That whole post smacked of a privileged situation. Many of our young military people entered the service with dreams of serving and serving selflessly. They had every right to expect a pension after 20 years of service. That is good planning, not expecting a handout. Similar to the hard working Americans that expect social security to be there for them when they retire.
A military life is one of sacrifice. It is difficult on individuals and even more difficult on families. They deserve the peace of mind that a guaranteed retirement brings. You cannot count on investment income.
Sure as shootin' my DS and every other newly minted US Military Officer who went to an SA or received an xROTC scholarship on the tax payers' dime is in a privileged situation. I made it clear that, unlike many others',
his particular "sacrifice" is minimal. And you know what, the same can be said for a lot of his fellow o-1's. I've practically made it my life's work to make sure he doesn't treat that earned privilege as an entitlement, but rather as something to be earned every day.
More than once I've read on the SA specific sections about the "network" of graduates to tap into after a military career. They do for a reason and they brag about it.
My point was to advise these fresh faced 2LT's and Ensigns to pay attention to their jobs and personal finances...and be very thankful for what they have.
There is much made of the small % of the population that fights wars. Maybe more should be made of the small % of the military that actually does the fighting and the heavy lifting.
Nowhere did I or anyone else suggest that the pension scheme be changed for those who've been in the system, although given the top heavy civilian and uniformed structure of the DOD, a case could be made...
Flame away!
Just call me Giordano Bruno