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
This is a good subject. I would get annoyed when single Soldiers and NCOs would be the FIRST to be picked for overnight ammo watch for field exercises.
The money side of things is all envy, that money the married soldiers receive doesn't really fully cover the expenses of a family, so most married w/dependents soldiers I knew were a t least a little worse off financially than the single ones at the same ranks. The duty roster and barracks inspection requirements being different for married vs single were definitely issues. At my first duty station, stateside, it was considered normal procedure if a married soldier's name came up in rotation for CQ or whatever that his/her name would simply be skipped over and the next single soldier got the duty. Living in the barracks we singles had all the inspections one would expect, married off post soldiers had no living quarters to be inspected, nor was their issue inspected. GI parties weren't theirs to attend, and quite a few of them seemed to pop hot on urinalysis.
There are social expectations in the military to move up in rank. Like an enlisted drill sergeant at E-6 will never get promoted to E-7 showing off muscles in a bodybuilders competition. A lot of times lower class enlisted soldiers haven't found tattoo removal and have a stigma to remain in a lower social class.
Being married shows a sign of maturity; it's always been part of the American way of life. There are social expectations to be a leader and to be a sign of authority. Even Forrest Gump could have figured this one out.
The Army says it will provide a place for you to live. If a place is not available, then you are paid your quarters allowance as determined by your family size and rank. Its not unreasonable for the service to assume that a married solider will reside with his spouse or family and the cost for such housing will be more than what is needed for a single individual. You are not paying anything if you live in the barracks or other government provided quarters, you are not forfeiting your quarters allowance. It works the other way, the allowance is only authorized if the military cannot provide you a place to live.
Be glad you were not a Marine or Sailor. Did you join to have the nation serve you? To grip about something is normal, but to make it sound like you were being put upon. Please! We who have what we have are far better off than foreign governments treat their soldiers. Are you wrong? Maybe and maybe not. I lived in a barracks squad bay with 50 other men and each had one steel wall locker and a foot locker to live out of. Steel bunk beds with 4 inch mattresses (foam pad covered by ticking). If we were lucky, we had a steel desk with a steel chair to share with our bunk mate. There are no rooms in a squad bay. Sailors had the same until aboard ship/sub, where we had racks and no desks. Mattresses were the same and the rack was flop down. No one ever promised us a rose garden. Pay I sent home to my wife and I ate at the chow hall/mess hall all the time. Food was ok, but it kept me going. Living in the field was something else. I signed up to serve and I did. I didn't sign up to have myself taken care of all the time. You have to make adjustments in life and do what must be done. Living off base was no piece of cake either. You are subject to landlords rules and possibly unruly neighbors and criminals. You deploy, your stuff is left behind subject to abuse and theft. If you have a wife, she is alone and not so happy. If you have kids, well she won't be happy about being alone with them either. As a senior enlisted and as an OOD, I had to make inspections. I looked for neatness, cleanliness, and order. I went to the chow hall to inspect the food presented for the troops and reported such in the log book for the duty officer and the commanding officer to review. Chow problems were recorded and also reported to the mess chief. You work for the government and the department of defense. You buck it up and make the best of it you can. At least millions of others have. Some stay and most go back to civilian life. That isn't easy either. Question yourself and what you want. Don't like where you are at and how you are treated, finish your tour and head for home.
First off, I understand, you'd like to get your point across. But, its too wordy and no one will actually waist time going through what you really have to say about the single life of a soldier, because anyone who reads this will surely think differently and for you to be a college grad, it would also seem the military is not for you.
Now, what is the standards for the company of which you serve. No one has to read three different manuals to see if they have it right. The army has a standard and whatever they army standards are, that is the standard all soldiers must abide by, no if and or buts. As for living space. Each soldier is allowed (X) amount of living space that is said to be enough or suitable for a living body. As for the inspections you may encounter from your leader. Most inspections are spot type, as for insuring cleanliness and the soldier is not lacking in hygiene for himself or his\her living space. No single soldier should expect to be paid the same as a soldier who is married. The requirement for a single soldier has been met by way of housing (Barrack), food (Dinning Facility) and laundry, unless you choose to wash your own clothing and more is given to the single soldier. So, what you didn't mention, is that because you have a college degree, you are making more than someone your rank who does not have a college degree.
