Posted on May 18, 2014
Why does the Army discriminate against single soldiers?
Suspended Profile
311K
3.31K
986
First let me say I am biased in my opinion since I am a single soldier. The Army stacks the deck against single soldiers, in a variety of ways. There are standards that single soldiers are forced to obey that married soldiers are not. Purely just because of their marriage.
Housing is my personal biggest area of concern being a single soldier. I am a 27 yr old college graduate. I get the same "rights" in my living quarters that a single 17/18 yr old straight out of high-school would get. If that same soldier is married, they get considerably more freedom, pay, and budget control than I do.
I as a single soldier get no say in where I live. At my current duty station the BAH for my rank and dependent status (Single, E-4) would be $1,068. So I essentially pay $1,068 dollars a month to live in the barracks. The barracks I live in have two separate bedrooms, with a common kitchen and bathroom area. Since there are two soldiers in each little barracks apartment, we collectively pay $2,136 a month for this set up. That is FAR more then what a similar apartment style would cost in the surrounding communities. If single soldiers were allowed to have BAH and live where they choose we could potentially save several hundred dollars a month by controlling our living expenses. That's not including the approximately $300 a month we are forced to pay for the DFACs.
There is also the issue of furniture in the barracks. Again we have no say, we get whatever the Army already has in the room. Personally I would love to have an actual nice mattress, instead of these cheap plastic blue ones.
Barracks inspections. I can't stand barracks inspections. The inspections are completely up to the person doing them and what they "think" the standard should be. One inspection your could be fine, the next one your getting lectured about how to make a bed. Last summer I had to write a 2 page paper for an LT about personal standards in the barracks. All because my bed didn't have hospital corners. (That morning when I get up I tossed my blanket off to the right of me, where it was just sorta crunched up against the wall running the length of my bed.) If I want to know what I am allowed to have and not have in my room, I have to read three different policy letters to find out. Division could allow something, Brigade could say no, and then Battalion have nothing about it at all. I get that lower commands are allowed to restrict privileges as they see fit. I'm just saying it's cumbersome to have to read three different levels policy to find out what is what.
It annoys me that I have to have periodic inspections(currently every morning before PT for my company) while married soldiers receive no inspections just because they are married. I get that they have a family, I just don't see why that should stop a squad leader from making a planned, announced, and visual walk-through of the house of the married soldier. Keeping the same standard of living as a single soldier should be part of the military life.
Meal Deductions. I don't think the DFACs are worth the $300 a month I have to pay. I hate having to "play" the "I am a Meal Card Holder" card to get lunch sometimes during work. It's usually followed by a married soldier saying "I'm working thru lunch, you don't see me bitching about wanting to leave for food". True. However when we miss our lunch it's gone. The money we paid is gone rather we ate that meal or not. Married people if they bring their lunch it'll still be there later. If they eat out, then well that's just money they didn't spend that day. They can use it tomorrow to get twice as much for lunch or eat somewhere more expensive depending on their budget.
We get no say in what sounds good for dinner. It's whatever the DFAC has. Sometimes that means either fried or grilled chicken. If they run out of one thing, it'll be whatever they have left. It's not right. It leaves married people with control over their diet and single soldiers with whatever the Army needed to clean out of the fridge.
The above is just Big Army things, the discrimination continues all the way down to the company level. At my company single soldiers who live in the barracks are not allowed to park in the lot in front of the company. Now our barracks is approximately 3/4 mile down the road. Our motor pool is another 3/4 mile the other direction. I find it silly that an entire parking lot is reserved for married people. Sure single soldiers can drive to work, but we have to park in the barracks across the street. Which is not the barracks we live in. Married people can't park in that same lot if the one in front of company is full? To a point I can understand the reasoning behind this, but single soldiers have to leave and run here and there just like our married counter-parts. Why should they get special parking treatment? I don't see anyone stopping married people from using the barracks washers and dryers to avoid buying their own/going to coin laundry mats. Why are married people allowed to dip their hands in our honey and slap ours away from theirs?
