Since the news almost 11 weeks have passed, and let me tell you-it is not easy knowing he will be leaving soon. We are excited for the baby- yet not ready for him to deploy. Every day men and woman deploy away from their families. I thought I had a full understanding on how this feels- yet until now I had no idea. The feeling that goes over you when you hear that your baby and you will have to live the first 6 months of this baby’s life with out the daddy. I am dreading the day he walks through security at the airport and out of my sight. I feel for all those that have had to go through this before me.

Almost 31 weeks- and i am planning for a baby and a going away for a new daddy’s deployment. How do you overcome such hard obstacles.

Enlisting right now, at this very moment, makes sense. Though I’m sure you’ll run into the type (or family) who’ll tell you that there’s never a good time to sign-up, it really is. The War on Terror is pretty much done. Granted, we still have soldiers in the Middle East preserving the peace. The President has made reassurances about the current war available to the general public in addresses several times. Each time stating that there was no war. 

To me, it all sounds more risque than it really is. Every soldier gets his feet wet in field experience, (handling arms, training, drilling, military protocol, etc.) but it’s not every soldier that ever has to face real combat. The majority of what a Reservist sees is barely anything past his desk. In my understanding, Active Duty soldiers have all the fun. They’re the ones being shipped to and from other countries and spend the time on the bases. I’ve even been told that the Army reserve is just for a bunch of pussies, but then again that could just be an instance of Branch Bias.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The military benefits they promote themselves with really seem worthwhile. With these [promises] I feel as though I’m almost guaranteed a secure future. Yeah, I’ve noticed I’m a bit naive, and sometimes I ask too many questions, all the more useful to take advantage of a stupid young kid. I’ve actually spoken to two different recruiters, one call incoming and the other going out. [They were both women] The first was a textbook of answers, though I’m wondering if the second got annoyed at me talking. I really have no idea what to say about the phone call; whether to feel shut-down or satisfied (?). The second recruiter I spoke with was very blunt and straight-forward with me, almost rude….I came looking for information. What she told me was to the effect of ‘If you aren’t going to/ready to elist yourself, then there isn’t a point in us wasting both of our time.‘ 

(A military MOS)

Recently, just a few days ago, I was trying to do some independent research on the particular branch I was interesting in signing up to, the Army Reserve, and I came across an article titled Top 10 Lies (Some) Recruiters Tell* in which the author highlights how shysty recruiters end up meeting their quotas. Apparently sergeants don’t yell as much and recruiters help prospects lie to cover up illness and inadequacy that could get them arrested. Strange enough, I didn’t feel as though I was treated this way. It’s hard to explain; I felt like she wanted me be adamant about it before jumping head-first into it. Or she was just being stuck-up. 

I’ve had the realization that absolutely nothing is promised. People shove lies and encouragement down our faces and label these ’little white lies’ or what the Christians call ‘Hope-Healing’. Unfortunately, false promises can’t supply us with stable work and the necessary funds to cover the cost of living. The army can. This point in my life I have next to no direction or dependable options besides higher education. And even that isn’t reliable. I hate telling people the plans for my life, because often times that gives them an opportunity to ruin something that may have been great. But for the sake of the article, what the hell. I’ll try to squeeze this in before graduate school. After all, why the hell not? The best option for young adults is probably the military. I’m promised a job based on availability and several more options if my civilian life overlaps training. I can stay at home and do this. It’s a hell of a lot better than handing out resumes only to be let down time and time again. And in the event that I do end up being drafted to a war and have to experience death, then fine. I never liked this place anyway.

Additional Resources:

• Army Benefits
• Go David Strong on YouTube
• Top 10 Lies (some) Recruiters Tell

Other Articles Written By AdidasVanilla:

• Alcohol: The Social Drink
• Smuggling Fireworks Across the Border
• 5 Tips for Cramming for an Exam
• Self-Indulging: 5 Imported Chocolate Brands
• Teens and the Struggle for Work
• And More….

Marine Reserve is planning to mobilize sailors in the near future, according to documents obtained information from Navy Times and confirmed by Vice Admiral John G. Cotton, head of the marine reserve. This figure means that nearly one in three reserves, plus those that have already been deployed and the set and not to implement for administrative reasons, medical, dental or otherwise, to mobilize for the coming year for deployments ranging six months over a year.

