|
THE RETIRED MILITARY
ADVOCATE
Tells
the greatest
swindle of all time story...
This
web page is dedicated to the Military Retiree Grass Roots Group of
military retirees and dependents that have been lobbying the Congress
since 1995 trying to regain the medical care they were promised, while
they were on active duty, which was to take affect in retirement.
Click here
to e-mail the webmaster, Floyd Sears, MSGT, USAF, 1951 to 1971
(retired).
 
Consider
this:
What
would you do if you
made
payments on a house for 20 years under what you thought was a contract
only to discover that the contract wasn't authorized and the house
isn't yours?
What
would you do if the people that sold you the house closed the house and
told you that you could not live there anymore?
| Would you fight for what is
yours, or would you
just roll over and play dead? |
Now consider this:
What
would you do if
you served for 20 or more years in the military being told that if you
served until retirement you would receive free medical care for
yourself and your eligible dependents at military treatment
facilities for as long as you or they lived only to discover, via a court ruling,
that the
promise wasn't authorized and the government reneges on the promise.
What
would you do if you were told that you could not use the military
treatment facility where you had been receiving medical care for years,
and you had to go on Medicare and pay for Medicare part B just like the
average citizen that never served a day in the military?
| Would you fight for what is
yours, or would you
just roll over and play dead? |
From
WWII until the early 1990's military personnel in positions of
authority acting as agents of the United States Government promised the
active duty military that if they served for 20 or more years in the
military and retired they would receive free medical care for
themselves and their eligible dependents at military treatment
facilities for as long as they lived. This medical
care promise has been broken and has been
swept under the rug by the
Congress, the Courts, and the Congressional Research Service.
Analyze the content of
this
web site and then you be
the judge.
Was the military retiree community
cheated out of the
medical
care they were
promised?
Use
the
links below and take
a close look at the
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decisions
in the
WILLIAM O. SCHISM and ROBERT L. REINLIE lawsuit introduced
by...

Medal
of Honor
recipient Colonel George Day (retired)
As you look at these court decisions... note
that one group of judges said that military retirees had a contract and
another group of
judges, on appeal, admits that a promise of full free health care was
made in good faith and relied
upon, but it was
not authorized by the Congress. This is double talk. The United States
Armed Forces, an agency of the United States Government, made the
medical care promise. A contract was formed when the promise was made
and
accepted. The
military retirees fulfilled their part of the contract, but the United
States Government
did not.
Click here
to see a
court decision in favor of military retirees.
Click here
to see what happened when the Government appealed that decision.
Click here
to see what the dissenting Judges had to say about the decision against the
military retirees.
Click here
to look at and
listen to a web page version of the
greatest swindle of all time story.
Click here
to see
a power point version of the
greatest swindle of all time story.
Click here
to just listen to the
greatest swindle of all time story - 11 minutes.

In 1951 - Floyd Sears solemnly swore that
he would bear true
faith and
allegiance to the United States of America; that he would serve
honestly
and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever; and that he would
obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders
of the officers appointed over him, according to regulations and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. In
1951 - Floyd Sears was a gullible and naive young man that
believed what he was being told, as
he was suppose to according to the oath he took,
when the information came from an official source. He believed that he and his dependents
would receive full free health
care for life after he retired.

Now
Floyd Sears is an old military retiree that served his country
for 20 years with the understanding that when he
retired he and his dependents would receive full free health
care for life. The court has said, much to the delight of the United
States Congress, "that the promise of such health care
was made in good
faith and relied upon". The court went on to say... "However, because
no authority
existed [for the military] to make such promises in the first place,
and because
Congress has never ratified or acquiesced to this promise, they have no
alternative but to uphold the judgment against the
retirees' breach-of-contract claim. Floyd Sears now realizes that he
has been
swindled out of the medical care he was promised by the country he swore
he would serve honestly
and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever.
NOTE:
You will see references to the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit often as the greatest swindle of all time story is told.
This
is the situation military retirees are faced with. From WWII to the
middle 1990's the United States
Military Hierarchy, acting as agents of the United States Government,
authorized the
making of a promise to provide free medical care to those active duty
personnel that would serve in the military until retirement. The
government says the promise was not authorized by the Congress and has
reneged on the promise.