Like I said from the start I'm biased. I look over the fence and see greener grass. Perhaps this is all just one single soldier bitching and complaining.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Update FEB 2019: Since I originally posted this message, I have gotten married. My view on the subject has not changed. I want to respond to some of the overarching themes in everyone responses.
“Quit bitching/whining/complaining.” I feel there is a difference between logically laying out issues and grievances and just bitching about them. The number of leaders who contributions on this post/topic amounted to “quit saying words” is disheartening.
“Get married/Army will issue you a wife.” Saying to get married just to move out of the barracks is a failure of leadership. Those of you (in my opinion) with that mentally should reconsider what you do/did and what your job is/was. As a former Infantry NCO I have dealt with the countless issues that arise when a soldier quickly marries someone for the wrong reason (example: get out of the barracks). The domestic issues, spouse calling in to the Staff Duty, soldier isn’t training because of counseling/FAP/court/Divorce related nonsense, greatly diminishes readiness which the last I checked the Army still considers to be pretty important.
“I had more money/I wish I was back in the barracks/ but but bills! etc.” Bull. I wish I could challenge anyone who says that to actually prove it. As stated, I am married now. I have more money, flexibility, and financial freedom then I did as a single E-4. Now some of that is because I’m a higher rank. Part of it is because I use BAH as intended to cover housing/bills, my BAS for food, and having the control over how much I spend on those two items is very important. Also, my spouse works. I have come to realize that is less than common for married soldiers in the Army. However, I would argue that getting married and not having both spouses working is a decision that you made going in to it. I’m not arguing/stating if it’s the right or wrong choice. It’s what you decided worked for ya’ll. To me it’s the equivalent of a private going out and buying that 23% interest Mustang then complaining about how much money it costs and how he used to have it so much better without that car payment. If you choose (by getting married/having kids) to feed/house/care for additional people (spouse/kids) and yet do nothing to increase your income than yeah…you’ll have less money. That is a very poor argument for what the original post was about.
a. Hopefully ^above^ I’ve made my point clear and concise seems a little muddy to me, I guess we shall see in future comments.
“Move off post.” That’s not an option. Well I guess it is, however single soldiers still have to maintain the barracks room they get assigned, they still wouldn’t get the BAH entitlement, and they would have to still pay the DFAC out of their BAS. Do I need to continue on the ignorance of that statement? Sure, there’s a packet you can submit and ask to receive those allowances, I’ve only ever seen get accepted once and that was when my BDE changed from Light to Armored, only for E-5s, and it was suggested only if they were on orders and would be PCS’ing soon anyhow. They wanted non-PCS’ing E-5s still in the barracks. I don’t recall if I stated it in my original post but that unofficial additional duty of being an NCO at the barracks is crap. “You’re an NCO at the barracks keep everyone in line down there after work and on weekends”, thought that’s what CQ was for. I’ll also comment on the “single people off post would party to much/be late to formation/traffic at the gates/ get in trouble in town more” line of nonsense. It’s ignorant. Along with the “paying dues” comments.
Veterans- I appreciate you are still active in the boarder military community, and recognize that your time in the service paved the way for what we did/do/have accomplished today. However, pointing out how things were worse yesterday compared today and to “suck it up” is lazy. There is no reason we can’t keep pointing out things today to make tomorrow even better. I’m sure there is crap I can’t even fathom that ya’ll dealt with back in the 60s, 80s, and what have you that were fixed because of people continuing to bring the issue up.
Lastly, I’ve enjoyed reading the varied amount of responses everyone has on the topic. If mine come off as aggressive or across the line it was not my intention. When I posted the original stuff above 4+ almost 5 years ago I never expected it to get attention and still receive emails notifications years later. I’m fairly sure I’ve read 90% of the comments because Rally Point sends me an email every time someone comments. No I did not add that picture at the top, it’s the website. Sorry if you clicked on a Rally Point ad somewhere that linked to this post only to see it’s from 2014. I don’t control those. It’s the website. Yes I’m sure there are a few grammar and spelling errors. If you point it out at the beginning of a comment, I’m more likely to see it and correct the issue. Cheers to several more years of being told why I’m wrong.
