The Stress of Civilian Life
Belinda Maio
Liberty University Abstract
The stress that a soldier faces when they leave the military can be overwhelming. Most soldiers enlist out of high school or College. They go from living with their parents to living within the fortress of military institutions. They are given everything that they need while they are in the service. They learn to live a certain type of life. This life is organized and there is little that the servicemen need to figure out for themselves. They have everything that they can ever need right on the base where they live. Then after years of service, they are retired or they do not reenlist. Now this is where their stress begins. They are faced with now finding
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This is not a flaw of the military servicemen and woman it is just the way the system is set up.
The Money
Going from the military life to being a civilian can put a financial hardship on the family mostly if the servicemen are unable to find work when they get out of the military. The family is then forced to go on a tight budget. In order to understand the hardship on the servicemen it is important to understand how the military works as far as money, and benefits that the servicemen are given and how they helped them make ends meet.
In the military, servicemen are used to getting money for their food, rent, and clothing. Every month in the military depending on your rank, you get B.H.A. This stands for Basic Housing Allowance. The higher rank you are the more money you get. So in a sense you are living rent free and can possibly make money if your rent is lower than your B.HA.
Then you get B.A.S which stands for Basic allowance for subsistence. Now this is a set amount. There is a single amount and a married amount. This money is used for groceries each month. The military member also gets a clothing allowance. This is set to your rank also. There is also the cost of living allowance. So if you live in a place which has a high cost of living you would receive an adjustment to make up for this and so you can afford to live there.
Along with all the money that the servicemen and woman get there are also bonus pays for combat, hazardous duty pay,
In the military, the life is not actually too different from what you do now. (Army Daily Life. (n.d.),Paragraph 1) Each base has a store called a commissary which has lots of different groceries and things you need or want for low prices… sort of like a Walmart in the civilian world. (Army Daily Life. (n.d.), Army Shopping, Commissary). One thing that is bad about the military is that you do not get to choose where you live. You have to move among different bases a lot more frequently than that of someone who goes to college. (Sweeney, H., & M. (n.d.), Cons to living on base, The base realignment and closure commission) Another thing that is not good about the army is that some barracks are not as modern as others and might not have exactly everything you need or want to live comfortably. (Sweeney, H., & M. (n.d.), Cons to living on base, Some Military Housing Not Up to Snuff) Also, you are required to live in the barracks, unlike in college you can live at home if you are close enough or you can live in an apartment. You also have to share that living space with at least someone else. (Sweeney, H., & M. (n.d.),Cons to living on Base, Unaccompanied Housing Quarters) With colleges, they most of the time make you share a dorm room with another person, so it may be somewhat similar to that experience with the barracks. So it may be
Once you are on active duty you get sent off to basic training, then after that they ship you out every do many months. These trips last only 6 months at a time and in that 6 months your go around the world stopping at ports. This would benefit me due to the fact that I wish to see the world. After talking to a recruiter at Columbia high school, she answered some of my questions about education opportunities if I was to join the forces. She provided me with flyers that had all information that was concerning my education, this is what I found. America's navy will pay 100% or your tuition for courses taken at accredited institutions while off duty. There is no application fee, No tuition deposit, and no test score required for admission. You can choose from more than 6,000 high school, undergraduate and graduate - level correspondence courses available from regionally accredited institutions of independent study. Anything from Astronomy to Zoology, along with everything between. Many colleges and universities recognize Navy training and work experience as college credits. The longer you stay in the Navy, the more you earn toward a degree. You also are provided fee coverage, up to $1,000 per year for books and supplies. You can use this up to 15 years after completing your service commitment. To qualify for this assistance, you need at least 90 days active duty. Ships have accredited
- They also collect retirement for their Active Duty time (AT days, Drill and TDYs/Deployments)
Bill (MGIB), eligible veterans enrolled in VA approved educational programs could receive up to thirty-six months of benefits if usage began within ten years of separation from service (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1008). Monthly benefits for veterans who had three or more years of service were eligible for $300 per month, with a total individual benefit of $10,800 for thirty-six months of usage (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). Veterans serving a two-year enlistment contract qualified for a $272 monthly stipend for a maximum of $9,800 for thirty-six months of usage (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). This remained relatively steady from 1985 to 1992 despite the increased costs of college tuition (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1011). However, in January of 1999 and then again in January of 2000 Congress did increase MGIB benefits to account for rising tuition costs (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1012). These increases continued to be implemented between 2000 and 20003 (Simon et al., 2010, p. 1012). This hit its peak in 2003, when MGIB benefits were at its highest value since 1991 (Simon et al., 2010, p.