You
might think that the Congress would
be outraged by this situation, but they wave their flags and make
speeches concerning how much they appreciate what the military retirees
have done for their nation
on national holidays and other occasions, but when the flag waving and
the speech making is done the military retirees that served them
faithfully are forgotten. Out of
sight out of mind.
| This
military retiree medical care broken promise issue is the greatest
swindle of all time... it's a broken contract with
America's military retirees. |
A
medical care promise was made and the order
to make the medical care promise
came down from the highest levels of the military hierarchy. The
Congress had to know that the promise of medical care after retirement
was being
made and probably knew that the promise would not be kept, but they
allowed the promise to be made anyway.
The
medical care promise was
used to entice people to re-enlist. It was serving a purpose and it was
working. Why stop
it?

The
role
of the re-enlistment counselor in the USAF was not a wishie-washie
operation. It
was
well organized and official. Click here to see a
testimonial of a
former Unit Retention Counselor.
This
is part of a court's conclusion rendered in a lawsuit brought by
military retirees against the government for breach of contract. It
is also a good description of a swindle. "They
served their country for at least 20 years with the understanding that
when they retired they and their dependents would receive full free
health care for life. The promise of such health care was made in good
faith and relied upon. Again, however, because no authority existed to
make such promises in the first place, and because Congress has never
ratified
or acquiesced to this promise, we
have no alternative but to
uphold the judgment against the retirees' breach-of-contract claim."
The court also said... "Perhaps
Congress will consider using its legal
power to address the moral claims raised by Schism and Reinlie on
their own behalf, and indirectly for other affected retirees.", but the congress has done nothing. To
verify this quote click here.
A swindle is... an intentional false representation
to obtain money or any other thing
of value, where deception is accomplished through the victim's
belief
in the validity of some statement or object presented by the offender.
The military personnel that were making the
promise had no reason to believe that the promise being made was
invalid. People on active duty in the military have an obligation and
a duty to believe what they are being told when it comes from an
official source, and they had no reason to believe that the medical
care promise being made was invalid anymore than an order to charge up
a hill under fire was invalid.
The
offer of free medical care after retirement was made by the military
hierarchy, understood and accepted by military
personnel, and a contract
was formed. The military retirees fulfilled their part of the contract,
but the government reneged on the promised of free medical care.
| So, all is
forgotten, all is
forgiven, we just write it off, and the military retirees who depended
on this promise for medical care get swindled. |
We
fought hard in the Congress and in the Courts to regain
the medical care we were promised, but we were overwhelmed and defeated
by the
unlimited resources of the United States Government Justice System. We
simply could not compete with the government's unlimited resources.
One
of the big questions concerning the medical care promise is... did
the Congress ratify or acquiesce to the military retiree medical care
promise? Did the Congress Know that the medical care promise was being
made? Read what the dissenting judges had to say at ..."Promises of
lifetime medical care were made
to military officers by military officials for more than 50
years. Likewise Congress knew, or certainly should be charged
with knowing, how the billions of dollars it appropriated for
military medical care were allocated and that the amounts it
appropriated for military pay were diminished by the imputed
value of medical care on active duty and after retirement.
Congress is presumed to know the terrain against which it
legislates. To suggest it was oblivious, that it did not know
military officials were promising medical care in accordance with
its appropriations is pure sophistry. If it were otherwise, if
Congress can appropriate billions for this aspect of national
defense and not know how it is accounted for, then God save the
Republic. Of
course Congress knew; of course the
service secretaries authorized promises in return for service; of
course these military officers served until retirement in
reliance; and of course there is a moral obligation to these men:
it is called honoring the contract the United States made with
them and which they performed in full. Because the court
countenances the government’s breach of the implied
contracts and its taking of the rights vested in these retired
servicemen, I dissent." and
you be the
judge.