Housing is my personal biggest area of concern being a single soldier. I am a 27 yr old college graduate. I get the same "rights" in my living quarters that a single 17/18 yr old straight out of high-school would get. If that same soldier is married, they get considerably more freedom, pay, and budget control than I do.
I as a single soldier get no say in where I live. At my current duty station the BAH for my rank and dependent status (Single, E-4) would be $1,068. So I essentially pay $1,068 dollars a month to live in the barracks. The barracks I live in have two separate bedrooms, with a common kitchen and bathroom area. Since there are two soldiers in each little barracks apartment, we collectively pay $2,136 a month for this set up. That is FAR more then what a similar apartment style would cost in the surrounding communities. If single soldiers were allowed to have BAH and live where they choose we could potentially save several hundred dollars a month by controlling our living expenses. That's not including the approximately $300 a month we are forced to pay for the DFACs.
There is also the issue of furniture in the barracks. Again we have no say, we get whatever the Army already has in the room. Personally I would love to have an actual nice mattress, instead of these cheap plastic blue ones.
Barracks inspections. I can't stand barracks inspections. The inspections are completely up to the person doing them and what they "think" the standard should be. One inspection your could be fine, the next one your getting lectured about how to make a bed. Last summer I had to write a 2 page paper for an LT about personal standards in the barracks. All because my bed didn't have hospital corners. (That morning when I get up I tossed my blanket off to the right of me, where it was just sorta crunched up against the wall running the length of my bed.) If I want to know what I am allowed to have and not have in my room, I have to read three different policy letters to find out. Division could allow something, Brigade could say no, and then Battalion have nothing about it at all. I get that lower commands are allowed to restrict privileges as they see fit. I'm just saying it's cumbersome to have to read three different levels policy to find out what is what.
It annoys me that I have to have periodic inspections(currently every morning before PT for my company) while married soldiers receive no inspections just because they are married. I get that they have a family, I just don't see why that should stop a squad leader from making a planned, announced, and visual walk-through of the house of the married soldier. Keeping the same standard of living as a single soldier should be part of the military life.
Meal Deductions. I don't think the DFACs are worth the $300 a month I have to pay. I hate having to "play" the "I am a Meal Card Holder" card to get lunch sometimes during work. It's usually followed by a married soldier saying "I'm working thru lunch, you don't see me bitching about wanting to leave for food". True. However when we miss our lunch it's gone. The money we paid is gone rather we ate that meal or not. Married people if they bring their lunch it'll still be there later. If they eat out, then well that's just money they didn't spend that day. They can use it tomorrow to get twice as much for lunch or eat somewhere more expensive depending on their budget.
We get no say in what sounds good for dinner. It's whatever the DFAC has. Sometimes that means either fried or grilled chicken. If they run out of one thing, it'll be whatever they have left. It's not right. It leaves married people with control over their diet and single soldiers with whatever the Army needed to clean out of the fridge.
The above is just Big Army things, the discrimination continues all the way down to the company level. At my company single soldiers who live in the barracks are not allowed to park in the lot in front of the company. Now our barracks is approximately 3/4 mile down the road. Our motor pool is another 3/4 mile the other direction. I find it silly that an entire parking lot is reserved for married people. Sure single soldiers can drive to work, but we have to park in the barracks across the street. Which is not the barracks we live in. Married people can't park in that same lot if the one in front of company is full? To a point I can understand the reasoning behind this, but single soldiers have to leave and run here and there just like our married counter-parts. Why should they get special parking treatment? I don't see anyone stopping married people from using the barracks washers and dryers to avoid buying their own/going to coin laundry mats. Why are married people allowed to dip their hands in our honey and slap ours away from theirs?
Like I said from the start I'm biased. I look over the fence and see greener grass. Perhaps this is all just one single soldier bitching and complaining.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Update FEB 2019: Since I originally posted this message, I have gotten married. My view on the subject has not changed. I want to respond to some of the overarching themes in everyone responses.