Cotton said she could not believe that the number of mobilizations pool reserves are exhausted, which is why the Navy Reserve 26 percent annual turnover creates a new offer from the distribution of sailors each year, according to Captain David J. Wray, a spokesman for the Navy Reserve. But most of the new spare before the service is active seamen have already been distributed assets. These fishermen, who have taken over the past 12 months on active duty may request that the mobilizations to discourage their first year of the Marine Reserve.

On October 31, 2006, there were 71 300 people are assigned to the selected group, according to Cotton. Cotton said the number of reservists who will contact potential mobilization will be greater than 9300. That’s because Navy officials have found that nearly 40 percent of reservists in contact for the recent mobilizations could not deploy while enrolled as a display of their units.

Cotton said the exact number of reservists who are waiting for an invitation next year is unknown because it is difficult to predict accurately the number of sailors who called the decision to non-operational.

Navy Reserve had been authorized by Congress for more reservists mobilized throughout the year, a figure that does not include a small number of reservists who have cons billets on active duty or who have been mobilized for the effort cooperation 30 days to meet their annual drilling requirements.

The number Congress has specifically authorized the Marine Reserve full-time sailors, but do not have the right of the active end strength is high. In the past, the Navy had to do a balancing act to ensure the number of Navy reservists not activated during the final strength authorized by Congress.

Cotton said should take more than a certain number of reservists, at any time during the next 12 months. Instead of driving back and forth for the month of coffee and donuts to Drill Drills and one year about 24 throws for 2 weeks at a time. Sounds like a good plan, but reserve units are having to deal with some other reservists. Also, I just hope it is used to get people to actually trained and experienced, rather than continue with the current training stint. Aircraft squadrons in reality it is not enough responsibility for administration and maintenance to ensure that reservists who will be absent for several weeks.

For most units SELRA be extremely difficult to make an expanded bloc year. Education would / could be much better, but most importantly with the Navy is the admin section. I live 150 miles of my life and NOSC off site at a military base. There are at least 4-6 trips a year to NOSC for admin, medical, page 2 updates, and so on. Regarding the staff would be mobilized IA? I know battalions, EST, and some other units while deployed, but I can not see that many employees of a Bee battalions years.

This Act or law helps in many ways, it gives the soldier relief while serving and also it adds a protection to our overall security.  You ask how it adds security, well if they aren’t in trouble back in the states and the enemy can’t find any problems with that soldier than they can’t blackmail or cause security leaks when the enemy pays the debt or takes care of the problem.  Now on the other hand the soldier does not have to worry about losing their home, or not being able to pay his bills, or worry about his family being in a financial situation where they have to move because the rent is too high and they just can’t afford it.  It sets concrete standards and procedures for the Companies and creditors, and landlords to follow.  This does not forgive the debt but it gives the soldier enough time to get home and back to normal before they have to worry about it or take care of the situation.

Some of the situations that are protected by this act are: credit card debt, Mortgage payments, any pending trials, state and federal taxes, and getting out of a lease early, which were in the original act created in 1934, called the Sailor, Soldier Relief Act. They have updated the act, and now they call it the Soldier Civil Relief Act, and added a few more laws that will help the families and the service members. These new updates are: The families and the service member is protected from eviction due to non-payment of rent under $1200.00 a month and it updated significantly for the higher cost of living, covering housing leases up to $2932.00 a month and be re-adjusted yearly for the account of inflation.  If the service member receives a permanent change of station or is deployed within 90 days have the right to terminate their rental lease. I love the way the interest portion was stated on the Military website,” Clarifies and restates existing law that limits to 6 percent interest on credit obligations incurred prior to military service or activation, including credit card debt, for active duty service members. The SCRA unambiguously states that no interest above 6 percent can accrue for credit obligations (that were established prior to active duty or activation) while on active duty, nor can that excess interest become due once the service member leaves active duty– instead that portion above 6 percent is permanently forgiven.  Furthermore, the monthly payment must be reduced by the amount of interest saved during the covered period. Note: This law only covers debt incurred prior to military service.” Then the last update is if your spouse is living with you in a different state than your maintained permanent legal residence, the spouse will not pay taxes to the state that both of you are assigned to.  It will prevent states from using the income earned by a service member in determining the spouse’s tax rate when they do not maintain their permanent legal residence in that state.

