by saying i think the army today is the Best army that i be Ever seen in 31 years As an  if we allow the Supply and demand curves to dictate the just military compensation then Given the Gen eral s assessment of today s army it follows that just compensation is currently being paid. Gen Wickham confesses "1 Don t know what makes a younger officer want to be a  truthfully i Don t know what makes a Man strive for Flag either. Maybe it s one Day gelling the biggest House on the base with utilities Gratis Snappy salutes from every quadrant a chauffeur driven staff car an office with Miles of mahogany an Auto on line you can get through on and a parking spot located to keep you from going aerobic before reaching the office. The reasons Are diverse but one thing is certain most officers who Are into their eighth year of military service Are playing hardball. They Are not in the Mili tary to make pm 20 years and retirement. The Ambi Tion to make Flag provides a clearly definable objective a life s goal in what might otherwise be an arbitrary existentialist sea of Absurdity. For whatever the reasons Young officers Are pursuing Flag rank. The Competition is there the numbers Are there and the general assures us the Quality is there. Government studies continue to conclude that the military is top heavy. Whether the general can afford the House he wante or not is irrelevant it seems thai by keynesian economics just compensation ii currently being paid to military officers. A. Cdr. Jeffrey r. Smith Sig Wil so dlr i know we need top officers in order for our military to operate properly but i Don t see How they can com Plain about not being Able to Send their children to College. Don l they think we lore our families enough to want to provide a Good Home and education for them too i love my country and i am just As patriotic As Gen. Wickham and the other officers but let them try to buy a House and education on $20,000 a year or less. We re the ones who put our lives on the front  order to just live comfortably we can barely afford to go out once or twice a month. Do you know what it s like telling your children we can t afford to go tothe circus or zoo i also Challenge the congressmen who approved the pay raise for themselves to try to live Supply their own transportation and enjoy a lifestyle on $20,000 a year. Are there any congressmen who could stand to go to work in a Volkswagen instead of a Limo this letter has no intention of disrespect for our military officers or congressmen. I just want them to know we love and want the Best for our families  s just hard As Ever to afford it. I Hope there is a congressman somewhere who has the guts and integrity to accept my Challenge and see what it s like. Pit 1 Brian e. Dopey we. Michael a i oxen part 2 Dante a Pope pfc. Daniel Addingto   spec. 4 Lenny e. Hall sgt Andre Jonson sgt Timothy Dierks staff sgt James w. Netty spec 4 Ekhard d. Myers staff sgt. A rid b. Run Bory staff sgt. Ralph a Packard Sec. Charon c. Mayhem Cpl Russell w. Grid Obj Eringen Germany. His main concern is attracting and retaining Quality Young men and women and he admits he  re then said it begs for thoughtful responsible  does t this put everything in perspective for you i Hale to think of those forgotten unfortunates known As enlisted personnel and the difficulty they Are having getting by on a third of the salary of those poor Generi. If generals Are on the borderline of poverty imagine living in poverty throughout your military career As a sub mortal enlisted person. I know you want to remind me of the annual print out showing the innumerable intangible benefits in terms of dollars and cents. This shows beyond a show of a doubt that i am Worth around $25,000 As a mar ried e-6 in today s army. This is the figure i used actually much higher than the Dollar amount that shows up on my Les when i pointed out that the enlisted person makes a third what n general makes. Using the same approach it could probably be shown where a general is actually Worth $80,000, i would like a Chance to try to make it on the approximately $71,000 they make in Basic salary. If i Pinch my pennies and Nickels i just might be Able to keep bread and water on the table. Staff sol Donald f. Brown Heidelberg letter to a sergeant major who cares defrauding the system command sgt. Maj. Thrash throughout my time Onul hegerhorst Cavern i have noticed that you care about your soldiers not Only on Riege Horst but through out the whole battalion. You Square us away and late to us anywhere you see one of your soldiers walking. You also put us in our place when we lose our military bearing. Sgt. Maj. Thrash 1 told you the problems i was going through in my old unit almost every time you asked me How 1 was doing. I gave nothing but complaints about the company i was in. Since i have been transferred i m More comfortable with this unit. I feel i can do my Job with Confidence. I feel like a Soldier again not that Soldier with the i Don i care Altitude or the forget it i Don t feel like doing this Altitude. I feel like that Soldier with the i can do it wid i m ready to learn Altitude. I m ready to be that spearhead Soldier again sgt. Maj. Thrash we the soldiers of the 122nd sup port in know that you Don t forget faces. If you Don know the Soldier you somehow manage to find out and Lake the time to know who we Are. After that you Don t forget that Soldier. It s the same with soldiers problems. The other Day my Friend and i were walking on Rieg Cohorst on organizational Day and you asked my Friend How she was doing and if there were any other problems. I know that on particular problem happened some months ago and with your help things got straightened out. We the soldiers Are amazed How you remember All ofus and the problems we have brought to your alien lion. Sgt maj. Thrash i want to thank you for your help and your support. I know thai i m not the Only one who would like to thank you. I also know thai i m not the Only Soldier who appreciates your help and sup port. When one of the soldiers has a problem and it s not being solved in the company Chain of command your name com up All the Lime. We look up to you. We know with your help our problems Are being solved. We know that you care about your soldiers and you Uke care of them. We the soldiers of the 12 2nd support in brag about our sergeant major. Command sgt. Maj. Thrash. We want to thank you for being our sergeant major and the sergeant major who really cares about his soldiers thank you for your help and support a spearhead Soldier Liun gent my Reading the recent letter regarding the minus a of military medical facilities brought to mind a similar conversation i heard at Wuerzburg Hospital. I refer to the woman who seemed pleased that due to her new bom s allergy she would receive free formula. The conversation 1 overheard was one Mother in forming three others of the symptoms to list 30 they also could receive free formula. She related the fact Hal she had copied these symptoms from stir another. They went on to plan different reporting dates Etc. My question is for the doctors. Would the Mother jeopardize her infant s health by the fraud and falsified medical records will this have an effect upon the child s tolerance to regular diet in later life name withheld pen pals my Ruma Tai your put yer Ofca a Angl pin a eol Mofola Oil Dunn i dil shop moral Bwl. Dur Ruduk cry 6m1 , i m a l$-mr-o3 thu Dottl. Ind i atm u hot to Mph n of Phi 01  Pimm my kid Iny in Tai you a a pm cot i i in i 2-r�-w mat Wal Odt n of a Soto �. C pm b hip i pm Roin in or vat is put Conui my for Mil mtg my Hatami in Buh qum up. Tam wig a mint Darc nit  a in Naicam Rex cog Luang mra a mtg milk. Fin Ltd a cml of Emo is. Poo upon. Stun editor s note col. Philip Lopicolo pc Flat Ric consultant he 7th medial card it Fin the answer la four question is that no direct harm will he inflicted upon the infant indirectly Bat re Cone plea tall Barnt could occur beaux the child will be identified As an allergic child and this May color the doctor s Lodgment Wpm dealing nil Dulber medical Lossu in the Fanire. Us Buic Issue you raise however k an ethical one. Char burnts jut Der coding the s is tin and to till or abusing inc rights of their child to do ibis one of the Many unfortunate consequences of this kind of by Karioris thai it could result in he system booming Mart Mirt Tirc ind rigid in its policy and inadvertently deny formal to lbs who truly need it.  wrong to a Volta a a a world i ind Hwy Iiara. Muoc reminder i i a Myrv of Nall end my Houma a  Lump tra to Urdl i i pm a. Jul. 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