The Butcher's Bill

To Paul "the Coward" Ryan,

In a cowardly move that tops even this congress' poor track record you have once again taken money from those who can least afford to lose it. The reduction of the Cost Of Living allowance for military retirees was passed in an unholy bipartisan move that protects special interests and pares away the eroding benefits that have served for so long for the United States to develop and maintain a core of professional “lifers” who stayed in with the promise of a monthly stipend and medical care for life. But, if you put it side-by-side with the original benefits established for compensation you would see that there has been steady erosion that can be traced back to some self-serving, self-aggrandizing blowhole in congress that ignores the Butcher’s Bill paid by service members.

It’s a sweetheart deal right? Yeah, well, maybe you should look at it realistically. Retiring at 40 years old means you can start a new career so you don’t NEED all that money because you can get another job, start a new career, blah, blah, blah. Not quite that easy Buckwheat. That is unless you want to do contract work and with each passing day a military retiree becomes just a little more unemployable. I’ll use my experiences as an example. After I retired, I went to college to become a teacher, a history teacher to be exact. Despite being highly qualified (I thought) to teach, I have so far been unable to obtain a full-time teaching job. I have become a first year teacher with eleven years of “non” experience. No one is going to hire me. Among other things, I don’t have a coaching endorsement. No one is going to hire me. So I keep substituting and hoping for a break, a break that will not come because with each passing day I become that much more unemployable. No one is going to hire me.

Lets take a look at medical benefits now. Most retirees I know personally have knee and back injuries that make our middle-aged joints look positively decrepit. A doctor once said that my knees look like they should be on an 85 year old, not a 40-something. Most of my medical care has been directly related to injuries sustained over 22 years under a rucksack. Funny thing though, a persistent skin problem that manifested itself with tiny blisters all over my hands and arms disappeared after retirement – not so the broken bones, strained ligaments and torn muscle.

I don’t deserve what I’ve earned? No sir, I earned it with every parachute jump that consumed just a little more cartilage. With every step I took under an overloaded rucksack that pounded down my spine – pushing discs out of alignment – I earned it. The constant ringing in my ears and deafness caused by hours upon hours riding in military aircraft, firing weapons and just generally around loud noises – I earned it. Years of being exposed to the most extreme weather you can imagine, the hottest hots to the coldest colds, my body now reacts to the slightest temperature change – yes sir, I earned it. But, my injuries pale in comparison to many other retired service members. Thankfully I have all my limbs, many others do not. 

Now the question that I’m dying to ask, “Just what the hell have you done to alleviate the debt mister congressman? Have you taken a pay cut? Have you taken the liberty of cutting your COLA? What about your sweetheart medical care? What about all of the special interest groups that you have been protecting? Why have you targeted such a small percentage of the populace? Could it be that we are the only faction of America with almost no lobbyists? Or could it be because in the end no one gives a damn about veterans – much less the disabled ones.

Of course there is the usual platitudes about “everyone” doing their share, a thinly veiled attempt to make veterans feel guilty about demanding their due. Usually works doesn’t it? Civilians who have never served their country cannot fathom what each service member sacrifices on any given day – peacetime or wartime. We did it out of patriotism, we did it out of personal pride, and we did it because we truly do love our country. However, we also did it because we were promised (there’s that word again) a certain package of benefits that we could depend upon after we did finally retire.

I doubt very much that you have read this far mister congressman. But let me tell you that this bill you pushed through has far-reaching effects that your pea-sized brain cannot even fathom. Our Republic is in more danger now than at any other time in our history. Social scientists, apologists and all the other scummy people who really do want to destroy our country have succeeded in emasculating and desensitizing our youth about their responsibility to the nation - and now you have shown that a promise means nothing.  Why would anyone join an organization where the only thing you can depend on is to be used, abused, and lied to?

Today 1%, tomorrow 10% and so on until the United States is nothing more than a third-world country with a first-world debt.

Our first commander and first Commander in Chief George Washington said it best:

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.”

At the end of the day do you really believe that you did your job?

Michael R. Woods

Master Sergeant

US Army Special Forces

Retired