The truth about the Army

Over the years I have heard so much crap that isn't true about the Army that I get tired of saying the same things over and over, lol. So hopefully by posting it here it will stop me from having to say a few of these things to a few people, lol.

First off a soldier doesn't make loads of money. Infact their actual salary is usually less than what they would get in the civilian world for the same job. Now of course this depends on their rank and their job, but in most cases that is how it works out. Yes the higher ranking the better pay, so if you stay in long enough, get some college credits and move up the chain then yes you can live comfortably, but even then you aren't rich!

Second, the Army isn't welfare you DO NOT get more money for each child you have or for being married. A married soldier will get something called BAS, it is for basic substance allowance. A single soldier doesn't get this because they eat at the DFAC, aka mess hall. If a married soldier goes to the DFAC to eat he has to pay out of pocket for it since he gets the BAS. And no it isn't that much money, no where near enough to cover every meal the soldier eats for a month. The married soldier also gets something called BAH, basic housing allowance. A single soldier does not get this because he lives in the barracks, most of the time married soldiers are not allowed to live in the barracks. BAH goes by rank, I think E1-E6 get the same BAH, it might be to E5, it goes up from there with rank. So anyone in the E1-E6(or E5) rank that is married gets the same amount of money for BAH as someone in that rank range with 10 kids. The BAH also goes by the area you are stationed in, it is the average rent of the area, from what I have figured out I think they take the average rent of a 2 bedroom because most of the time your BAH isn't enough for anything more than that.

So now onto our housing. If you live on post your housing is NOT free! You get that BAH and then you give it to the contracting company that owns the housing for rent. No different than if you lived off post and paid rent. Only difference is off post you can pick where you want to live and how much you want to pay, on post you pay all of your BAH. So some people with no kids or only 1 kid can save money by living off post where as we would be paying more than our BAH to live off post. So yes for some people living on post is cheaper but it is not free!

That leads me to the free utilites myth. Well yes it used to be free. When the army ran housing it was free and even a few years after it was contracted out to different companies it was free. But a few years ago the military passed a law trying to stop people from over using electricty and such. Now each post can decide how they want it done. We have lived on one where the first year you are there they take your average then when that year is up if you start going over your average you pay, if you are under it you get a credit. At Riley and here at Eustis they took an average every month of like homes. So all homes on the end of a row would be together, all homes in the middle would be together, and it would be by neighborhood. Also if you go over the average you pay, if you go under you get a credit. So while yes it is different than living off post, it isn't always free. A house full of kids and a husband who don't know how to turn off lights or like to keep the house freezing make it hard to get that credit, lol. Even though it isn't free anymore I do still consider it one of the benefits of the military, I would rather pay $40 a month than $240 a month.

Now onto another benefit of the Army. Free healthcare, but remember that saying you always hear "You get what you pay for". So since we don't pay for it, it isn't always the best. Go talk to anyone who has tricare and they will be able to tell you some horror stories. Now their is an option called standard where you can pay and see civilian doctors, an option I was about to take advantage of if we stayed at Fort Riley. You actually get to pick your doctors!!!! It is amazing how something so little as that can make such a difference. Some posts you can still pick your doctors, but when we were leaving Fort Riley they were changing things up and you could only see who they assigned you to, if you didn't like them for whatever reason, to bad you are stuck with them! That would be why I was going to go over to standard. Another thing is you have to get refferals for EVERYTHING! And more than 50% of the time they get denied. When Wesley was first diagnosed with Autism they would not cover his speech therapy, they said it was a lost cause, yes their actual words!!!! Luckily there are laws now for autistic kids to prevent that from happening. When I was pregnant with Isabella I had the NTD's blood work come back high, this was at 16 weeks. Thanks to the refferal process I didn't get in to see a specialist until I was 22 weeks. Speaking of that pregnancy, that 16 week blood work was also my 1st appointment with an OB because of how long it can take to see a doctor. I will say once you got into that OB clinic for your inital appointment it was easier to get appointments after, but seriously make someone wait until they are 16 weeks and into their 2nd trimester before seeing a doctor? I have waited 2 weeks to see a family care doctor for asthma issues, and in those 2 weeks I was out of my asthma meds, including my fast acting inhaler. And no they wouldn't call in the pharmacy and refill it for me without seeing me, as they suggested if I needed one I should go to the ER and wait 8 hours just for an inhaler. Anyways let me shut up because I could go on and on about the bad with the healthcare system, lol. I will say it is more the insurance than the actual doctors. I have met some wonderful doctors at all the posts we have been at, along with some bad ones but there are bad apples everywhere. My biggest complaint would be at most posts you never see the same doctor more than once, which sucks when you have conditions like asthma or other conditions that need to be monitored.