The
author of this
web page believes that the Congress knew the
medical care promise was being made. The author of this web page
believes that the infamous "subject
to the availability of space and facilities and the capabilities of the
medical and dental staff"
words were added to the U.S. Code to make it legal to close bases where
the medical care promise was suppose to be kept. If
the government
had intended to keep the medical care promise
then why was it
necessary to add those words to the U.S. Code? The mere fact that
those words were added
to the U.S. Code is a clear indication that the Congress knew the
medical care promise was being made and they needed to start taking
actions such that the promise would not have to be kept. If the space
and facilities were reduced or removed where the promise was suppose to
be kept then the medical care promise would be null and void. All
of this was justified under the standard guise of saving tax payer
dollars.
How can the Congress look at what the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit has said...
"We cannot readily imagine more sympathetic
plaintiffs than the retired officers of the World War II and
Korean War era involved in this case. They served their country
for at least 20 years with the understanding that when they
retired they and their dependents would receive full free health
care for life. The promise of such health care was made in good
faith and relied upon. Again, however, because no authority
existed to make such promises in the first place, and because
Congress has never ratified or acquiesced to this promise, we
have no alternative but to uphold the judgment against the
retirees' breach-of-contract claim." ... and
not
see that America's military retirees have been swindled?
Why
didn't the Congress
stop the
making of the unauthorized medical care promise right after it started?
Why didn't the Congressional
Research Service investigate this matter and report that an
unauthorized promise was being made to potential career military men
and women? They did not stop the promise of medical care after
retirement because it was working as a (what turned out to be)
deceptive incentive to get the
experienced
military personnel to reenlist.
|
The
military
hierarchy authorized the making of this medical care
promise in good faith starting
back in World War II, but according to a 2002 court decision they
were not authorized to make the promise. I can not believe that the
military hierarchy would authorize a promise of such magnitude knowing
that it was illegal.
The Congressional Research
Service Reports
for
Congress
on
"Military
Health
Care: The Issue of 'Promised' Benefits"
and
the
part that
was
not
reported to the Congress
All
of the legal mumbo jumbo contained in the following Congressional
Research Service (CRS) reports
to the Congress
does not change the fact that military retirees were promised free
medical
care after retirement and have been cheated out of
what they were promised. The elements of a contract were
set when the active duty military entered into an agreement with
the Armed Forces of the United States.
And, all of the legal mumbo jumbo
contained in the following CRS reports to
the Congress does not change the fact that
military
retirees were swindled out of what they were promised. Somebody or some
agency needs to be held accountable. If it isn't the United States
Government then who is it?
The following CRS Reports for Congress on "Military
Health
Care: The Issue of 'Promised' Benefits" played a major role in the
processes that bought about the 18 Nov 2002 defeat of the
Schism and Reinlie lawsuit
brought by Medal of Honor
recipient Colonel George Day (retired). The Schism and Reinlie
lawsuit was
designed to regain the medical care that was promised to
military retirees.
The author of this web page is
intrigued by this
one sentence
in the
History and Mission of the CRS. "Indeed,
the
sole mission of CRS is to serve the
United States Congress.".
Running the
risk of this being taken out of context... I
feel it
is reasonable to assume that this means the CRS had
no particular obligation to serve the interest of the military
retirees seeking justice within the justice system. Click here
to see the History and Mission of the CRS.
This
is a rebuttal to the CRS Reports for
Congress on...
"Military
Health
Care: The Issue of 'Promised' Benefits".
| Although
the comments of the dissenting judges Chief Judge Mayer, Circuit Judge
Newman, Senior Circuit Judge
Plager, and Circuit Judge Gajarsa, click here,
rebut these CRS Reports
for Congress very well I feel that it is proper and reasonable for a
military retiree to
also rebut these CRS Reports for
Congress on "Military
Health
Care: The Issue of 'Promised' Benefits". |
I have no official way of
presenting
this web page to the Congress, but it needs to be presented to the
Congress because the minds of the Congress have been
set in concrete by an incomplete CRS Report. However, on
the off chance that some Senator or Representative may wander this
way... here is a rebuttal to this CRS Report for Congress by one
military retiree.
Obviously I can not
rebut
every word of
the 5 documents listed above. Therefore I will rebut the SUMMARY
paragraph of the 19 Jan 2006 Report for Congress. I have numbered
each sentence of the SUMMARY paragraph to facilitate my rebuttal. My
rebuttal follows the SUMMARY.
