Posted on Oct 19, 2016
Why do Service Members with dependents deserve greater benefits, entitlements, and quality of life than single Service Members?
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Single soldiers are required to live in the barracks and eat DFAC food. A married soldier gets BAH, BAS, Family Separation Pay while TDY or deployed, and generally enjoy a far higher quality of life. If both soldiers do the same job, are the same MOS, same rank, have the same Time in Service, and Time in Grade, what makes the single soldier worth less to the Army?
BAH
Barracks
BAS
DFAC
Housing
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 74
Absolutely agree I think it's completely unfair
Single soldiers get free housing they don't have to pay a penny for it, that's completely unfair married soldiers only get a partial stipend that in no way shape or form covers the actual cost of living in the housing, paying the bills for utilities etc.
Single soldiers get free quarters and appliance maintenance they don't pay a dime for, they make a simple phone call maybe fill out a form and maintenance people come out for free and take care of all your needs during duty hours.... YOU GET PAID and DUTY time to get your bathroom fan fixed for FREE.
That married soldier has to pay the AC repairman, has to go to Best Buy and get the new refrigerator or washing machine when it dies. I think it's completely unfair that a single soldier gets all that for free.
I also think it's completely unfair that a single soldier doesn't have to get up hours before first call formation so that they can get there on time and unfair that a single soldier doesn't have to pay huge costs to travel to work each day wasting precious hours every day in commute.
The single soldier has everything they need on the installation they don't have to go to the next town over to get food, cross to the other side of town to go get something to drink or find a movie theater or a restaurant.....that's completely unfair to the married soldier who has to go all over to get the same things the single soldier has provided for them.
Department of defense, the United States Army as well as the unit chain of command has specific programs benefiting the single soldiers.
Low-cost tickets, concert events, fishing trips, movie nights....all kinds of things are provided in the better opportunity for single soldiers program that married soldiers are not allowed to use, that's completely unfair to the married soldier... Married soldiers are people too.
And yes all of the above was said somewhat tongue-in-cheek.. the point being the desire to complain comes from your personal position and outlook not necessarily the reality of the situation
Single soldiers get free housing they don't have to pay a penny for it, that's completely unfair married soldiers only get a partial stipend that in no way shape or form covers the actual cost of living in the housing, paying the bills for utilities etc.
Single soldiers get free quarters and appliance maintenance they don't pay a dime for, they make a simple phone call maybe fill out a form and maintenance people come out for free and take care of all your needs during duty hours.... YOU GET PAID and DUTY time to get your bathroom fan fixed for FREE.
That married soldier has to pay the AC repairman, has to go to Best Buy and get the new refrigerator or washing machine when it dies. I think it's completely unfair that a single soldier gets all that for free.
I also think it's completely unfair that a single soldier doesn't have to get up hours before first call formation so that they can get there on time and unfair that a single soldier doesn't have to pay huge costs to travel to work each day wasting precious hours every day in commute.
The single soldier has everything they need on the installation they don't have to go to the next town over to get food, cross to the other side of town to go get something to drink or find a movie theater or a restaurant.....that's completely unfair to the married soldier who has to go all over to get the same things the single soldier has provided for them.
Department of defense, the United States Army as well as the unit chain of command has specific programs benefiting the single soldiers.
Low-cost tickets, concert events, fishing trips, movie nights....all kinds of things are provided in the better opportunity for single soldiers program that married soldiers are not allowed to use, that's completely unfair to the married soldier... Married soldiers are people too.
And yes all of the above was said somewhat tongue-in-cheek.. the point being the desire to complain comes from your personal position and outlook not necessarily the reality of the situation
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PO1 Todd B.
SrA Cecelia Eareckson - Really? And what about service members that have family they take care of like mothers, fathers, siblings? Sad to see young kids who seem to think that age matters in the US Military and that whether you are single or not is fair or not fair.
How do you account for those like someone that is taking care of family members because of a tragedy they had NO control over? Or how about those like me? I married while I was single and then had children. I then went BACK IN bcause I then VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE again and write another check up and to my life to take that oath. You think I should have just gotten the pittance of pay for a single person? That my family not being taken care of would have been just fine with you? Are you really that lacking in common sense?
Do you understand that our military is a voluntary force? People GIVE UP their lives to serve instead of being FORCED to do so? For that service they get SOME help if they have families.
How do you account for those like someone that is taking care of family members because of a tragedy they had NO control over? Or how about those like me? I married while I was single and then had children. I then went BACK IN bcause I then VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE again and write another check up and to my life to take that oath. You think I should have just gotten the pittance of pay for a single person? That my family not being taken care of would have been just fine with you? Are you really that lacking in common sense?
Do you understand that our military is a voluntary force? People GIVE UP their lives to serve instead of being FORCED to do so? For that service they get SOME help if they have families.