Going back, to the 2 pages you had to write because something was not correct. Often times, when a soldier does something wrong, the punishment must coincide with what the soldier did wrong. So, for you to write 2 pages, seems like you got over.
I however, joined the military in 1979 and retired in 1999. At the beginning, there was no way I could see myself making 20 years. I was in trouble all the time and I'm not talking about a bed not being made. I understand, the military has gone through some changes, but those changes, are not at all any different than what I would consider a drastic change. I do however think, the people entering the military is expecting something to be in line of what they can agree too, but the military wants to mold men into leaders who are decision makers and motivators. I've seen guys come into the military, all gun-ho and ready. These guys excelled in basic training. But when we got to permanent party, these same guys turned into slugs. Some were kicked out and many did there time and got out. Some were the same as you, they had college degrees as well and when it was time to move the rubber down the road, in permanent party, many of these guys could not handle it, because they were use to being carried in a training environment and now it was time to think and move like a team, along with the company or higher.
I will never tell a soldier to get out of the military, I'll just say, think about where you are, what you want and how you plan to achieve the goals you may have set, rather than looking at the negative and not learning from them...
Now, what is the standards for the company of which you serve. No one has to read three different manuals to see if they have it right. The army has a standard and whatever they army standards are, that is the standard all soldiers must abide by, no if and or buts. As for living space. Each soldier is allowed (X) amount of living space that is said to be enough or suitable for a living body. As for the inspections you may encounter from your leader. Most inspections are spot type, as for insuring cleanliness and the soldier is not lacking in hygiene for himself or his\her living space. No single soldier should expect to be paid the same as a soldier who is married. The requirement for a single soldier has been met by way of housing (Barrack), food (Dinning Facility) and laundry, unless you choose to wash your own clothing and more is given to the single soldier. So, what you didn't mention, is that because you have a college degree, you are making more than someone your rank who does not have a college degree.
Going back, to the 2 pages you had to write because something was not correct. Often times, when a soldier does something wrong, the punishment must coincide with what the soldier did wrong. So, for you to write 2 pages, seems like you got over.
I however, joined the military in 1979 and retired in 1999. At the beginning, there was no way I could see myself making 20 years. I was in trouble all the time and I'm not talking about a bed not being made. I understand, the military has gone through some changes, but those changes, are not at all any different than what I would consider a drastic change. I do however think, the people entering the military is expecting something to be in line of what they can agree too, but the military wants to mold men into leaders who are decision makers and motivators. I've seen guys come into the military, all gun-ho and ready. These guys excelled in basic training. But when we got to permanent party, these same guys turned into slugs. Some were kicked out and many did there time and got out. Some were the same as you, they had college degrees as well and when it was time to move the rubber down the road, in permanent party, many of these guys could not handle it, because they were use to being carried in a training environment and now it was time to think and move like a team, along with the company or higher.
I will never tell a soldier to get out of the military, I'll just say, think about where you are, what you want and how you plan to achieve the goals you may have set, rather than looking at the negative and not learning from them...
As a single E3 I "moved" off base with roommates. It was totally unofficial and unpaid but it was worth it to me to not deal with the barracks stupidity. Still had a barracks room and roommate, but other than storage in my wall locker and showers after PT he had the room to himself and did most of the cleaning. Big push for me to get out of the barracks was a surprise "inspection" by some random SNCO's that didn't even belong to my unit but were being shown a different type of barracks. Had just purchased a large ALICE pack with frame (how they thought a medium with no frame would be sufficient for an infantryman is another gripe) and was mid repacking when the knock came warning me. In the few minutes I had I cleared the floor, shoved everything into my locker, and quickly swept. They griped about my locker being cluttered! Off base worked for me...a year later I was E4(P), Battalion Soldier of the Year, and receiving separate rations since I was attached to S1 and frequently was helping soldiers during lunch.
You are right, your agruments are well thought out and as valid now as they were when I voiced the same complaints as a SPC4 back in 1982. Some things may never change.
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google