Let
it be clearly understood that the author of this rebuttal is not saying
that these CRS reports are false, but let it also be clearly understood
that the author of this rebuttal is saying that these reports are
incomplete. These Reports for Congress tell one side of the story and
makes the manner in which the medical care promise was made to the
active duty military appear to be insignificant, and unimportant.
Did
Congress acquiesce
to this medical care after retirement promise? Whether they did or
did not is unimportant to the author of this rebuttal because the
Congress never promised me anything. In my case, ranking members of the
USAF made the medical care promise to me over a 20 year period. In
their defense
I do not believe that they knowingly made an unauthorized promise. The
court agrees with my belief. The court said, "The promise of such health care
was made in good
faith and relied upon." Click here to see
reference material.
If
the Armed Forces of the United States was making an unauthorized
promise then why didn't the Congress take the necessary actions to stop
the making of the promise? Why didn't the CRS step in and make a report
to the Congress that unauthorized promises were being made?
Let it be
understood that members of the United States Armed Forces are trained
to believe, and had to believe
what they were being told when it came from an official source. And,
let
it be understood that military personnel did not have
personal lawyers to advise them whether they should or should not
believe what they were being told. In the early 1950's,
at Carswell AFB, the squadron I was assigned to was marched to the base
theater on a weekly basis to watch films such as "Victory At Sea", and
other WWII documentaries. At these military briefings we were told many
things that we had to believe, including the promise of free medical
care for life if we served for 20 or more years in the military and
retired.
Can you imagine what would happen to
a low ranking person if he/she challenged their Commanding Officer in
reference to whether or not he/she was making an unauthorized
statement/promise? If the military hierarchy was making an unauthorized
promise then it should have been stopped as soon as it started. It
should not have been allowed to go on over a person's 20 to 30 year
career.
This
SUMMARY paragraph was extracted from http://mrgrg-ms.org/crs1006e-the-issue-of-promised-benefits.pdf
- 1). Many
military health care
beneficiaries,
particularly military retirees, their dependents, and those
representing their interests, state that they were promised “free
health care for life at military facilities” as part of their
“contractual agreement” when they entered the armed forces.
- 2). Efforts
to
locate authoritative documentation of such promises have not been
successful.
- 3).
Congressional report language and recent court
decisions
have rejected retiree claims seeking ‘free care at military facilities’
as a right or entitlement.
- 4). These
have held that the current medical
benefit structure made up of military health care facilities, Tricare
and Medicare provide lifetime health care to military members, retirees
and their respective dependents.
- 5).
Nevertheless, claims continue to
be
made, particularly by those seeking additional benefits from the
Department of Defense, or attempting to prevent an actual or perceived
reduction in benefits.
THE
REBUTAL:
Item 1). Many
military health care beneficiaries,
particularly military retirees, their dependents, and those
representing their interests, state that they were promised “free
health care for life at military facilities” as part of their
“contractual agreement” when they entered the armed forces.
Rebuttal: The "Many"
word should be
changed to "Millions of". The "many" word
tends to mislead someone
(like Senators, Representatives, and their staff members) that knows
nothing about how the promise was made to believe that the promise was
made to just a few, but not all members of the active duty military. In
reference to, "when
they entered the
armed forces".
This statement is very misleading because it makes it appear that the
promise of medical care was made only by recruiters to new recruits.
Anyone who has been through the trauma associated with the induction
into the Armed Forces knows that the last thing a recruit is thinking
about is something that may happen 20 years down the road. The new
recruit is thinking about how he/she will make it through the next few
hours or the next few days. As I will explain later, what the recruiter
said during the recruiting process is relatively unimportant. The
military indoctrination and training processes that happens over
a 20 to 30 year period on active duty in reference to medical care
after retirement is
very important. To place blame on a recruiter for misleading
recruits in
reference to the medical care promise is ridiculous. The recruiters
followed approved procedures to get people into the military. The active duty supervisors, 1st
sergeants, commanding officers, and re-enlistment counselors did what
was necessary to keep people in the military.
