The Ugly! – Milspouses and families are tried. Worn out, weary. Everyone keeps telling us that family programs aren’t going to be cut, that they care about families. But according to the community, we aren’t seeing it.
15. Hitting 17 years in service and worrying that the powers that be will cut your spouse to “save money” by not paying the retirement.
16. Bitterness towards the military – because government leaders are bargaining it all away for political decisions.
17. Lack of command support for families make it harder to support our spouses staying in the military.
18. Crappy pay raises. I mean, when was the last time the pay raise matched the inflation rate?
19. Promotion rates were low, and they took forever to be decided upon.
20. Family programs are being cut due to sequestration and budget cuts.
21. Lack of faith in the institution. Service members aren’t feeling valued and so they’re moving on.
The good news is, 2015 is ending. The new year will bring plenty of new challenges and exciting new advancements. And people are listening; they’re listening to our concerns, they’re learning from mistakes, and there are better things on the horizon. Personal readiness includes family readiness, which is at the heart of the Army Chief of Staff’s priorities. And since he’s not backing down, neither should we. So, here’s to the new year, let’s make it a great one.