Being in war is definitely one of the most life changing events a person will ever have whether it be for the better or for the worst. Soldiers will witness events that are impossible to forget or see back at home in the states. Some soldiers may have even seen one of their best friends that they’ve known for forever get blown up into pieces right next to them, or they might even get one of their own limbs blown off of their own bodies, becoming handicapped for life. As a result of seeing something so intense like that, most soldiers are usually traumatized. In matter of fact, a great amount of soldiers are traumatized from the very beginning of being in war. It’s without a doubt difficult to deal with this but there are some ways where
Most soldiers did not get a chance to finish college or even high school when the war started. The government decided to step in and assist the soldiers, they passed a bill called the GI Bill which gave people who served in the armed forces a way to earn a living coming back home. According to the article in Life magazine on veterans attending college on the GI Bill, the picture shows overjoyed families going door to door getting former soldiers who are ready to earn a degree at school. This symbolizes how people cherished and utilized opportunities the bill gave them to better their lives. Sometimes the GI Bill could not offer people education, a result of mishaps causing soldiers to have physical or mental problems. The soldiers may not want the education or have not gone through enough school to get into college. According to the picture where veterans are waiting for housing under the GI Bill. the other option was to give the veterans a place to live if they could not afford
The greatest part of the education benefits is that you can use them while still on active duty. The Montgomery GI Bill and Post 9/11 GI Bill, The Montgomery GI Bill eligibility normally upon enlisting into the services, the member selects this option and contributes $100 per month for first 12 months and has 36 months of benefits which is currently worth $50,000. Educational benefits may be used while the service member is on active duty or after the service member’s separation from active duty with a fully honorable military discharge.
In terms of modern-day combat, women do not have an equal opportunity to survive."(Messay, 3) Some argue that it is a women 's right to be in combat, but anyone will agree that equal opportunity does not play part in combat. "Feminists and their supporters want to gender-neutralize the military be incrementally ditching common sense policies. This latest study, which claims that women can be trained to be like men, contributes to this misguided ideology, weakens the force structure at its core, and puts America 's military personnel in peril." continues Lt. Col. Maginnis. (Messay, 3) When we try to force and shove women into dangerous situations, we are ignoring their rights instead of protecting them. The dropout rate for women is higher than for men. Leading the dropout rates are white women with an average rate of 43%, followed by black women at 33% and Hispanic women with 31% (Park). This can be directly pointed to the physical demands that a women faced in basic training.
Commonly known as the GI bill of rights. The GI bill is any department of veterans affairs a education benefit earned by the members of active duty and a selected reserve and national guard armed forces and their families and also the benefit is designed to help the service members and eligible veterans cover the cost associated with getting a education by the time 1956 2.2 million veterans had used the GI bill education benefits in order to attend colleges and universities and also a additional 5.6 million
“Everyone knows the dangers of being in the military. Many military members put their lives on the line every day, which makes them some of the most underpaid people in America. But there are also other considerations, such as working with hazardous materials and in dangerous situations, being on call 24-7/365, and dealing with long term deployments and family separation”(Guina). I will write about why Military members are not getting paid enough, but not all I will be focusing on military members who are single with no dependents and are part of deployable units and I will be comparing them to their civilian counterparts who are in college.
That also false, military members must serve out their whole contract before switching over to active duty. For a while, I blamed the recruiter, but all the blame was on me for not reading the contract precisely. I could have prevented most of these assumptions if I would have read & understand the conditions of my contract. Being illiterate could be difficult for many to function today. Some results may be low income, unemployment, may impact health, low self-esteem, and risky financial position.
Women in the military should receive the same amount of care, which a woman in everyday life does. For instance, women every day in their careers receive six weeks off, but some women receive a year off to raise their child. In other instances, citizens in Sweden have a total of four-hundred eighty days, which are provided to families with newborn children. Military mothers have a rougher time than civilian mothers because of their need to sacrifice more, for instance if they have to leave their children for an amount of time. Military mothers should not be forced to make a choice between their careers and children, which these are the battles military mothers have to face
Each resident will then be if applicable for the grant will be awarded $14,000 roughly for medical expenses. A person is eligible for this grant when providing: “A copy of DD Form 214 or proof of active military service and discharge, as applicable verification of: (a) establishment of service-connected disability; (b) service during World War I; (c) military retirement; (d) letter of authorization; (e) receipt of increased pension or additional compensation or allowance based on the need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound, or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be otherwise
a month. BAH is an allowance to offset the cost of housing this allowance varies, the amount of BAH you receive depends on your location, pay grade, and whether you have dependents. Clothing allowances may be given to help members pay for their uniforms. There also Dislocation Allowance (DLA) that’s helps with relocating. A service member is entitled to a family separation allowance (FSA) of $250 per month when he serves an unaccompanied tour of duty. The BAS and BAH allowance are tax exempt. Time off in the military is great as well you get 30 day vacation earned annually, Weekends free, National holidays, and Sick days as needed. You also get health care. You also will obtained skills and training that you might not have as a civilian.
The GI Bill also provides assistance with career advancement. Entrepreneurship training helps veterans start their own businesses, flight training allows veterans to become airline pilots, and funding for license and certification testing helps servicemen and women become certified mechanics, therapists, web developers, and attorneys (“Education Benefits”, 2017).