Originally Posted by
hindsight2020
That's a reductionist trope. You're missing the point of having Tricare Select in AD retirement (pre-medicare):
I don't need to be tied to an employer to have it! You may not put much value to it because you're committed to toiling until your hands give out, but I do put a value to it. Especially the value of not having to ask '
mother may I?' to some employer in my 50s as a pre-condition of providing healthcare access to my family. I don't do that because my statistical civilian options (and healthcare options by proxy) outside the military are that of a retail greeter according to your trope. I do it because employer-
independent healthcare in "working" age isn't the bug for me, it's the FEATURE.
At this juncture in my life I don't even euphemize the transactional reasons for pursuing an AD retirement. It's actually ironic to me you consider the employer-
dependent paradigm the more enviable construct.
Not sure why you are so offended that some folks have better health insurance options.
You are tied to an employer to have have it. The US military. They still own you and have the right to recall you if needed. Just because this hasn’t been common lately doesn’t mean that commitment doesn’t exist. You can resign your commission to eliminate the commitment, but then you would lose your pension, Tricare, and most veterans benefits. As far as toiling until my hands give out, really, what exactly do you think I do for a living? I will still have the ability to sign up for Tricare going forward if my life circumstances change. (Assuming I drop select this fall.) To be honest, you sound like you drank a little too much blue koolaid. I loved serving my country, but I never bought into the idea that I was going to be taken care of for life. Military personnel are by definition disposable, that’s why we drop them into the world’s $hit holes and assign them tough jobs. Society (ours included) has always offered just enough incentives to fill the ranks or simply drafted bodies when that got too expensive. You could call it cynical, I call it an acknowledgement that service is just that,
service. Not really intended to be a means to get ahead in life.