“Quit bitching/whining/complaining.” I feel there is a difference between logically laying out issues and grievances and just bitching about them. The number of leaders who contributions on this post/topic amounted to “quit saying words” is disheartening.
“Get married/Army will issue you a wife.” Saying to get married just to move out of the barracks is a failure of leadership. Those of you (in my opinion) with that mentally should reconsider what you do/did and what your job is/was. As a former Infantry NCO I have dealt with the countless issues that arise when a soldier quickly marries someone for the wrong reason (example: get out of the barracks). The domestic issues, spouse calling in to the Staff Duty, soldier isn’t training because of counseling/FAP/court/Divorce related nonsense, greatly diminishes readiness which the last I checked the Army still considers to be pretty important.
“I had more money/I wish I was back in the barracks/ but but bills! etc.” Bull. I wish I could challenge anyone who says that to actually prove it. As stated, I am married now. I have more money, flexibility, and financial freedom then I did as a single E-4. Now some of that is because I’m a higher rank. Part of it is because I use BAH as intended to cover housing/bills, my BAS for food, and having the control over how much I spend on those two items is very important. Also, my spouse works. I have come to realize that is less than common for married soldiers in the Army. However, I would argue that getting married and not having both spouses working is a decision that you made going in to it. I’m not arguing/stating if it’s the right or wrong choice. It’s what you decided worked for ya’ll. To me it’s the equivalent of a private going out and buying that 23% interest Mustang then complaining about how much money it costs and how he used to have it so much better without that car payment. If you choose (by getting married/having kids) to feed/house/care for additional people (spouse/kids) and yet do nothing to increase your income than yeah…you’ll have less money. That is a very poor argument for what the original post was about.
a. Hopefully ^above^ I’ve made my point clear and concise seems a little muddy to me, I guess we shall see in future comments.
“Move off post.” That’s not an option. Well I guess it is, however single soldiers still have to maintain the barracks room they get assigned, they still wouldn’t get the BAH entitlement, and they would have to still pay the DFAC out of their BAS. Do I need to continue on the ignorance of that statement? Sure, there’s a packet you can submit and ask to receive those allowances, I’ve only ever seen get accepted once and that was when my BDE changed from Light to Armored, only for E-5s, and it was suggested only if they were on orders and would be PCS’ing soon anyhow. They wanted non-PCS’ing E-5s still in the barracks. I don’t recall if I stated it in my original post but that unofficial additional duty of being an NCO at the barracks is crap. “You’re an NCO at the barracks keep everyone in line down there after work and on weekends”, thought that’s what CQ was for. I’ll also comment on the “single people off post would party to much/be late to formation/traffic at the gates/ get in trouble in town more” line of nonsense. It’s ignorant. Along with the “paying dues” comments.
Veterans- I appreciate you are still active in the boarder military community, and recognize that your time in the service paved the way for what we did/do/have accomplished today. However, pointing out how things were worse yesterday compared today and to “suck it up” is lazy. There is no reason we can’t keep pointing out things today to make tomorrow even better. I’m sure there is crap I can’t even fathom that ya’ll dealt with back in the 60s, 80s, and what have you that were fixed because of people continuing to bring the issue up.
Lastly, I’ve enjoyed reading the varied amount of responses everyone has on the topic. If mine come off as aggressive or across the line it was not my intention. When I posted the original stuff above 4+ almost 5 years ago I never expected it to get attention and still receive emails notifications years later. I’m fairly sure I’ve read 90% of the comments because Rally Point sends me an email every time someone comments. No I did not add that picture at the top, it’s the website. Sorry if you clicked on a Rally Point ad somewhere that linked to this post only to see it’s from 2014. I don’t control those. It’s the website. Yes I’m sure there are a few grammar and spelling errors. If you point it out at the beginning of a comment, I’m more likely to see it and correct the issue. Cheers to several more years of being told why I’m wrong.
