Yesterday two very lovely women came by my booth here on Radio Row, where I am broadcasting the show live from Tampa for the RNC. I was told they were military wives and something terrible was happening to them. When I heard their story, I initially did not believe it. When you hear it, you won't believe it either. And I fervently hope that you will contact your elected representatives immediately to do something about it. Because it is a disgrace.
What is happening is that close to 3,000 enlisted men and women are being downsized from the navy. That's right -- downsized. Not fired due to performance, or transferred to another station. They have been given their walking papers in the middle of their stints and told to find something else to do. Go find another house, another job, another health plan. That's the thanks they get for signing on the dotted line, volunteering to sacrifice their lives for our country. That's the thanks they get for loaning their spouses out for months at a time, on duty that takes them away from the first day of kindergarten, birthdays, holidays and the day the dog died.
Listen to this kicker our wonderful military offered these patriots. We'll give you severance, they said, but only on the condition that you serve in active reserve for three years. Moreover, if you have to file for disability, which many may need to do, then you have to give the severance BACK. You read that correctly. After years of service and sacrifice, after becoming disabled in the line of duty, the military wants money back from our vets.
Beth Armstrong's husband Paul has been in the service for 15 years. He is an aviation structural mechanic, with an E 6 rank. Beth and he have six children, aged 4 months to 11 years old, with a pair of twins in there for good measure. The military contracted for their housing, and now their landlord has given them a notice to evict. Beth came on my show yesterday and told me that she literally does not know where they will end up. Paul found a job, but it pays $30,000 less than his old one. Health insurance for her and the kids is iffy -- and if the government withdraws their benefits, they will be sunk. But the worst part is that Paul is emotionally devastated. Serving in the military is all he ever wanted to do. He has done nothing wrong, everything right. He feels so used, so confused, and so bitterly disappointed in our system.
When you sign up with the military, you don't get the choice to leave because you want to. You have to stay. Period. If you do leave, the consequences to your life are significant. The government wants to make sure you adhere to your contract, that you keep your bargain. Now our government is breaking that bargain. They think it's OK to break a contract with our enlisted servicemen and women and they think they can get away with it.
They can't get away with it. They shouldn't get away with it. These people need your help to reverse this outrageous decision, this disgraceful injustice that is being perpetrated on our bravest citizens.
If you want to know how you can help, contact Jennifer Beasley at sailorsagainsterb@yahoo.com or join the facebook page sailorsagainsterb.
Listen in today live on the Lisa Wexler Show for an interview with Jennifer Beasley, whose family faces this fate. Today 4PM EST. Lisawexler.com, or wfasam.com.
Follow Lisa Wexler on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisawexler
Again, my apologies, especially to those of you that lost your job, or who's spouse lost theirs. Good luck to all of you and God bless.
The only thing these 3k sailors have in common is that they were within one enlistment of receiving their pension. It's no secret that those who serve in the enlisted military make almost half of what their civilian counterparts do.
I understand that our government is not only broke, but broken. If anyone paid attention to Obama's campaign the last go around, they would have noticed that hey, he said he was going to downsize our military to pre-Pearl Harbor size. Still, the only presidential authorization that has taken place was the 100k from the Army.
Mainstream media is afraid to cover this story and if the media IS covering it, they aren't asking the right questions. How many of these ERB sailors have been threatened should they speak out about their Commander in Chief?
Tell my why the NavADMIN also states that each rate is to be represented on the board, yet no FC rate was ever present? How many ERB selected sailors have just come off of Limited Duty and were approved for PTS, selected for retention via ADSEP Boards and got axed while waiting orders? How many letters of notifications have been forged?
Look, I'm just a Navy wife (and prior Navy). I did my time. I got out. But my husband, he defended this country for 15 years. He was 7 mos into a 5 year re-enlistment that would have taken him to his 20 years. The man LOVED his Navy Career. He studied his ass off for an E7 exam that he never had the chance to take. He loved going on deployment. The Navy broke his soul. It's bruised and battered and the man will never be the same again. He feels his country, his Navy, his Commander in Chief, his command, his Admiral, his BIG Navy...turn their cold, hard backs on him.
It's the military. Everyone is expendable. They teach you that in boot camp. We don't want any money. Hell, we've transitioned into civilian life now for four months and have a good future planned. We just want an apology. We only want an explanation as to how, or why, something like this could happen to a man who just wanted to serve his country. A man, who, busted his behind to get off of limited duty to go back out to sea. A man, who, never should have been put on limited duty in the first place as the medical side said it wasn't necessary.
Closure. That's all my husband wants. Someone, somewhere, made the wrong decision. That person(s) should be held accountable. It's how the world works.
It doesn't matter how you slice it, the whole thing sucks.
The Navy has been "downsizing" for awhile; these sailors aren't the only ones that have are being unfairly discharged. Sailors found fit for duty and ready to come back to active duty from an injury, are often discharged also...and these sailors (who have also done nothing wrong) are only given 15 or 30 day notices.
Don't get me wrong, its not fair and there are so many ways the military could and should be handling this better...really, the military needs to do better at helping its members transition to the civilian life in general, as well as offering better support for those individuals that are being discharges for reasons beyond their control that have nothing to do with their conduct.
Get your facts straight.