The other day I got wind of an article on a political blog that panicked many people into believing that somehow President Obama was being this horribly mean cruel man and taking away combat pay from our military.
The article I saw (which I refuse to even link) purposely left out the first main paragraph , spun the rest of the actual article and from there it spread like wild fire that somehow the government (mainly the president) had signed this bill to remove combat pay.
While politics is one of those things I avoid with a passion I couldn’t help but vent about the sheer stupidity of some people. While I too own a blog and share information I also make it a point to say to always seek out details for yourself so that you can have the FULL story. People truly need to stop letting band wagon jumpers and folks who are filled with hatred coerce them into believing everything that is thrown their way.
It’s okay to have political beliefs and opinions but how downright ignorant to read something and just become so dead set in opinion that you don’t even bother to read or find out the facts. It’s something especially in the military spouse world that many of us tend to do alot. We hear one thing and it spreads like the flu , with everyone getting up in arms and ridiculous over it and questioning it all to find out you didn’t know what in the world you were talking about.
Lastly let me clarify before I get accused of calling everyone stupid:
I am not referring to people who genuinely didn’t understand this , I am more so referring to the ones who go out there way to tell others that the pay is getting taken away and then go on political and very unintelligent sounding tirades.
So to clarify the combat pay debacle here is my explanation that I posted on Facebook.
In regards to the Hazardous Duty Pay story that everyone swears is getting taken away from our military…IT”S NOT! All it means is that they will get paid for the actual # of days they are in a combat zone. Not so much Army but many times the Airforce can fly into a combat zone for a few days and still draw a full months pay of hazardous pay which is a waste of money. So now what they will do is if you are there 5 days you get 5 days pay, if you are there a full month you get a month. In other words the pay is PRORATED .
In addition according to Veteran Army Wives some military members (those with the power to schedule their own trips) would fly in just a few days before the month ended and then stay one day after the next month began. This allowed them to collect 2 months of Combat Pay when they had only been there a few days. How’s that for blowing a budget!
It makes alot of sense. Alot of political blogs have taken it and spun it around.
Here is the real article: http://www.military.com/
Spouses stop questioning it. As long as your husband is in a combat zone he is going to get paid.
If you have more FACTS please feel free to add them in the comments section.
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 10 Comments on The Combat Pay Debacle…When People Don’t Read!
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I have not heard of this…. thanks for the info! I hate worrying over nothing :)
I saw the way it was spun out of control too. It’s amazing how ppl’s views will allow them to distort the truth as they see fit.
THANK YOU!! I know your blog reaches out and touches quite a few people! This is one of my pet peeves within the Military community, taking information and not understanding it or turning words into something that they are not. Thank you for clarifying this information. I wish more spouses and service members would be self reliant and look for the information from valid sources.
Thank You, Reasons like these….I stopped watching the news and don’t pay attention to all the horrible lies politician are spreading about each other. It’s sick
I like your post! I did come across (a friend posted it on Facebook) this whole ordeal & saw probably the article you’re referring to, not sure though. The article I saw first (a blog post) has facts but didn’t depict the entire situation. Although I do not agree with Obama’s decision, I was happy to see the actual DoD article on it & read the facts. I like that you posted this because so many people are flipping out & thinking that combat pay it totally taken away. I linked the article I saw first to my Facebook & a friend posted the DoD official article underneath. I definitely didn’t jump on the hater bandwagon, lol, but I definitely don’t feel this is the way to treat our troops, but at least they aren’t taking away money for equipment or other more important things. :-/
Thanks so much for clearly explaining this!!!
I hadn’t heard about it, but I usually hear about most GOOD INFORMATION here, while reading your GREAT SITE! By the way, thank you for all you do. I love this site! As for the rumor mongers…yes, it seems to be a big issue among military spouses…taking something and running with it before getting their facts straight! I remember when we were in Germany and many of the wives were causing serious issues on base with their rumors. They finally threatened to EROD any spouse who caused problems with her rumors and there were a good number who did get sent home early. I personally prefer to lay low and when i do hear something I generally go out and research it myself. Maybe that would make a funny column for you…we would all get a good laugh out of some of the funny rumors that have gone around over the years…Im sure we all have plenty of stories like that…LOL…anyway, thank you for setting the record straight on the combat pay, Im sure there were many who were wondering and yes, many who believed it…LOL…let this be a lesson to all :) Again, thanks for such a great site and all your great ACCURATE information!
I did some damage control myself all over FB on this as well over the last few days. It really made me angry how things were skewed out of control! I cannot tell you the # of dishonest soldiers (and many are officers) who took advantage of the old rule. Interesting how many of them would fly to a combat zone a few days before the month was over, and then stay only a few days of the next month and reap TWO MONTHS of combat pay (because many, many soldiers only go downrange for a few weeks, months, even days in some cases depending on their job). My DH used to get very upset over it and he would even delay important business a day or two just NOT to do this. Thank God someone finally got smart in the military. I sure hope people are brave enough to tackle some other money wasters out there as well!
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Also, pro-rating the days does represent a cut. And you could use a good editor.
The ‘loophole’ you speak of was fixed in the 2010 NDAA and not unfixed in the 2011 NDAA. Combat pay has been prorated since then (it was once before once way back in my day even). So why fix it again? Especially with language that allows bean counters to establish safe zones (no combat pay zones) within a theater? It may not happen now, but when the drawdown comes for troops in Afghanistan, you can bet you will see “safe zones” set up where the combat pay stops flowing unless there is a mortar round that day..
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“The 2010 Defense Authorization Act is now law. The act includes many changes in how the military is funded and operates in 2010.
Section 618 of the act clarifies that the monthly payment of hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay, hazardous duty pay, assignment or special duty pay, and skill incentive pay may be prorated to reflect the actual qualifying service that active and reserve component members performed during the month.”
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