Aug 4th — Dear Mr President… why take military retirement?

I wrote to the President, and I will write to many more I am sure about an issue that caught my little military off guard. You can read why below. In short, the retirement our country promised my husband may not be there in the way it was promised. It is no small change, it is huge and may well be devastating to many soldiers and their families who work so hard to get to that 20 years or more. They will not grandfather us in with these changes, if you have not retired already and this does pass, you will not get what was promised. It is tragic.

Link for more information on all this.

Dear Mr President or whom ever this might be so bravely reading all these comments,

You may ruin our American dream.

My husband joined the military 13 years ago, we got married that day. For these 13 years I have supported him, our country, and followed him around. The promise was that he would retire at the 20 year mark and the retirement money that would start right away would make it possible for me to go to school and for him to follow ME around for the next 20 years. Taking turns you see. Only now there is a proposal to make all this time near worthless to us.

The changes are dishonorable to the military now serving. It would not be 50% on retirement, it would be 35% MAYBE at age 65. This changes everything. This past year he became a Warrant officer, another 5 years till that contract is up, bringing us to 18 years. We have never saved for retirement, we thought that was covered. We never really saved for much actually as my husband is just not paid enough and with all the moves I stay home to homeschool our children as their educations would be in tatters jumping from school to school so so often. The children and I have moved 11 times in 13 year trying to keep up with my husband. We have given up so much… went 5 years not seeing family even. Deployments to Iraq and so many tears.

Now we being told it is worthless. That the promise of retirement might not be there anymore.

Bush tax cuts cost our country near 3 trillion dollars and this is going to save less than 3 billion.

I keep asking myself why the Democratic President I adored seems to be talking the talk but voting with the republicans. The huge military groups are all saying they have to vote republican, they think you did this President Obama. They think our country will send soldiers to die in the sand and then try and say they don’t earn retirement like the Heroes they are but rather like the working poor in this country.

My husband has loved his job, he does it so well, I am not sure I can support it anymore, you don’t seem to, our country doesn’t seem to. This is tragic.

Please do something. We live so close to you here on Fort Meade, but you might as well be on Mars. I don’t think you hear us anymore. You have changed…. you no longer stand up for democrats, for humanity. The tears I cry today are not in fear of my husbands life, but fear for our country, sorrow over how you have handled things.

Lost hope,
Kimberly Cleven