Item 2). Efforts
to
locate authoritative documentation of such promises have not been
successful.
Rebuttal: I
have a problem with the "Efforts" word.
What was the extent of
the effort to locate authoritative documentation. What kind of authoritative
documents was the CRS Report for Congress looking for.
Was the report looking for the check lists that members of the military
signed to indicate that they understood the medical care promise that
was being made during re-enlistment briefings? Click here for more
information. If
the CRS Report was looking for
that documentation then it certainly could not be found because those
check lists were either destroyed or given to the service member on his
retirement.
Did
the CRS Report for Congress
try to find military retirees that may have kept that kind of
documentation? Most military retirees would not have kept that kind of
documentation because there was no need to keep documents like that.
After all a promise had been made by the most
honorable Armed
Forces in the world acting as an agent of the United States government
the most honorable
government in the world.
Why would a person need to prove that a valid promise was made.
If one would reason that a retiring member of the military should have
made copies of certain documents then one should remember that we
didn't have copying machines back in the days in question. Then one
could ask that if the check lists were found would they be authoritative
documentation that the medical care promise was made by military
personal acting in their official capacity under orders as agents of
the United States government. The re-enlistment check lists were
official authoritative
documentation. Click here for more
information.
In their efforts to locate authoritative
documentation that the medical care promise was made, how many military
retirees did
the
CRS Report for Congress
interview? One hundred? One Thousand? One million? Did the
CRS Report for Congress take any actions to get sworn statements
from military retirees concern the intensity of how the medical care
promise was made. The author of this rebuttal believes that the CRS
Report for Congress found what it wanted to find to make
the case against the military retirees and nothing more.
Item 3). Congressional
report
language and recent court
decisions
have rejected retiree claims seeking ‘free care at military facilities’
as a right or entitlement.
Rebuttal: By
rejecting the retiree claims, is the CRS Report for Congress putting it
self on the same level as a court? If this is true then there was no
point in having a trial. Or, is the CRS report setting itself up as
being Biblical in nature where it's finding are indisputable. What
about the language of the millions of military retirees that are being
swindled out of the medical care they were promised. Does their word
mean nothing? It is important to note that not all courts rejected the
retiree claims. The CRS
Report for Congress failed to mention the 8 Feb 2001 court decision
where the court said, "The
retirees entered active duty in the armed forces and completed at
least twenty years service on the good faith belief that the government
would fulfill its promises. The terms of the contract were set
when
the retirees entered the service and fulfilled their obligation.
The
government cannot unilaterally amend the contract terms now."
Click here to see reference
material. In my opinion this court decision was excluded
from the summary because
it would have
been counter productive in reference to the case the CRS
Report for Congress was trying to make.
Item
4). These
have held that the current medical
benefit structure made up of military health care facilities, Tricare
and Medicare provide lifetime health care to military members, retirees
and their respective dependents.
Rebuttal:
Has
the CRS Report for Congress considered what will happen if the current
cuts to Medicare continue and Doctors reach the point where they can
not afford to take Medicare patients. In this regard we are no
different than a person that never spent a day in the military. If we
can not find Doctors that will take Medicare then Tricare for life is
worthless.
Item 5). Nevertheless,
claims continue to
be
made, particularly by those seeking additional benefits from the
Department of Defense, or attempting to prevent an actual or perceived
reduction in benefits.
Rebuttal:
The
military retiree community is not seeking additional benefits. We only
seek those benefits that were promised. We are not a cheap bunch of
thugs trying to get something for free. We paid for what we were
promised with, sweat, blood, and tears. We fulfilled our part of the
medical care contract and we respectfully demand that the United States
Government fulfill their part of the contract. The dissenting judges in
the 18 Nov 2002 court findings state our position very well: "Promises
of lifetime medical care were made
to military officers by military officials for more than 50
years. Likewise Congress knew, or certainly should be charged
with knowing, how the billions of dollars it appropriated for
military medical care were allocated and that the amounts it
appropriated for military pay were diminished by the imputed
value of medical care on active duty and after retirement.