Hopefully this helps a little to understand the basics to the act.  I should have a few more articles out on the different issues they cover, which will be a little more detailed to each issue, such as the installment contracts, terminating your lease and even trial process.  God Bless the Soldiers, and Hug a spouse too, they sacrifice too and share more than we do! They share their mate so we have protection!

In the mean time here are the banks and servicing companies foreclosing on our people that have served and protected us! Now with all the foreclosures in the US I thought they would leave the military alone, but they wanted to see who was paying attention and see if they could get away with it, better yet!  It’s like that car going 100 miles an hour when the speed limit is 65, is it illegal? Yes but they do it and according to most people it’s not illegal until they get caught, well that’s the same attitude these servicing companies and banks have.   The laws are so many and trying to find what you need is very hard to do.  They make it to where you have to hire a lawyer to get anything done! Worst part is the majority of the people have no money left after the banks have stolen it! 

Why aren’t the laws and regulations that help us in the U.S. more public and accessible?  We have lost touch with our government and our rights, and have been led to believe that the government will protect us.  It seems to me that some of us are waking up and now we are trying hard to fight the dragons we have allowed into our government, the confusion that has been created and the fundamentals have been over looked. I am here to show the rights and laws that are still here to help us and to make known the ill effects of not knowing what we can do with the laws that are unjust!

Our military is one of the most precious agencies we have and it must be protected at all costs! When an Active military person is violated by corporation not following the laws that are there to protect them, that is a real travesty! These corporations and banks should know those laws and they should do them right off the bat.  Isn’t that called ethics and morals?  Something I hope we all learned at least so far.  To me that is the topping on the cake and I am glad that Wells Fargo settled on Feb. 18, 2011 for 10 million dollars, Chase settled March 24, 2011 for 26 million dollars, and it’s still unclear how many class action lawsuits were filed by military members on BOA but they have settled a few of the cases that have been filed since 2008.  It is time to learn how to protect our service members and our own families. If these Banks and creditors would do this to the military don’t you think they would pull this on the regular civilian?  Yes there are laws they must go by when they go to foreclose even on you the average citizen. So go and get familiar with what is happening and find out that there are ways to stop your foreclosure and stop the piracy creditors are pulling on us!  And if you don’t like the law find out how to change it! It is time for a change, a great change back to Ethics and morals! Let’s start getting rid of the laws that are corrupt and unclear, the laws that stop the real laws from being enforced.  It’s time we take back what we started the U.S. with! Freedom Fairness, and For The People!  Let’s make sure our military is taken care of right and stand up for them like they stand for us.  Help a service member find the SCRA and anything else they need to come back whole!

Navy Reserve plans to mobilize sailors in the near future, according to documents obtained information from Navy Times and confirmed by Vice Admiral John G. Cotton, chief of the Navy Reserve. This figure means that nearly one in three reservists available not count those who have already been mobilized, and those listed as not deploy for medical, dental or other administrative reasons, to mobilize when implemented the next year that range from six months to over a year.

Cotton said he did not believe that the escape rate of mobilization of the available pool of reservists since the turnover of the Marine Reserve of 26 percent a year creating a new supply of seafarers deployed each year , according to Capt. David J. Wray, spokesman for the Navy Reserve. But most new marine reserves come from pre-service assets as components already deployed. Sailors who have deployed in his last 12 months on active duty can request that the mobilization of being expelled from his first year in the Marine Reserve.

On October 31, 2006, there were 71,300 persons employed in the subject chosen, based on cotton. Cotton said the number of reservists who will be contacted for possible mobilization will be higher than 9300. That’s because Navy officials have found that nearly 40 percent of reservists contacted for recent mobilizations could not install, although classified deployable teams.

Cotton said the exact number of reservists who can expect a mobilization call next year is unknown because it is difficult to predict exactly how many sailors who are called, are set for deployment.

