News brief: In an effort to further break civil-military relations, or at least demonstrated lack of understanding and support of the sacrifices made by our soldiers and their families…
The Pentagon hopes to reap billions of dollars to pay for ships, aircraft and other weapons by doubling or tripling health insurance premiums paid by military retirees and driving 600,000 of those pensioners out of the military medical system, charges a coalition of veterans’ organizations….
Defense Department officials have complained for
years that skyrocketing health care costs, particularly for retirees,
are cutting into money needed to equip today’s troops. The Pentagon’s
medical expenses have doubled in the p ast five years and could reach
$64 billion annually by 2015, according to Pentagon estimates.
From The Virginian-Pilot story notes the appropriate concern for rising health care costs. The "comparisons between civilian and military health premiums ignore the hardships that go with military life" and furthers (demonstrates?) the image that military service is an occupation and not an institution in the mind of many.