Congress is presumed to know the terrain against which it
legislates. To suggest it was oblivious, that it did not know
military officials were promising medical care in accordance with
its appropriations is pure sophistry. If it were otherwise, if
Congress can appropriate billions for this aspect of national
defense and not know how it is accounted for, then God save the
Republic."
Click here
to see reference material.
The
Congressional
Research Service Reports for Congress on "Military Health
Care: The Issue of 'Promised' Benefits" tends to play up the role of
the military recruiter as people that would have gone to any extreme to
make a quota and play down the role of the active duty supervisors, 1st
sergeants, commanding officers, and re-enlistment counselors all doing
their job as ordered. The military recruiters and the active duty
military did their jobs in an
honorable manner as directed by the military hierarchy.
If the CRS
Report for Congress was looking for the whole truth
concerning how the medical care promise was made they could have found
a million stories similar to this:
In November of 1951, because of the
military draft, I had to make a choice. I could volunteer
to join or be drafted
into the military. At that time I did talk to a military
recruiter and I volunteered to join the military. I was told by
the military recruiter that medical care would be provided for me
and my wife while I was on active duty, and
medical care after
retirement was mentioned. I
was very interested in the
immediate medical care since I could not afford insurance based
on what I would be paid. In November of 1951 I was
not concerned about medical care
after retirement because I had no interest in a military career,
but because of medical care promises I changed my mind. That's the way
it was suppose to work.
Much
has been said
concerning the recruiter's role in the making of the medical care
promise. Based on my experience, too much emphasis is placed on
the recruiters promise
and this emphasis has creating a grave misunderstanding in the
Congress. The Congress must understand that prior to joining the
military I talked to a recruiter for about 30
minutes to fill out forms, and again
when he gave me a bus ticket. I never
talked to a recruiter again.
| Think
about this... it is not
very likely that I would have remembered the medical care after
retirement promise for 20 years if I had only heard the promise
made once by a recruiter. |
My
decision to stay in the military, and retire, was
not based a
recruiters promise. My
decision was based on the promises made during my first four
years in the military from 1951 to 1955. During this period the
United States Air Force was engaged in an all-out campaign to get
military personnel to reenlist. The campaign was very intense and
very well organized. The medical care after retirement promise
was made continuously. The promise was made to me by my
Supervisors (on an almost daily basis), my 1st Sergeant (on a
weekly basis), my Commanding Officer (at monthly briefings -
commanders call), and Reenlistment Counselors (several times
during the last 3 to 4 months of my first enlistment). The
medical care after retirement promise was made openly,
officially, and continuously to encourage me and other trained
and experienced military personnel to remain in the military. The
making of the medical care after retirement promise did not stop
after my first enlistment. The promise was made to me throughout
my 20 years in the Air Force.
In
a
few short years none of this will matter because all of the military
retirees
who are affected by this swindle will be dead and the swindle story
will die with them. However, many of us will go on fighting for what we
were promised until that final day will come for each of us. We were
taught many things by the United States Military, but we were never
taught how to quit.
Each of us wonders if
there
a set
of rules in place
today that protects the men and women who are fighting today's wars
from being swindled out of what they are being promised, just like the
greatest generation of military retirees are being swindled?
The military retiree
medical
care broken
promise issue is the greatest swindle of all time. The medical care
promise was made and a contract was
formed. "A
contract is
any
"legally-enforceable" promise or set of
promises made by one party to another and, as such, reflects the
policies represented by freedom of contract. In the civil law,
contracts are considered to be part of the general law of obligations".
How can it be fairly decided if any contract
is "legally-enforceable"
when
one party involved in the contract is also the Judge?
It
should be noted that
while
the military retirees were on active
duty they had no way of knowing that the medical care after retirement
promise being made by the military was invalid..... military
retirees thought they were
serving under the terms of a valid contract. We
had no way of knowing that later in retirement we would be swindled out
of the medical care that was being promised..... I am quite sure that
the court recognized that the
military
retirees had been cheated and were
victims of a
swindle and this is why the court said, "Perhaps
Congress will consider using its
legal power to address the moral claims raised by Schism and Reinlie on
their own behalf, and indirectly for other affected retirees".