Navy Reserve was approved by Congress has mobilized reservists throughout the year, the number does not include a smaller number of reservists, which includes active-duty billets, or to be introduced for operational deployments of 30 days to meet the annual needs for drilling.

No. Congress has expressly authorized the Navy Reserve sailors to full time, but not count against the active duty end strength is high. In the past, the Navy needed to do a juggling act to ensure that the number of reservists have not enabled the Navy placed on the strength authorized by Congress late.

Cotton said should take more than a certain number of reservists, at any time during the next 12 months. Instead of driving back and forth for the month of coffee and donuts to Drill Drills and one year about 24 throws for 2 weeks at a time. Sounds like a good plan, but reserve units are having to deal with some other reservists. Also, I just hope it is used to get people to actually trained and experienced, rather than continue with the current training stint. Aircraft squadrons in reality it is not enough responsibility for administration and maintenance to ensure that reservists who will be absent for several weeks.

For most SELRA units will be very difficult to block renewed once a year. The training would be or could be much better, but more importantly with the Navy is the administrator. I live 150 miles from my NOSCAR and drill off-site at a military base. There are at about 4.6 trips per year to NOSCAR management, medical updates, page 2, and so on. For staff mobilized, AI? I know that the battalions, ET, and some other entire units are deployed, but I see that the staff of the battalions of many years of the bee.

The Government has an Act in place to prevent this from happening, it is called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and this act forbids any company from charging active-duty service members more than 6% interest on any loan, which means even credit cards and mortgages!  What’s really awesome is the fact it offers foreclosure protection too.

So listen up soldiers and family members! Make sure when you get those active papers in your hands, make copies and send them to all your creditors!  The mortgage company, credit card companies, and everyone that you are in debt to, make sure they get a copy of the report to active duty papers along with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, make sure you send it certified mail.  The reason you send the letter certified mail, you will get a green card, giving you a signature and a date that they have received your letter.  Make sure and put the letters, documentation of what you sent and the green card in a special place where your spouse can find it, just in case.  

Sit down and discuss what you do and where your spouse can find the information and how and when they get paid, you have enough on your shoulders being there and it’s better to prepare ahead!  I would suggest having your spouse check each month the statements that come in and make sure nothing changes.  There is one issue to think about if your credit card interest was over 6%, it seems that the credit card companies and the mortgage companies need to lower your interest while you are on active duty and up to 90 days from release of active duty. 

The type of mortgages I seen help you are FHA, Freddie Mac, Fanny Mac, VA, Conventional and HUD loans.  If a servicing company tries to foreclose on you while you are active immediately call your superiors and have the spouse call your post superiors, resend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, your activation papers, a copy of your letter telling them you are active with a copy of the green card.  If it is in court take the same paper work and file it with the foreclosure so the judge can see your side of the story.  Check out a Military civilian lawyer and get some help.

Please make sure you share your information with your spouse so there are no surprises, I know you have to get in the military mindset, but why worry about things you can prevent while you are away.  Thank you for serving and May God keep you and your families safe and warm.

Another great benefit is vocational rehabilitation. This benefit will pay 100% of school and all necessary equipment. Things like back packs, notebooks and even a computer. Each state has different criteria for different benefits, so that being said here’s a great link with all the state’s information.  http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/state-veterans-benefits-directory Some states will pay for your child to go to college, housing for the Veteran, discounts for registering your vehicle, state tax deductions, special or handicapped license plates, financial assistance, business assistance, employment assistance, memorial and burial, education assistance, and of course tax free money paid monthly for life. It’s important if you haven’t already registered to register with the VA.  Combat veterans who were discharged or released from active service on or after January 28, 2003, are now eligible to enroll in the VA health care system for five years from the date of discharge or release. This means that combat veterans who were originally enrolled based on their combat service but later moved to a lower Priority Group (due to the law’s former 2-year limitation) are to be placed back in the priority for combat veterans for 5 years beginning on the date of their discharge or release from active service. So that’s five years of free health care for qualifying veterans. Otherwise you only get free health care for specific service connected injuries.

These benefits were designed to help and honor veterans, so take advantage of them. This is my second article devoted to veterans and as I stated in my previous article, if you have any questions leave them in my comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. I’ve been battling the VA since 2004 and hope to share my knowledge with my fellow Veterans.