Another one that drives me crazy is everyone thinking all their uniforms and supplies get issued. Um..NO. Yes when they first join they get issued a few uniforms but after that you have to buy them. Yes they get a clothing allowence. My husbands is about $530 a year. Wow you say, um again no, let's add up how much the basics at the cheapest prices are.
Class A's aka dress uniform runs you:
Jacket is $71.21
Pants are 16.23
Long Sleeve shirt $15.61
Short Sleeve shirt $13.50
Tie $5.50
Patches, badges, medals etc. ATLEAST $100.00
Bowtie $2.15
Socks $3.75
Belt $3.25
Belt Buckle $6.50
Shoes $39.50
Equals = $277.20 And this is much less than it would have cost a couple years ago because they have dropped the prices of the Class A items because they are moving over to the dress blues, which will NOT be issued and yes cost a lot more than this. Back in 2006 my husband needed a new Class A uniform, $500 didnt' even cover the pants, jacket and shirt, and the new class blues are running more than that! Also keep in mind the cost of getting everything pressed and sewn and altered.

Now on to PT items.They are required to have at least 3 short sleeve, 3 shorts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 pair of pants and 1 jacket and one pair of running shoes. Now if you live somewhere that gets cold you know you are going to need more than 1 of each of those but since that is what is required that is what we will price, along with the accessories needed.
PT short sleeve shirt : $6.65x3=$19.95
PT shorts: $10.95X3=$32.85
PT Pants: $29.20
PT Jacket: $58.11
PT reflector belt: $9.60
Pack of 3 socks:$6.15
Fleece Cap: $4.80
Pair of decent running shoes $100.00 last about 6 months so $200.00
Total is: $360.66

Now on to the ACU's. They are required to have 4 pairs at all times, and a pair lasts about 6 months so I will be doing a price of 8 pairs.
Fleece Jacket (1): $63.49
ACU Coat $38.50x8= $308.00
ACU Pants:$37.55x8=$300.40
3pk t-shirt: 15.95x3=47.85
Beret $13.75x2=$27.50
Boonie Hat $12.95
Patrol Cap $6.50
Brown Briefs 3pk $5.70x3=$17.10
Green Boot Socks 3pk: $6.60x3= $19.80
Velcro Flag(1) $1.20
Belt $3.45
Velcro Rank(1) $2.00
Velcro Service tag (1) $2.50
Name tape (1) $2.50
Unit Patch $4.00
Long sleeve shirt $14.95 x4= $59.80
Desert boots : $74.00x2= $148.00
Combat Boots: 103.85x2=207.70
Total: $1234.74 and that is with the cheapest boots and only one set of velcro items and no unit crest for beret, and no combat patch which you have to wear if you have been in combat. Also doesn't include a few other things, it is just the basics. Also doesn't include items necessary for their MOS, like Dwayne being a medic he needs and aid bag and other items just for medics.

The total for everything is: $1872.60 and again this is including the cheapest of everything and the basics, not all the extras you are required to have at any given notice. So yeah while that $530 is nice it doesn't come near to what we spend, especially when you have a husband like mine who misplaces a lot of things :)

Now there is one thing I have heard from people when they hear my husband is a medic that gets on my nerves. When he was deployed I would hear how lucky I was that he was a medic so I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt or killed. UM A BIG BIG BIG NO! During my husbands deployments he was NEVER in a clinic or hospital. He is a LINE medic, meaning he is out on the line with the other soldiers. For him to earn his combat medic badge he had to actually see combat. Not sit in some nice clinic,TMC hospital or whatever you want to call it on some FOB. Most of the time he was going on missions daily. He has deployed with a CAV unit and an Infantry unit. He would be raiding the houses right along side them, so doing their job along with his. So please if you ever come across a medics wife please don't assume stupid stuff like this and never say anything like that to her, you just might get slapped :)

The last thing is don't believe everything you see on the news. Despite the news saying we are leaving Iraq I know a whole brigade of soldiers at Fort Riley are leaving for Iraq in the next couple months, for a one year deployment. And even though they don't show it on the news the Iraqis are thankful for our help, they are thankful to be rid of Saddam, my husband was thanked on a daily basis during his deployments. The news doesn't show any of the good we are doing over there, building schools, setting up sewer sytems, giving them running water and electricity and lots of other things.

That about wraps up the things people assume about the Army that get on my nerves, lol. I didn't realize this would be so long but once I started typing I just couldn't stop, guess it is kinda like if you get me talking :)