Posted in these groups: 
Barracks
BAS
Marriage
DiscriminationBetter Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) President
Barracks BAS Marriage DiscriminationBetter Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) President
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 488
Okay so as a Sgt that has lived in the barracks before I can agree that if does suck. Barracks inspections and standards of what's allowed can be annoying. However, I have seen what the barracks look like without leadership coming through.
As for the BAS part I do believe that everyone should get it. If a soldier so chooses to go to the dfac then they should be charged for the medal just the same as the rest of us.
Your parking and laundry issue can be fixed with an IG complaint as that is not right.
As for inspections on housing for the married soldiers. It does not happen due the fact that if it's considered private property. There for the units would have to go to the mp station and have a reason (such as drugs or abuse) to get a warrant to go in unless invited.
I do see where you are coming from, however you are going about it the wrong way.
As for the BAS part I do believe that everyone should get it. If a soldier so chooses to go to the dfac then they should be charged for the medal just the same as the rest of us.
Your parking and laundry issue can be fixed with an IG complaint as that is not right.
As for inspections on housing for the married soldiers. It does not happen due the fact that if it's considered private property. There for the units would have to go to the mp station and have a reason (such as drugs or abuse) to get a warrant to go in unless invited.
I do see where you are coming from, however you are going about it the wrong way.
If you're unhappy leave the military nobody wants a whinner and what I read so far after a few lines, you believe your entitled to more freedom in how you live in the barracks, the food you eat, the furniture you have to utilize, just because you went to college apparently you feel privileged, a diva of sorts, well get over it, if your room and your bunk weren't up to par then it's on you to get a$$ in gear, I myself had the same type of living quarters, ate the same floor, had inspections and learned to correct the problems before it became a bigger one, I myself got married and been with my lady for 39 years, married couples are aloud to live off post until you have a family and then given the choice of moving onto base housing either way you're still responsible for all of your issued uniforms and gear, there were a few times we were to haul our gear and have it inspected and accounted, take a deep breath learn from your mistakes, enjoy your time in the military but ultimately it's on your shoulders, keep a positive view, take it in stride, good luck to you from a former soldier
Just hang strong, back in the 80s when I was a single Soldier I had to go through the same stuff. As the time went on, you adapt and overcome the struggles.
Drive on and move up.
Drive on and move up.
Suspended Profile
Wow. Times have changed since I ETS’d. It was complete opposite during my time. “soldier, if the Army wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one.”
I think what a lot of people i see are missing, is all of the extra expenses that come with having a family or children. At that point you don’t have to provide only for yourself. You have other mouths to feed, bodies to clothe, immune systems to nourish. You have other people you are responsible for and the Army takes that into consideration.
I went in as a single soldier and lived in a barracks. We did not have a two room apt but a one room two bed apt and lived in a barracks and had to go to the common room to eat. So consider yourself lucky. We had to go to the diner across the quad. Even the single officers ate there. We did not have to pay any rent though. We did not get any BAH. i did get married after my first year and lived off base. I used the extra money to pay my rent. And to buy food and so on and so forth. So it does balance out in the long run.
As a retired Sr NCO that lived in the old WW2 style barracks, and having lived both on and off base after getting married and while raising a family, I call this BS. All you're thinking about is your pitiful self-serving self. Why don't you do us all a favor and just get out if you can't comprehend how things really are. People aren't getting married to move out of the barracks and make more military pay. It's rediculous to consider that, and only people like you might do it. Those married military service members have less available spending money than you think. The extra they get paid only goes half as far because you very rarely will ever see the cost of housing and other necessities go as far as the extra pay will provide them. If we don't take care of our married military and the military families, retention will drop like a brick. Now, you have it pretty darn good. If you want to move out of the nice barracks rooms that you are generously provided with free of cost nowadays, you are more than welcome. Lower Enlisted most likely have to maintain a respectable place in the barracks like every other single lower enlisted service member, but officers and warrants don't as far as I know, because they're supposed to be more responsible. You have no extra mouths to feed, no extra bodies to cloth, and no extra expenses of transportation, schooling, or social/health activities in raising a healthy family. Lucky you, no personal responsibility for anyone else's well being but your own selfish self. If I was your dad, I would of slapped some sense in you a long time ago.
