[quote name='plasticbathmonki']OP, you're a 35P, right? I was a PAO before I got out.
Damn straight. Even on reserve duty, I avoid military healthcare like the plague. Following a rather "unpleasant" wisdom tooth extraction, I swore that I'd never use Wilford Hall unless I needed a check-up.[/QUOTE]
The military seems to have a lot of new doctors. There was a point where females were allowed to have breast enhancement surgery while in the Army on the Army's dime.
I got free PRK (lasik) surgery and I think it was great. The surgeries I've had from the military have been good, but there's definitely some bad docs out there too and plenty of horror stories.
In order to get out of having to be treated at a local on post hospital you can ask Tri-Care to refer you to a different facility. You'll have to do some paperwork, but its all very easy. Then the place you go to just bills the Army instead of you. The key note is that you are granted a window during which you can be seen at the off post provider. In my case, my wife had to extend her window a few times while she was being seen by the OB when she was pregnant. Its not too much of a hassle and it was definitely worth it. The first off post provider we had was crappy and we requested to be seen elsewhere and did the paperwork and just like that we were able to be seen at the clinic of our choice.
[quote name='Spacepest']Yup, and someone correct me if I'm wrong...can't a military spouse also get a crack at the soldier's retirement pension as well?
[/QUOTE]
Yes, if you get a divorce the spouse is entitled to a portion of your retirement. This has been a controversial issue because some women end up getting married and divorced to one Soldier only to marry and divorce another one etc. This allows her to get quite a bit of money from the pensions of all the guys she's been divorced with. Truly a
ed up situation if you ask me.
[quote name='2DMention']I don't understand why policemen and military are so hung up on g/f and getting married. You think they'd discourage that because people can get injured,
ed up, and killed.
What about the stereotype of the stoic mercenary loner?[/QUOTE]
A few reasons are: During a young Soldiers life he sees that he has a lot of deployments to go on and has to spend a lot of time away from home. In order to prevent them from losing a girlfriend while gone, they get married young so as to say that they have a solid relationship and someone waiting for them at home. Now does this work out? Not always. Its stupid to get married because you think time isn't going to be on your side and you are about to deploy.
Another reason: The extra $250 a month in family separation pay while deployed that you'd bank (tax free). Also young Soldiers in the Army are usually housed in the barracks until they reach the rank of E-5 or sometimes depending on the base, E-6. This means that they are usually stuck in the barracks for about 3 years (average promotion time to E-5). Getting married guarentees you a Housing Allowance (BAH) which varies on your location and rank. If you want to live off post as a single E-4 and below you'll usually pay for rent out of pocket, but if you are married you get around $900 a month (for E-4 in my area) extra. This helps pay for the apartment/house bills. Is it smart to get married just for extra money and the chance to move out of the barracks? Hell no but it is a temptation for younger Soldiers.
Of course you also have the young troops going to basic training/AIT with young females and during training you have the "romances" that usually don't last, but from time to time a dude will knock up a girl while in training and marry her etc. I know quite a few 20 year olds that are married. The divorce rate in the Army is high for a reason.
As always, these views are provided from an Army perspective, other branches may be a little different.