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/356805_how-to-increase-your-va-disability-rating-with-5-easy-steps

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/373726_muslims-should-practice-tolerance-when-it-comes-to-building-the-mosque-in-new-york-next-to-ground-zeo

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/367728_why-our-militarys-strategy-is-outdated-and-failing-us-in-iraq-and-afghanistan

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/366211_2nd-amendment-considerations-and-the-7-reasons-why-i-carry-a-gun

Identity crisis

One of the biggest shocks that separating or retiring active duty personnel have to cope with is their loss of military identity. As active duty, they had a rank and knew where they slotted into place in the chain of command. But upon the date of their separation or retirement, one thing that they will not be able to take with them is their rank. They will no longer be entitled to sign their e-mails “Sgt Smith” or “Capt Lewis”. Once personnel get used to this concept, they can then make the transition more easily. During active duty, some people may not even be overly concerned about who they are, as they had a place and position. But gradually building a new life outside the military before leaving can help to cushion the blow. Making friends with civilians and getting involved in non-military community events is one way that can help with this identity crisis, so that members are not completely reliant upon the military for their identity. This will enable military personnel to see and explore a life outside their base or camp. Military life can be very insular, which is a comfort for many while they are on active duty, but in some ways it does not prepare people for the reality of civilian life.

Settling down

The two main reasons why people join the military is to receive free funding for higher education and to see the world. But all this will change once a person leaves the military. Some funding for education may still be available, but it will no longer be free. The world will still be there to see, but the military will no longer pay for tours to far flung corners of the globe. During even a short time in the military, active duty personnel get the opportunity to be stationed in different countries. Regular moves every few years soon become the norm. But a return to civilian life is more static and tends to involve staying in the same home for a few, if not many years. This is often a hard concept to get used to. Working a 9:00-5:00pm job is not the same as being sent to another country for training or on a deployment. However, one of the benefits of this is that parents and spouses can spend more time together, rather than cope for months at a time apart.

Finances

A military career guarantees a steady salary to its active duty members. It arrives on time and can be generous, depending on the location. In countries and areas that are considered to have a high cost of living, such as Hawaii or some parts of Europe, active duty personnel are compensated with a cost of living allowance, that helps defray some of their household expenses on the local economy. This safety net is removed once the active duty member separates or retires. Retirees will receive a pension for the rest of their lives, but it will be nowhere near the amount of money they were used to receiving. This can come as a shock, but with some careful planning and a sensible budget, it does not have to plunge the family into dire straits. If the active duty member is married, one option is for their spouse to look for work, if they are not already employed. Or the couple can cut back on some of their expenses until they are able to find new employment.

More family time!

Military personnel are bound to their jobs and the purpose that they enlisted or were commissioned for during their time on active duty. That means family life has had to come second. Short absences, training, remote unaccompanied tours and deployments keep families apart. For example, it is not uncommon to hear of a husband and father who has missed the birth of his children and some of his wedding anniversaries because he was away during each occasion. It is a frequent occurrence, which places families under a lot of strain. But once the active duty member leaves the military, they can spend this time with their family and not have to choose a job where spending time apart is expected.

Friendships

The military often fosters very close ties with one another. As such, the military community is often referred to as a “family” unit. Some agree with this notion and happily subscribe to it, forming deep bonds of friendship with others who are in the same position as them and know what the military lifestyle is like. After leaving the military, there is not always that same feeling of camaraderie and closeness that there was during active duty. People who remain on active duty will move and this can also make it harder to sustain friendships with people who have separated or retired. That is why it is important to form friendships with people who do not all have a connection to the military. If these friends are genuine, they will still be there long after the active duty member has left the military.

Medical

Retirees will be entitled to take advantage of the medical facilities at their local military installation. The one difference they will notice is that they will no longer be treated as priority cases, as they once were when they were on active duty. That means active duty personnel and their spouses will have priority over their health needs and will tend to be seen before them. Certain services are not available for free once a person retires. For example, in some branches of the military, laser eye surgery is carried out for free for active duty personnel, but retirees must pay if they want this surgery performed.