Okay, back to the discrimination of single soldiers. Yes ya'll have it tough these days. If you live in the barracks, you are two members in a communal area. A central area for eating meals, tv watching, whatever. Real tough on an individual. Try sharing a room, bunk or single rack beds, night stands for each. Wall lockers made of steel. A single desk maybe two if you're NCOs. A bathroom shared not only by you and your roommate, but by the two guys next door. One shower, one toilet and locks on both doors. Both rooms share responsiblities for its cleaning and write ups from inspections. The floors in each room are tiles, which must be waxed and buffed everyday. To top it off there might be one to two buffers for threes floors of the barracks! Now, you talk about having BAS. BAS is based on rank and single rate or married. More mouths to feed does not go past two persons in a family. Even if you're married to another service member, the higher rank gets the higher BAS rate, and they both get single rate for BAH. That sucks! I was married to another Air Force member, lower rank and our BAH was around $350 per month together. Our apartment cost $450 a month. Our BAS was $250 for me and $150 for her. And when we had two kids come along, things grew pretty tight. Diapers, baby food, crib (we kept the one crib when our first child was old enough and big enough to sleep in a single bed). Clothes, the never ending monthly growth rate of kids is murder on a check book! Shoes for the two of them was worse. A boy three years younger than his sister, had feet the size of moose by age one! Then of course there were toys. They learned to share toys quick because TDYs were scarce. We had to have two cars for us because we worked different shifts and different areas of the base. We also had to put the kids in Child Care during the shift of whomever worked the day shift. That's not cheap for two kids, when one can be in the CDC and the other had to be in maybe a friend's house who had childcare training. Now, talk about discriminmation of single verus married personnel, deploy a married member overseas for a nonaccompanied tour of one year. For that one year, the married member loses their BAS and BAH, these days. Back in the day, when BAS was $50.00 and BAH was $150 for a married E5. Losing that total of $200 a month would wreck a family. The non military spouse had to find a great paying job for that one year. DEROSing back always meant PCSing to a new base. Now non military member has the choice of moving to the new area first or waiting for the military spouse to return home and move together. I could go on about this subject longer, but my hands and fingers suffer from arthritist and I grow tired. But you get the point of what it's like to be discrimminated for being single or married in the military. Us old hands can fill you in on a lot of things about it.
Perhaps you should start off the end of you ARMY expected bitching to show you're happy and get married. Just kidding. Ylu see the married guys and gals having so much more because they're married. Well as an Air Force E5, who has been married twice while in the service, let me tell you the "grass" isn't "always greener on the other side of the fence". Pay for housing from DoD isn't enough to pay for everything you want or need. Throw in a kid or more and the purse strings are even tighter. Lots more food, clothing school supplies, insurance for you and the wife, the need for 2 cars. School outings, PTA dues, nights out, movies, the list goes on and on. Throw in what it would cost your family to go on leave, your spouse better get herself a job. If you buy verses rent a house, is a greater expense. If you chose to live in base housing with your family BAH is gone. Housing inspections come into play, but they don't check your beds for hospital corners. Lawns have to be cut weekly and at a certain height. Trash pick up is every week and has to be on the provided container and approved bags plus be so far from the curb. (More later)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google
If the married military member budgets appropriately and chooses a home intelligently, the BAH will cover all additional (non-family) expenses of living outside the barracks. My BAH covered my mortgage, electric, gas, water, trash, even my cell phone and internet (which are not provided to barracks Soldiers), with about $75 left over every month. My BAS more than paid for MY food, but it did not pay for my wife's (which it is not intended to do).
Those additional family related expenses are a personal decision by the Soldier, and the Army should not be paying a Soldier extra money for those choices. If a Soldier chooses to "adopt" 1,000 starving African children from one of those television "feed the hungry" infomercials, does the Army pay the Soldier extra? Nope. Using additional family expenses which are a result of personal life choices as a justification to pay one Soldier more than another is a poor excuse of leadership. Chastising a Soldier for pointing this out is an even worse excuse for leadership.