We have
been waiting for the Congress to act on the courts suggestion. It's our
last hope because the justice system has abandoned us.
I
want to end this rebuttal to the CRS Report for Congress by taking a
look at page CRS-4 of the 19 Jan 2006 CRS Report for Congress and
a comment that make active duty military people look like idiots.
The
CRS wrote: "The
end results appears to be
that, regardless of the lack of statutory entitlements, many active
duty personnel and their dependents, and retirees and their dependents,
erroneously came to believe
that they were guaranteed free
health care
in military facilities for life".
This
is the most insulting and ridiculous statement I have ever
seen written by what is suppose to be a respectable and responsible
government agency.
I
did not erroneously come to believe that I was
guaranteed free health care in military facilities for life. I came
to believe because; the leaders appointed over me
made the medical care promise in good faith; the leaders that I would
be required to follow into hell if necessary in
defense of the United States of America told me so; the leaders I
would
give my life for if necessary told me so; the leaders that were like
Gods to me told me
so; the leaders I was suppose to
believe told me so; the leaders that I trusted with my life told me so;
the
leaders sitting across
the desk from me at re-enlistment time told me so; my Commander at
Commanders call told me so; and as a result a contract
was formed. I took an oath to obey
the orders
of the officers appointed over me and I believed what they told me. I
came to believe that the medical
care promise being made was as valid as an order to charge up a hill
under fire.
That's
how I
came to believe!
Active
duty military personnel did not erroneously come to
believe.
They came to believe because that's the way the military system works.
One
is told what to believe and they believe. A military person does not
look for a lack of statutory
entitlements when officers appointed over him/her passes out
official
information or gives an order. I came to believe because that is what I
was required to
do.
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Wake
up America
else
reports like this CRS Report for Congress will have every junior
military person on active duty disbelieving or questioning what their
superiors tell them.
Active duty men and women must believe what they are told when it comes
from an official source. That's the way the military system works.
The
United
States Government has an obligation to pay and they should have paid
this medical care bill when it was
due because if this CRS Report for Congress, that brought us proud
military retirees
to our knees, continues unchallenged then the government and the
American people will surely pay
later.
I'm
sure there
are thousands of
military retirees, military retiree spouses, and military retiree
survivors, that have been lobbying the United States Congress, in great frustration, to regain
the medical care they were promised now
have "Anger
PTSD". Anger is a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented
toward some real
or supposed grievance. PTSD is a psychological reaction to a traumatic
event or events. Being swindled out of the medical care military
retirees were
promised for 20 to 30 years of work and service to their country is
certainly a traumatic event, and is just
cause for anger. Prolonged
anger has clear health consequences. Prolonged anger can lead
to many deadly health issues, such as the many unexplained medical
problems that military retirees suffer from. I have no way of
determining what the breaking of the medical care promise has cost the
American tax payers as a result of Anger PTSD, but it may be
equal to what the government thinks they saved by breaking the medical
care promise.
The American people and the
United States Congress must never forget that which is owed to its
military retirees, military veterans, active duty military, and their
eligible dependents. Ignoring events such as this medical care broken
promise issue is slowly eroding the moral foundation of this nation.
The United States was once a great nation that could be trusted to keep
its promises yet now it's willing to cheat its military retirees out of
the medical care they were promised, while on
active duty, in
retirement.
From the 1940's to the 1990's, when people on active duty made the
decision to serve until retirement, the rest of their life was centered
on the medical care promise. I would not have served until retirement
if there was no promise of medical care after retirement. In 1971, when
I retired, a retirement check of $326 per month before taxes was
certainly not an incentive to serve until retirement. There had to be
something more and that something more was the promise of medical care.
The medical care after retirement was referred to as "deferred
compensation"
and was used to justify the low pay of the active duty personnel. The
government and the military hierarchy cut the active duty
military pay short because it was said that they would make it up
to
them later in retirement "with the free medical
care". This was just one
more of the dirty tricks used to get the active duty personal to
reenlist and serve until retirement.
May
God help
those that are
responsible
for this grave
injustice
THE
GREATEST
SWINDLE OF ALL TIME
live
with
their conscience.
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