My husband and I are some unique part of this country who have dedicated parts of their lives to serve our country. In total, we served 37 years in the United States Air Force and deployed twelve times to various combat zones.
Serving your country is one of the most selfless things you can do, whether you join because you want to serve or because you lack other options. Wearing the uniform of the United States demands that you put that service ahead of yourself, your family, and your desires — and that’s not just a job; It is a promise to protect, defend and emulate the principles that make our country great.
While most Americans are eager to thank active duty and veterans for their service, most don’t understand how difficult it is to live everyday life as a service member or veteran. It’s a shame that in today’s day and age, it’s extremely difficult to provide for yourself and your family if you wear an American flag on your sleeve.
Military families had to rely on food pantries to survive in ‘grossly expensive’ NYC; Jaime Billert grew up in a military family and thought he knew what “sacrifice” meant when he couldn’t afford groceries.
Billions for Ukraine? Our army is hungry.
— Conservative American (@honor_country) February 22, 2023
RELATED: Record number of Americans say economy is worse off under Biden – highest in nearly 4 decades
Hunger pangs
Currently, 25% of military families in our country suffer from food insecurity. Chew on that for a moment, 1 in 4 military families in the United States from coast to coast are not sure how they will provide meals for their children.
In a recent Department of Defense survey, half of junior enlisted spouses said they regularly experience food insecurity. While this pain is felt in every state in our union, it is most acute in states like New York, where the cost of living is unbearable.
Support conservative voices!
Sign up to receive the latest Political news, insight and commentary delivered straight to your inbox.
Many military spouses, especially in New York, must rely on food pantries to make sure they have milk, eggs, diapers and meat to feed their families. According to an unnamed spouse who spoke to the New York Post, part of the problem is that “the military pays a living allowance that is far below the actual cost of living requirement.”
Andy Coakley, a Coast Guard veteran who runs the Ford Wadsworth Pantry in Staten Island, New York, said, “We have families who move from places with a lower cost of living and they come to a place like New York and their car insurance suddenly triples and they ask themselves: ‘What happened? We thought we were fine.
So let’s take a look at what the average active duty gets for living wage from the federal government.
Military families in New York City rely on food pantries. In the same cities illegal immigrants are housed in hotels and given free food that they throw away because they “don’t like it”. There is something very wrong with our government’s priorities.
— Kenny C (@KennyCarcaterra) February 22, 2023
RELATED: Fox’s Resident Liberal Jessica Tarlov Slams Illegal Immigrants Refusing to Check Out of NYC Hotel: ‘You’re Here by the Grace of Our Generosity’
Coins
For readers unfamiliar with military rank formation, allow me to give you a quick cliff notes explanation. In the military, you have two groups of service members; Enlisted and officers.
The majority of your military consists of enlisted members, who are laborers, machine workers. Your pay grades listed start from the lowest grade E1 to the highest grade E9.
Pin or Sew, the most inductee at E3 shortly after Boot Camp, earns about $25,920 annually, a monthly average of $2,160. Take a minute to ask yourself if you can support a spouse and two children in your state on $2,160 a month, let alone a state like New York.
Let’s move up the ranks to your E5s, who are considered responsible supervisors for teams of lower-ranking individuals. They earn approximately $35,040 per year or $2,920 per month – Again, take a minute and ask yourself the same question as before.
And now your E7s, the senior non-commissioned officer, are your leaders and the coveted first rank of program managers. He earns about $51,624 a year or $4,552 a month, a little better for sure, but if you compare that to what a 2Lt does, the lowest officer rank averages $63,000 annually.
Quite a disparity, don’t you think?
Under Joe Biden (FJB), food insecurity has risen to 1 in 4 in the active duty military community. Think about it, by 2021, bidenflation is causing hunger and malnutrition in 1 in 4 active duty military families!
Not very proud!
— Vince Sheetz (@Vince Sheetz) February 15, 2023
RELATED: Record-breaking defense budget does nothing to help soldiers who still can’t afford enough to eat
Yes, but you get so much for free
I rarely had many ‘civilian’ friends when I served, mainly because they couldn’t understand what it was like to be in the military. Many think we live a blessed easy life; After all, we get our uniforms for free, get an education for free, live on base in some cases and see the world.
The reality is that nothing we ‘got’ in the service is free. All this came with a price.
Ms. Coakley explains how difficult it is, “People say military families don’t know how to manage their money, but you have to remember that these families move every two to four years.” “A military spouse has to give up work, find a new job wherever they go, and pay a lot of money for moving expenses,” Ms. Coakley explains.
Every couple of years when I moved, my husband had to quit his job, find a new job, and sometimes couldn’t work because the waiting list to put our kids in daycare was too long and off-base daycare was too expensive. Kyle Lord, director of Keystone Military Families, rightly says, “These people protect us, protect our borders and keep us safe. And yet they have to worry if they’re going to get their child fed before school or if they’ll have enough dinner when they get home.”
I can’t think of anything more damaging to a service member’s dignity than spending 10 – 12 hours a day at work, deploying 6 to 12 months at a time, and knowing they can’t provide for their family. Does anyone care?
Fox News Host Torches Geraldo’s Mustache with Flamethrower on Live TV While Revealing Biden’s Staged Visit to Ukraine—Best Thing You’ll See Today pic.twitter.com/ajWNuHOEWZ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 23, 2023
Shame on you
According to the US Department of Agriculture’s definition of food security, the following breakouts are currently food insecure:
- 45% E1s – E4s
- 30% E5s & E6s
- 16% E7s – E9s
While active duty families rely on a twice-monthly option to use a food pantry on Staten Island, New York City’s mayor has opened an 85th luxury hotel to house illegal immigrants who are reported to be throwing away their fresh free food and trash. Taxpayers pay for hotels that include service members and state veterans. At the same time military mothers and fathers go without meals so they can feed their children; Their commander-in-chief preaches student loan forgiveness and flies to Ukraine.
When was the last time President Biden and his wife visited a food pantry frequented by members of the military? I wonder if he spent time thinking about them when he signed his latest equity executive order.
What is the equivalent of military families starving to death in the very country they sacrifice so much for? One military spouse said, “How do we make sure we put money aside for our children’s education?”
And before I leave you, just a few more numbers:
- 17% of the homeless population in the US are veterans
- An average of 16 soldiers committed suicide every day in 2020
- In 2021, 519 active duty service members killed themselves
Does anyone care? I can assure you that I will, and I will continue to blast the system that claims to care about those who raised their right hand but does absolutely nothing for them.
Now is the time to support and share sources you trust.
Political Insider was ranked #3 on FeedSpot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites”.