Mad as Hell

Hey! think the time is right for a palace revolution
But where I live the game to play is compromise solution
--Street Fighting Man, Rolling Stones

Money, its a crime.
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
--Money, Pink Floyd
_________________

Well, the Phony War on Terror (PWOT©) has come to visit Ranger's bank account in more ways than one.

For the last three months, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) ["It's About (Screwing) the Customer ©"] has been shorting my Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) by $1,350 a month.

Ranger wishes to enlighten our "We Support the Troops" types out there in FOX TV land that all is not well in the homeland. Hopefully Commander in Chief sometime fly-boy Bubba will be concerned that one of his tired, old WARRIORS ™ is getting shortchanged by a grateful nation.

My particular problem is a microcosm of the macro problem facing soldiers, whether active, reserve forces or retired. The government wants our service but routinely and blithely fails to compensate us properly.

My CRSC is not a gift; it was earned in a rather unpleasant manner. That fact never changes, and injuries worsen with age. Ranger is not complaining. He was a volunteer, and stood up when George Bush stood down.

The military like to hype its "Wounded Warriors Brigade," but I am disinclined to awe since I see they can't even keep normal transactions disbursed.

A recent New York Times editorial on the problem of neglect for wounded soldiers quoted Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker' February appearance before a Congressional subcommittee: “The Army’s unwavering commitment and a key element of our warrior ethos is that we never leave a soldier behind on the battlefield — or lost in a bureaucracy.”

"That was thousands of wounded, neglected soldiers ago. There are now about 12,500 soldiers assigned to the warrior transition units — more than twice as many as a year ago. The number is expected to reach 20,000 by this time next year (Wounded Warriors Empty Promises.)"

Count this soldier as one left behind and lost in the bureaucracy. An administrator at DFAS in Cleveland calls his situation "a concern." But if it were her pay that went disappeared, Ranger reckons it would rise to a status above that of "concern."

To read the Army Echoes is to be wowed by all the goodies and services supposedly rendered to military retirees, but obviously this doesn't extend to my compensation.

How does the government stiff someone for three months pay? Is the government so broke they must shortchange retirees? Is this systemic or a single screw-up? Is it a reaction against Ranger's anti-war stance? (Hyper-vigilance is a part of my training.)

Thankfully, my congressman is a Vietnam vet and so has sympathies to my population. His office is helping me cut through the tape too thick for our knives. So his helpful veterans issues person liaises with the VA. Having the proper letterhead means everything in matters of this nature. Everyone gets to do a job in these United States.

I pity the "wounded warriors" even more than their wounds, for their struggle with the Veteran's Administration has just begun, and will become a life-long project (unless they become disheartened or disgusted as so many do, and drop out.)

Their problems did not commence the day they were wounded, but the day they began applying for remuneration of service-connected disability in an adversarial claims process in which most veterans get short-changed in their ratings.

If you want to know more, ask a veteran.