Mysteries of the military: We know and love them — from afar!

Do you have a son in Army? How about a daughter in the Navy? Anybody in the family a Marine? Maybe a friend serving with the Coast Guard?

In fact do you even know — first hand — anybody who is serving today?

For many, maybe most Americans, the short answer is no. Probably not. Odds are we don’t personally know anybody in Afghanistan, stationed in Germany or Korea. No ties to Fort Campbell, Tinker Air Force Base, Quantico, No friends, kids, parents or neighbors on an aircraft carrier or submarine.

We know they are out there. But do we really know them?

Back in the day, most of us had a friend or relative who was either in, going into or just leaving the service. All but one of my uncles, my father and three of four male cousins served. All the males in my high school class (including me) went in.

Now things are very different.

While many or most might admire the military, and applaud them at baseball games, they are remote. It’s because we are remote — because the draft is long gone. The military has been ‘streamlined’ down, only a tiny percentage of people who currently serve or know somebody —first hand — in uniform.

The civilian-military divide is probably not as wide in many government agencies. A large number of veterans are government employees, so you may have a colleague who served.

For people in, or going into the military, the benefits programs — while excellent in some cases — are a mystery. Most new people are very young, inexperienced men and women. Like most young folks, they aren’t thinking retirement or insurance.

Many people don’t realize that members of the uniformed military services are eligible for the government’s long term care insurance program. There were premium changes Aug. 1 (some went up, some went down), but only about eight percent of the people in the federal LTC program are military.

What does that mean? Do they need that kind of protection which is often (maybe too often) associated with age rather than a medical condition or an accident? Just what’s the deal for benefits for current members of the military?

Today at 10 a.m. on our Your Turn radio show we’ll be talking with retired Army Brigider General Michael Meese. He’s a PhD and COO of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. He’s going to talk about the recent premium hikes and reductions in the federal program, and whether it is good or not so good for military personnel.

AAFMAA does not offer stand-alone LTC, but it does provide something called a Long Term Care Settlement Option as part of its whole life insurance policy.

If you have questions about military benefits, send them to me (before show time) at: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

The show begins at 10 a.m. EDT right here on federalnewsradio.com. Click the LISTEN button to tune in or listen on 1500 AM,  if you’re in the D.C. area.

Nearly Useless Factoid:

By Michael O’Connell

The acronym ASAP originated from U.S. Army jargon in 1955. It stands for “as soon as possible”.

Source: Etymonline.com

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