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2023-06-27 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Military veterans cut off from US bases in one country, stripping them of lifeline to home

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Posted by Skidmark 2023-06-27 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 When I visited my son when he was stationed in England, I could not buy things at the exchange or commissary, due to the status of forces agreement.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2023-06-27 00:08|| 2023-06-27 00:08|| Front Page Top

#2 Landstuhl US Army Hospital, in Landstuhl, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base would NOT treat US military retirees or their dependents in 2006-2012. I doubt the policy has changed. Always gave me a twinge of patriotism to read about Non-US personnel from the Stans, DoS, or OGA being flown to Landstuhl for treatment. US Military retiree contractors were provided emergency medical and dental care in Iraq and the Stans.

Retirees were also prohibited from shopping at the PX/BX at Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, and elsewhere. ID's were examined at checkout by yes, German national employees with typical German efficiency. If you presented a US Gov't Common Access Card (CAC) Card, the contact expiration date was checked with the same rigid efficiency.

Foto is of the Berlin Airlift 1947-1948 to. A total of nearly 300,000 flights were made to Tempelhof and elsewhere.

The 'feel good' never stops.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-06-27 03:13|| 2023-06-27 03:13|| Front Page Top

#3 Weren't retirees promised healthcare for life?

Re: Exchange - It's all about the host nation, SOFA, and....taxes. All kinds of stories of US contractor dad married to foreign wife and sending kids to local schools. Ordinarily resident I think was a buzz phrase that usually got them in tax hot water. Then there's our lovely US government which taxes anything that walks.

I can understand Landstuhl being quite the busy place during the AFG mess, but to deny treatment to US military retirees was/is an absolute disgrace.

I thought there was an [honor] system in place where if retirees bought something at the PX that they filed some form to pay any VAT on any purchases.

Well, the days of the Cold War are but a distant memory. I wish we wouldn't even be having this issue had the US and NATO downsized after the demise of the Warsaw Pact.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-27 07:15|| 2023-06-27 07:15|| Front Page Top

#4 Time to GTFO all those places.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-06-27 07:46|| 2023-06-27 07:46|| Front Page Top

#5 The key words here are "Status of Forces Agreement" which is literally a treaty. Retirees are in the same situation as any other citizen living in a foreign country with or without any allied military presence.

Weren't retirees promised healthcare for life?

Since the 1980s, enlistment and reenlistment documents specify that only the things listed in the contract are guaranteed.

Posted by Procopius2k 2023-06-27 07:56|| 2023-06-27 07:56|| Front Page Top

#6 I don't have a problem with retirees making a conscious decision to reside in a foreign country and being subject to that nation's laws, including the SOFA. Excuses about lack of a "Box R" through the APO don't arouse much sympathy and claims of being unable to receive medication and mailing absentee ballots push the b.s. or whine meter. Bottom line is that they decided to live where they live, no matter the reason.

But if a US military installation, especially a health facility, denies a retiree basic service, then that's just a shame.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-27 08:35|| 2023-06-27 08:35|| Front Page Top

#7 P.S. - Thanks, P2k on the contract info. We've come a long way with the volunteer army. But a deal's a deal (unless you have a student loan or a bank needs to be bailed out, but I digress).

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-27 08:37|| 2023-06-27 08:37|| Front Page Top

#8 Ref #4: Time to GTFO all those places.

"Those places" and more. Time to mind our own business and let the rest of them fight it out as Darwin wills.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-06-27 09:09|| 2023-06-27 09:09|| Front Page Top

#9 DooDahMan man nails it at #6. Better do your research prior to the RELO. Crime and health care can be major issues.

BTW, Ed makes a valid point at #11.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-06-27 09:16|| 2023-06-27 09:16|| Front Page Top

#10 I wonder how many retirees are living in Mexico? Generally speaking their pharmaceuticals (produced by quality companies in Mexico) are much cheaper than stateside. Booze certainly is cheaper. What more do you need?

Posted by Tarzan Grolump8219 2023-06-27 09:31|| 2023-06-27 09:31|| Front Page Top

#11 The background issue here is 4th dimensional thinking.
Not just "this seems like a nice place".
Try "this seems like a nice place, now".
(Works right here in the US, too.)

Posted by ed in texas 2023-06-27 09:31|| 2023-06-27 09:31|| Front Page Top

#12 That's just it. There's no place to hide.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-27 10:14|| 2023-06-27 10:14|| Front Page Top

#13 What more do you need?

Armored car, security detail, kidnapping insurance...(Ve know you have family in ze old country)

Posted by Procopius2k 2023-06-27 11:09|| 2023-06-27 11:09|| Front Page Top

#14 If we had a SOFA with Mexico, would it solve the problem of illegals getting money, phones, medical care, schools, and welfare here? Seems like the same idea?

Posted by NoMoreBS 2023-06-27 11:28|| 2023-06-27 11:28|| Front Page Top

#15 Its all about the country not being able to tax the retirees.

Posted by 49 Pan 2023-06-27 17:24|| 2023-06-27 17:24|| Front Page Top

#16 What a coincidence...saw this today (geared to civilians but surely some topics equally apply to retired military).

How to Prepare for Financial Challenges When Retiring Overseas

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-27 18:41|| 2023-06-27 18:41|| Front Page Top

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