The End of an Era... And it's about time!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell became law as a compromise, in 1993, forcing it into the military budget for the following fiscal year. A bad compromise, to be sure, allowing the military off the hook, with the GBLT community, compromising the UCMJ's 1950 policy, (enacted by truman) and creating a system where GBLT soldiers could serve, but not really "be all that they could be".

Eighteen years. Eighteen years of blood, sweat, tears, living, dying, discharges, coming out, being forced out, hate and lies, it ends at 0001 tomorrow morning. It is over.

Originally called "Don't ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue", the idea was to allow GBLT soldiers to serve, under the cover of secrecy. The military has a code, no matter what branch you are in. And that code is one of honor. How can you serve with honor, if you have to serve with part of your life, shrouded in secrecy?

Thus began the fight. Too often, it was a partisan fight, and it shouldn't have been. It should have been a fight about what was right, human, honorable and decent.

And think about this... just think about this for a second.... did we, in our bigoted way, by discharging fifty-nine gay linguists, who speak various Arabic languages, place other American forces in harms way?

The real truth is that in the eighteen yeats that DADT was in effect, nothing has changed. No one has changed their sexual orientation. There have been no "roving gangs" of gays looking to do violence on straights. (Although, there have been the opposite, much to the horror and dismay of all).

Yes.... this IS the end of an era... And good riddance!

Finding My Voice

For the longest time, I have neglected this blog, the Unconventional Military Wife; because I wanted it to concentrate on what it is to BE a military wife. I didn’t want it to become part of what I consider to be part of my “political” voice. And the more that I fought against it, the more that it became part of what I have been fighting against. I have become a political nerd and geek, especially in the last few years, and I am reveling in it! And so, gentle readers… the Military Wife is becoming even MORE unconventional… she is about to break free from the chains of what the old establishment of military, when a man’s commander could charge a man with “failure to control his dependent” to loud mouth… I am finding my voice!

So, on that note, I find that there are many things that I want to say. Beginning with the statement that I am what my military spouse calls “a pinkocommieliberal” (all one word).  What does that mean, exactly? Well, it’s kind of half a joke and half serious.

 I am a liberal. I believe in things like a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices. Sure, I would like to see the day when abortion would not be necessary, but I don’t think that that day would ever come.

I believe that HCR didn’t go far enough. I think that we should have looked at Canada, Australia and other countries that have successful nationalized health care models, see what works, why they work, and applied it here. I think that we should have looked at their social services models too.

I think that tax reform is a necessity. The top 3% of the country isn’t paying enough in taxes; capital gains and other tax write off loop holes should be closed. And this crap about not paying taxes on private jets… its bull sh*t.

On the other hand, I can be very conservative.  I obviously support the military. But I don’t support the military actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I support the death penalty. And there are things that deserve that severe punishment. But you had better have damned good proof.

I support the right to bear arms. But I don’t support the right to own a semi auto, massive clips or armor piercing rounds for the civilian population. You don’t need it. The military does. The police may. But civilians? Not so much. Go to the range, learn to fire your weapon, learn the best places to put a round, and then learn to get the f*ck out of there.

We have become a nation that creates most of our own problems out of whole cloth. Those on the extreme Right of the political spectrum would have you believe that people like me are the Devil incarnate. I am hardly that. I see, in a way, some of their positions, and how they can work, if they are tempered with some modicum of common sense, but the extremism that they espouse is only going to cause the ruin of this nation. They ran on a platform that they are not preforming on and the moderates of their party are running scared. And the moderate Liberals are just as frightened, it seems.

This nation, this great nation, was once looked up to as the epitome of what to be. We were unconventional. And now…

Cost Cutting - The Army Way

Since the Twin Towers went down on the horrific day, on September eleventh, 2001, American Army Reservists have been answering the call of their country. Unfailing and unstinting in their service, giving up their lives, literally and figuratively to their country, they have served with dignity and honor, both here and in theater. It is through their sacrifices that much of what has been accomplished has been achieved.

In reality, the Reserves are treated like the “ugly red headed buck toothed step children, that no one really likes” of the Army. They must maintain all the Army standards of physical training and education, without the support or money that the regular Army might provide.

In 2004-5 the Warrior in Transition Battalions were originally stood up for use by wounded Reservists, because they were literally be sent home, once they were released from military hospitals with little or no follow up care, little or no access to the VA and little to no compensation from a grateful nation for the pain and suffering that they endured as a result of their injuries. The Warrior in Transition Battalions was supposed to change all of that. And, if they failed, it would not be a big deal; it was just a Reserve program.

Staffed by Reservists for Reservists, the WTBs were a huge success. Their success rate in getting these soldiers through the medical boards and back into the civilian world was phenomenal. It was so good that the Army quickly took it over, and instituted it Army wide.

In the meantime, you have Reservists trying to run this circus, sort of.

But wait… there’s more… Fast forward to 2009. Reservists are still running the WTBs… sort of. They are doing all of the work, but the Army, in the form of 3 different commands are actually running the programs. Each command is very territorial over the program. Congress is putting pressure on everyone about how much money is getting spent on this program. Not on how much money is getting spent on the soldiers in the program. No, that would never do. Too much collective guilt, left over from Vietnam and Gulf I. But these nasty money grubbing Reservists who are getting rich, taking these tours to help take care of the wounded soldiers. You know… the Reservists who are working stateside, who have given up their jobs, voluntarily, usually supporting two households, because their orders don’t include the ability to bring their vehicles, their families or authorize them to “permanently move” to where they are stationed…

Yes, those Reservists – so the Army decided that they are making way too much money. So they cut their per diem pay, in half. OK. It’s still doable. Per diem is actually only authorized for a ninety day TDY, but it was extended for the Reservists, because they were taking these yearlong tours without family and supporting two households.

This year, in a brilliant cost cutting measure, the Army in its infinite wisdom, has decided that Reservists don’t need that pre diem pay at all. After all, it’s a permanent change of station. But they aren’t going to move you and your family. It’s only a yearlong tour.

But the problem is that nothing has changed. The Reservists are still supporting two households and many of them are more than willing to quit taking on the responsibilities of these tours, because they simply can’t afford to continue to do so.

We have been so proud of the care that we have been giving our wounded soldiers. And we have been giving them excellent care. We have done so, thanks to the Reservists who cared enough to give up huge chunks of their lives to work with them. And now we are going to punish those Reservists.

That’s how you save money… the Army way.