No protection in the military

from JoeUser Forums
I may not have known what I was getting in to, when my husband joined the military....but this is ridiculous! It is next to impossible to defend yourself (as a family) from being ripped off by large companies or by the miitary itself! We are getting taken advantage of because we ARE a military family. No one wants to help....especially not the legal department on base! They might actually have to work!? I've allready started the research!
Here it is: We were stationed in VA for about 7 months, while my husband finished his training. We lived in an apartment off base. We had to sign a one year lease agreement ( they wouldn't budge). They knew and we knew, that my husband and I would only be there for six months.They of course say "no problem we have a military clause".....no penalty if you are stationed out of city or state...blah blah blah. We clean out the apartment do a walkthrough and sign something that says the apartment was fine. (and show them a copy of his orders) We leave for TX. No problem. Wrong!! 6 months later, someone puts a hold on about $680 from our account. (We live on a VERY tight budget.) We received no notice of this...no phone call and no letters. They had the phone number... it was the same one....and a forwarding address...
We were not given our due process. They decided to skip that step. In fact, legal fees are included in the money they garnished. How nice.
Started to do research on who I was dealing with. What I found is astonishing! You do the math: This one apartment complex has 202 units, they sued about 184 families in just 13 months. All of which is a matter of public record, easily accessable via the interrnet! My favorite part: all of those I checked further into (about 45) were ALL military families stationed out of state and ALL had the same bank. Could this be mere coincidence? I have my doubts! I have been trying to get outside help, maybe like a class action lawsuit. No luck. Why is it so hard to find help here? Why is the Navy shying away from this? Instead, they tell us to shut up and pay our bills. We don't owe them this money, just because THEY say we do. Where's the protection? I thought the Navy protected those that serve this country? Instead, they feed them to the wolves, because it might not look good, that so many military families have been affected by this?
I did find other things in my search, like the management company that owns the apartment complex in question, is owned by a very wealthy man who ran for political office. He lost, and spent a very large amount of money. Something like, 1.2 million dollars! From what I understand, he lost miserably and ran a very shady campaign. It makes me wonder....who do we have in office now. What kind of businesses are our political office holders running? Should we be watching them more closely. I don't follow politics much, but maybe I should start....this is a very big eye opener for me.
Just take a look at Haliburton....
There are so many useless law suits going on in this country, but military members are not allowed to "actively pursue" law suits just to protect themselves!? This is why it has to be a class action law suit.....well that and we can't afford to pay for representation!
We have tried a few avenues, and there are a few more to try. I hope that someone out there is interested in protecting those that protect this country. I haven't given up yet. But I am beginning to feel like I should.
Everyone was so big on "Support Our Military " There was no real support there! Most companies did this to pull more business in!
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5,687 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hmm, sorry to hear that, but, as you now know - you are not the only ones nor will you be the last to learn the hard way. I posted on another military wife's blog the following sentence.

'You are expendable'.

After reading your post - I rest my case.


Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top

I learned a lot of lessons through out this ordeal.
But I do not regret standing behind my hubby and his decision to join the Navy.
I guess I'm a little confused about what you mean, Voix.
I can say this, I am beginning to see why some enlisted start hating being in the military. It's a fact, unless you're an officer our a high rank enlisted, they will hardly ever stand behind you. Even if it's the right thing to do.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I understand were you are coming from, example:
My wife was in the army for 3 years and would have been what is called a lifer. She was sent to Korea because she was raped. Then in Korea she was ordered to drive a forklift she told her commander that she didn’t know how and that she had never driven one before. He told her that if she didn’t she would take an article 15 witch is a dishonorable discharge for those of you that don’t know. She then asked to speak with his commander an he stated that if she didn’t get on it now and move that shipment she would be given an article 15 this second. Well low and behold she got on it and drove it the best she could and it flipped over and crushed her leg. To make a long story short, after 8 years of trying to get some sort of retribution for being ordered to drive it with no training and for the lack of medical care she was given. Then to make matters worse they would not let her out of the military they were going to let her fail out and not receive any of the befits they were going to let her fail her pt test. If she had not called and had Rockefeller help her they would have not given her any benefits she is entitled to. And if you think it stops there your wrong. Then they rated her at 60% disability knowing full well that she should have been set at 100%. I won’t go into all the details of this but we found out that they are told not tell you of all your benefits. And if you think it ends there your wrong again. At one point we lived about 55 miles away from the nearest VA hospital. And at this point she had been wracking up hospital bills because the VA would not pay for her emergency visits to civilian hospitals even thou she was told that since we live more then 10 minuets from the VA we should go to civilian hospitals for emergencies. So one night she passed out in the middle of the living room floor and had a tempter of 105.8 so I pick her up put her in the truck and drove to the VA hospital because we owed more then $30,000 in bills the hospital would not take her. So after driving about 125 mph down the interstate we get to the VA and find out she had a mild heart attack and that she had ecoili. They would not let me stay in the hospital with her that night and told me I had to go home. So the next morning I return and just as I’m about to enter her room I get run over by a nurse that is frantic. I walked into my wife’s room to see her looking worse then when I brought her in. I went to look for a doctor to tell me what is going on and come around the corner to hear the nurse telling the doctor that she had been put on potassium drip instead of an IV. The doctor then tells her to delete all records of her heart attack and the incident with the IV. So then I came around the corner to confront him about it and he just tells me to prove it. My next stop is to the avocet to tell her what is going on. As expected she will not see me. And for the next four years they misdiagnose that she has wolf Parkinson white diseases and almost dies from it. They tell use that we could sue them for malpractice and get $100,000.oo but would have to pay it back out of her veterans check. She is also been turned down for the $48,000.oo housing grant she is due for the last four years. So I fully understand what you mean when they say we stand by our military people.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
That's just absolutely horrible! I can't believe the government would treat her so horribly! I don't know what to say.....I am still shaking my head.

Have you tried your congressman/woman?

Compared to your story, mine just seems petty.
Although, I had a feeling that I wasn't alone....meaning, there were more stories with the same bottom line. The military/government wants us to serve and die for our country, but will not protect us, when things go badly......I'm sure if it were to go public, it would probably be a totally different story.
They need us, but when we need them, they hide behind the secrecy and beaurocratic BS.

You and your wife will be in my thoughts.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
He told her that if she didn’t she would take an article 15 witch is a dishonorable discharge


Actually, it's not. It's a non-judicial punishment. Your wife could have refused to sign the paperwork for the Art-15 and have chosen to go to trial at a Courts-Martial. It's not a DD, not by a long shot.

I'm not saying that I disbelieve your story; I've been around the military a long time and I see/hear stories similar to yours every day...I'm just pointing out that there's a big difference between an Art-15 hearing and a Dishonorable Discharge.

I agree with you that sometimes those of us living the military life get taken advantage of...