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SrA Cecelia Eareckson
When my mother was in that degree of need, I GOT A HARDSHIP DISCHARGE. Edit. That last paragraph is a doozy. Are you really not able to understand that any woman in the US Armed Forces had to volunteer?
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PO2 Robert Carrillo
Can't a single solder also get the same for living off base? It's been a while but I do remember guys living off base in apartments thing is they weren't getting dependent pay because they didn't have any
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SPC William Hall
Living in Barracks had it downsides. Need some warm bodies after hours for a detail? Who do you think they went for "Volunteers" first? The alarm for the Arms Room goes down over the weekend, who is first to voluntold? Peace and quiet after hours especially weekends? What's that?
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I'd focus on your own level of compensation/benefits, and not worry about your colleagues. Research shows that many people pay more attention to "relative compensation" (i.e. compensation compared to others) than they do about their overall level of compensation, and it adversely impacts their own level of job satisfaction and happiness. A clear, but extreme, example can be seen in professional sports. An athlete making $10m per year complains that another athlete is making $12m per year. Their focus is on the $2m differential, rather than the $10m level of their compensation. You'll always be unhappy, in or out of the military, if your focus is on trying to acquire what someone else has. If you're not making an amount that satisfies you, find another career path.
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LTC Kevin B.
SGT David Baker - When I lived in the barracks over in Germany (mid-80s), I did the same thing....cooked meals on a hot plate and had a mini-fridge. It was suboptimal, but better than eating only DFAC food or paying even higher costs to eat out. When I PCS'd back stateside, it was about the same. I then ETS'd in 87 and went off to college.
I do agree that barracks quality of life is suboptimal on many levels. In a way, I wish the military would just transition young, single service members onto BAH after a year (or so) on station. That gives them time to integrate and adjust before pushing them out on their own.
I do agree that barracks quality of life is suboptimal on many levels. In a way, I wish the military would just transition young, single service members onto BAH after a year (or so) on station. That gives them time to integrate and adjust before pushing them out on their own.
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SGT David Baker
LTC Kevin B. - Yes. Transitioning to adult civilian life is a challenge on a par with having to "adult" immediately on leaving high school. I am blessed that I was able to do my last tour in Fort Living Room, commuting to Fort Hood, learning the ropes and the occasional unwelcome surprises. My time between leaving home and joining the Army could be a case study in "learning life lessons the hard way" as I had been sheltered in more than the usual sense while in my parents' care.
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LTC Kevin B.
SGT Caroline Slothour - I suppose that type of setup (community kitchen) is better than nothing, but I can see how it can still be inconvenient in many ways. Regardless, it sounds like you've taken the initiative to solve some of your own quality-of-life issues. Great initiative, but I wish it didn't have to come out of your own pocket. I still think commanders should be able to transition everyone out onto BAH after a reasonable transition period (which you'd already be well past).
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SFC Gregory Adams
When I retired after 24 yrs AFS, it was a culture shock the amount of money I needed to make as a civilian to compensate for the loss of revenue that i was getting from my active pay as a SFC. Like LTC B. stated, "stay in your lane" an worry about you. Life outside the military is much more difficult than inside. Yes, there are no inspections, you wear whatever you want, unless the compnay has a uniform, etc....but there is a HUGE difference when it comes to benefits and compensation in your bank account. The loss of BAH, Sep Rats, FSP, combat pay, jump pay, and the list goes on.....free money for doing your job. You don't get that on the outside. It is included in "do your job", if you don't like it......there is the door.
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Look , its not fair that you judge us married people because we are married. Some of us that do get married also loose some of the things that you still have. Like Partying and getting shit faced , having multiple partners at a time, playing xbox all day all night. I know I no longer can do those things because I now have responsibilities.
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SGT Gladys Perez
If you wanted to do those things then you should not have gotten married. The fact that you are making those specific points means that you're unhappy in your marriage.
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SGT Gladys Perez
PFC Jim Wheeler why you may ask? I think it's because when a soldier needs to respond to an after hours call, they'll call barracks personnel before off post personnel. I can't tell you the number of times I had to come in to work in the middle of the night because an alarm was going off. No comp time. If an off post person was called in, the would get a 1/2 day. I was really poor back then and would have to walk to work but that didn't matter because I lived the closest.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
PO3 Donald Murphy - You failed to mention coffin racks, shipboard watches, that single sailors quarters are on the ship, or that you can be at sea for long periods of time. Now the payback is shore leave in some very unique places.
Going to spend some time with the Navy this week and next.
Going to spend some time with the Navy this week and next.
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SFC Robert Falco
PO3 Donald Murphy - Don't necessarily agree, as a married person in a civilian job I'd be perhaps a little more motivated than my single counterpart to progress and make more money.
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