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["SISU!" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

This is not a new story, it's only just now being reported.

A while back, on another list, I wrote that TJ was having a hard time
finding a place to temporarily stay in NY-he didn't want to stay in a
motel while he searched for an apartment.  Several members of that list
refused to believe me that the military does not always provide housing
anymore, especially for those who are not married.  Of course, he was in
a training command at the time, and that does make a difference.  He
eventually did find housing and split the cost of an apartment with a
buddy, but the point is, the military has changed and what used to be
considered "included" isn't necessarily so anymore.  BAH, Basic
Allowance for Housing, varies according to location, rate, whether you
have dependents, and whether you are an officer or enlisted.
TJ says that in areas near bases, landlords and complexes will change
their rental rates to match BAH, and the renter is responsible for
utilities like phone, cable, internet, power, etc.  That's the way
things have been for a long, long time. So basically, the
government just pays the rent.  In upstate NY, TJ's apartment complex
had worked a deal with the Navy and provided electricity, but that
probably wouldn't be the case in more urban areas like Newport News or
San Diego.
BAS, Basic Allowance for Sustenance, has also declined over recent
years.  Pretty much gone are the days when you walk over to the mess
hall for chow, unless you are in a lower eschalon training command like
boot camp or A school.  My son lost 30 pounds over the last 6 months
from living like a college student on Ramen noodles, PB, and cereal-he's
skinny anyway and didn't really have it to lose, but that was all he
could afford on BAS.
Things will probably get worse for TJ while on shore duty in Hawaii
where the cost of living is outrageously expensive.  Luckily for him, he
will be an E-5 in December, and that will change everything as far as
where he can live, how much allowance he will receive, etc.  E-1 to
E-4's, the lowest paid enlisted rates, have the hardest time making ends
meet, which is the case of the population in general.  Anyone who is
poor and uneducated and who is looking at the military as a short term
way out of that situation is in for a rude awakening, generally
speaking. There are ways around the rules, but for the vast majority of
enlisted, their quality of life probably won't improve that much in the
way of housing and sustenance, at least until they have several years
under their belt and can move up in rate.
Once deployed on his sub, TJ can expect some of the best food in any of
the military branches.  Submariners eat well, because every meal could
be their last.  Of course, that good thing is balanced by having to hot
rack instead of being able to sleep in a nice bed. :)

There is no one branch of the military that is "safer" or "better" than
another.  In this world, there are dangers everywhere.  The National
Guard used to be considered as the "easy way out".  Where are they
today?  Today, it seems that the Coast Guard is viewed as the "easy way
out", but in light of border issues, port security issues, and disaster
relief duties, it is just as potentially dangerous as any other branch
of service.  At any moment, the world can change.  Terrorism has taught
us such. Anyone who is considering joining the military needs to first
decide on what they might eventually want to do beyond military service
and then pay their dues to work towards that end.  If, for example, one
is interested in research being done on global warming, then joining a
Coast Guard research vessel or working on an icebreaker might be the way
to go.  If one has an interest in medicine, then they need to explore
all the branches of the service to see which one would be a good fit for
 their interests.  The point is, to research the branches and jobs just
like you would research a college or research an area where you think
you might want to live.  If you go about it willy nilly, then you
probably are gonna end up someplace you don't want to be and you will
suffer for it in more ways than just being in harm's way.

> The cliche response is that today the military is volunteer. Sure. 
> Some kids have almost no choice. I know this; I was one. It is a 
> recruitment strategy of the military to sell in poor areas where 
> young people have few choices. I think of much of the military today
>  as a social welfare program for the poor.

I think that is true, for the most part.  They dangle Education as a
carrot at the end of a stick...., something many poor kids can only
dream about and for many, a college education without the military's
help is about as likely as winning the lottery.  There is a difference
today though, Gene, in that there are so many rules and regs on
qualifying for such that it weeds a lot of people out.  There are a LOT
of hoops to jump through.  Your timing has to be just right.  It's the
government's way of saving money, I suppose. For example, the so called
GI Bill is no longer a "gift" for military service.  Deductions are
taken out during the first year of military service, and if you don't
sign up during that first week of boot camp, you missed out.  Granted,
$1200 dollars now for $35K later is a good deal, but the odds are in the
government's favor that you won't ever get that $35K due to other hoops
you will need to jump through later.



 Exceptions such as T.J.
> Niklasson show that there are in fact outstanding educational 
> opportunities available for outstanding individuals. I wonder about 
> the percentage split between those trained to lead and those trained
>  to be grunts.

I think it depends on the service as well as the individual.  The
military will always need grunts, just like our economy will always need
blue collar workers.  America is slowly awakening to the fact that a
college education isn't what it used to be, and that college isn't for
everyone.  Even if college is the choice for you, you may not be ready
for the challenge when you are 18 and still holding that diploma in
hand.  Most teens have bought into the consumerist society and only see
dollar signs.  They expect to be handed not just a job, but a career.
We, as a people, have forgotten that anything worth having is worth
laboring for.  For those who join the service for a quick life "fix"
will soon discover why it is called military "service".  Nothing is
free.  Freedom is not free-Education is not free-Housing is not
free-etc.   However, when all is said and done, the military still
provides one of the best opportunities around, but you do have to shop
for it and not be led in or misled in, as the case may be, by the
recruiters fingers through your nostrils.  It always amazes me that
people will "college shop" for years, but walk right in to the military
as easily as they would walk into their local Wallyworld.  It's just
like any other job offer, you gotta take responsibility for your own
future, making deals, get things in writing, making sure you are
qualified for a job, and not taking any crap from the hiring agency.

> I detest hypocritical politicians who vocally exhort citizens to 
> support the military while signing pay cuts in their many forms, now
>  to include housing.

Like I wrote before, this is really not a new thing, it's just being
reported now.  The cuts started in the mid 90's under a different
administration.  It was quietly done then, as we didn't have kids dying
overseas to publicize the inequities.  I actually think it sucks that
our combat troops have to pay anything for housing, food, flak jackets,
and even medical care, but it seems that this is only one domino in the
chain of a country in an economic crisis due to the greed of both
individuals and corporations.

This "War on Terror", "War in Iraq", "War in Afghanistan" stuff didn't
begin with 9/11, it began with our own foreign policy mistakes going
back as far as WWI, IMO.  Presidents and Congressmen have repeatedly
passed the buck and taken the easy way out, supporting this regime or
that one, whichever suited our interests at the time, without looking at
the long term effects.  We are paying the price now, and we will
continue to pay the price.  I just hope the country can survive it.
There are no quick fixes, no clean solutions to the many problems we
have created for ourselves.  Now is the time we see if we truly do have
"the right stuff" and whether or not our ideology will survive.  I've
been in hunker down mode for a while now, as I know many of you have
also.  Perhaps, just perhaps, the masses are awakening from their
slumber and starting to see things as they really are or more
specifically, as they really have been for quite some time.  I can't
change the world.  My son can't change the world.  All we can really do
is to try to navigate the mine field that lays before us and prepare as
best as we can for the future, which doesn't look too bright from my
perspective.

Bev


--
Bevanron in NW Georgia          EarthNSky Farm  34.498N 85.076W
SISU! (Finnish--There is no single word in English that encompasses
all that sisu means, but it combines the following ideas: guts, pep,
determination, stubbornness, perseverance, hardiness, stamina, go, do,
nerve, spunk, pluck, and grit.  It's like "Just Do It!" & "Go for It!")
                                GO NAVY!