Should military personnel get special consideration regarding education, housing and health care?

No. They should be locked up once their killing spree is over.

Absolutely!

No. What they do is a job just like any other, ans thus, they should be treated like any other worker. They don’t deserve any praise, glory and special treatment just because they do their job.

The GI Bill was a great piece of legislation, after millions of young men were conscripted.

With the elimination of the draft, I don’t think the things you mention should be special considerations but rather treated like signing bonuses and long term vesting.

And they should be taxable like any other job compensation.

Yes.

Yes.

They don’t make a very high salary, the compensation package is part of the deal. They get these military perks, private sector typically earns more cash.

Regarding VA and healthcare, I want the whole country on the single payer system, so I certainly don’t want to take it away from the military, I want to give it to everyone.

They changed the education benefit a little, and now I think you can give it to your child if you don’t use it yourself. I think that’s great.

In terms of housing, I think they get more allowance if they are married or have kids. I’m not sure that’s correct. I’m not so sure I agree with that, because compensation should have to do with the work performed/merit/rank but I do understand that if the family lived on base it’s a bigger apartment or house. Regarding loans I’m fine with that benefit.

The military gets many more perks than you listed, but I’ll go on the assumption you are only interested in those you did list.

I just had an Uber ride and driver is retired coast guard AND did 16 years with post office…dude has 2 Gov pensions! He seemed very comfortable. That said, I do believe all combat vets deserve all we can give them especially med and psych. care

I thought they did. I know what I hear on the news, but in my experience the vets qualify for quite a few benefits that others don’t. As it should be.

If they were drafted, then yes. If they were not drafted, then no.

Yes.

@BellaB A veteran is a veteran ! NOT “If they were drafted, then yes. If they were not drafted, then no.”
There has not been a draft in the US since 1973.

You wanna talk about freeloading welfare queens? How about the guy my husband just worked for: who spent a month in Iraq before crying about a slipped disc in his back, went home with an injured vet pension and benefits and will never work again. He’s 22.

Or my brother, who just self-injured until they kicked him out on psych discharge. He refuses to keep a job or an apartment so the VA pays his rent, his bills, etc. every three months while he bounces from place to place.

These guys are little more than grifters.

Meanwhile my grandfather came home from Germany – after being drafted – with a body full of shrapnel and a foot lost to frostbite, and put in 30 years with general motors and still couldn’t get veteran’s benefits because only pussies came home early, and by the end no one was left alive to do the paperwork for him.

@Tropical_Willie – this was a question. My opinion is that only veterans who were drafted deserve special care by theiir country.

Since there has not been a draft in the U.S. since 1973, then the only special care should be for the older guys. Again – that is my strongly held opinion.

Beyond that, I’m probably fairly close to @ragingloli on my feelings about the military. I come from a military community and hold many strong feelings on the entire subject area.

My aunt and uncle met in the Air Force. She had a four year degree in nursing before joining. He had a masters in sociology. They both did the 18 years and retired with a full ride. They retired around 40.

For the rest of their life they get around 6K a month between the two of them and healthcare.

My aunt made good use of the G.I Bill. In the 90’s she got BFA that she has never used. She just likes art classes. You paid for that.

They both enlisted and never saw a day of combat. But they have cost you millions.

edit :: And thanks for that. They paid for the majority of my University bills.

Drafted or not, a soldier as a worker, deserves a salary and pension.

But nothing more than that. Soldiers are far away from heroes, deciding to kill for your state’s political benefits is in no way heroic and glorious. There are tons of other jobs that are equally dangerous and serve the state, but no one gives a damn about these people. Unless you’re going to give special treatment to all the doctors, firemen, policemen and miners, soldiers don’t deserve it either.

@Seek‘s example shows another double standard when it comes to military: when they were forced to go to war, no one gives a damn about soldiers and they never got even a simple “thanks”, but when they willingly decide to do it, everyone pats them in the back and gives them everything. That is unfair and hypocritical to the bone.

@johnpowell If they paid for a majority of your university bills then they wasted their money. How does “working” for the Government for 18 years of which they actually ‘worked’ and provided a service for which they were compensated…can you please elucidate on how their 18 years even at a 4 star General level cost this country ”millions”? Our country merely compensated them for the work they did. They served, we paid then. I will hurry up and wait for your answer….

@Sneki95 The benefits are the same whether you volunteer to go to war or get drafted. If you’re a vet you’re a vet. If you served 20+ years you get a pension. While you’re active in the military, and once you retire, you can get free flights around the world on Space A, shop at commissaries and exchanges, use the military health system, get insurances through USAA, and the list goes on.

Americans treated Vietnam vets badly, but the government treated them the same whether they volunteered or not. The government falls short on their vet system of care in more ways than one, and I don’t mean just healthcare, but not all the care is terrible.

Not everyone who is in the military is fighting in wars either. My dad is retired military, but he wasn’t combat, he was in the Publuc Health Service and approved grants for research studies. He gets full military benefits.

Firemen and policemen do get good pensions in most places. Many Americans don’t get any pension at all.

Yes.

We could send all of our kids to college and pay for everyone’s healthcare too (with plenty left over) if we stopped funding regime changes and wars-for-profit in the Middle East. For some reason we want to have something like 800 bases in over 70 countries.

Investing in the wellbeing of the people is never a bad thing, especially soldiers who risk their lives on our behalf.