Raising pay for soldiers? I disagree. Sure, an E1 makes less than minimum wage take-home pay, but lets look at the benefits for a single soldier: Medical: EVERYTHING is covered. You don't have to pay for asprin or even a bandaid. Housing: You are given adequate accomodations, even if they are a bit crowded at first. Food: A Single soldier, living in the barracks is afforded 3 meals a day, free of charge. (And the food is pretty damn good) Utilities: All provided for. Uniforms: A Yearly clothing allowance is provided for uniforms. Transportation: Most military bases have adequate bus service, and for soldiers living overseas, many cities offer local public transportation FREE to US service members. Comraderie: You will NEVER find better or closer friends than those you make in the service. Education: Not a formal education, but I learned more about myself in basic training than I did in the 18 years prior. Discipline: I didn't realize it at the time, but the military taught me discipline. Specifically: self-discipline. I joined the Army in 1988, right out of High School. After Basic Training and AIT, I was sent to Berlin. I had spent the previous 4 years in Stuttgart (My father was Army), so I was excited to go. I made about $650 a month as an E1, and aside from buying new underwear and personal hygene items, most of that went to computer games (Amiga!), stereo equipment and beer. Anything I "needed", the military provided for me. I left the military in 1991 when my 3 years was up, because I had other things I wanted to do. I joined because my father was in for 22 years, and I thought I owed him that, but in the end, I was a better man. I never saw combat, I missed Desert Storm by a few months, so I cannot comment on that aspect of military life. My point is this: Even though soldiers are paid less in actual $$$, they are rewarded with something more valuable than money: Knowledge.
I remember specific details of the day after I was brought home from the hospital. I remember Oak panelling and maroon carpet, and snow up to the bottom of the window, and a stone fireplace. I remember an old man opening the front door and clearing the sidewalk. Had I not asked my Mother about these memories, I would have never knew what they were. She explained that it was my Grandparents house in Rhode Island, and that there was a lot of snow that day. The old man was my Grandfather. I didn't know it was my Grandfather until she told me. I know these are memories, and not "remembering a story" because my Mother never told me about that, as it was an otherwise unremarkable day to her.
My father was in the military, and got reassigned to Ft. Bragg, NC 2 weeks after I was born. My Grandparents sold the house and moved into another one, so I have never been back to that house.
There are photos of that day, but they were apparently taken in a different room (or a different house) because there is no oak panelling or maroon carpeting in the pictures.
My next vivid memory is of my mother frantically chopping lizards in half with a shovel in an under-house garage, and me losing a Colgate toothpaste cap down the drain. My Mother told me that was in Italy, when I was 4, and they had a terrible lizard problem there. My mother took me and my brother (born 18 months after me) back to NC until my Father's tour of duty was over. My contiguous memory, where I can fit memories into an actual timeline begins shortly after this.
Now, if this was a case of hearing a story and incorporating it into memory, I would think there would be more than one or two before my contiguous memory begins. Considering the fact that I am the "Keeper of family photos" (3 footlockers full) and there are no photos of either event (other than those mentioned above), and I had very little contact with my extended family, I find it unlikely that these are anything other than genuine memories.
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Raising pay for soldiers? I disagree.
Sure, an E1 makes less than minimum wage take-home pay, but lets look at the benefits for a single soldier:
Medical: EVERYTHING is covered. You don't have to pay for asprin or even a bandaid.
Housing: You are given adequate accomodations, even if they are a bit crowded at first.
Food: A Single soldier, living in the barracks is afforded 3 meals a day, free of charge. (And the food is pretty damn good)
Utilities: All provided for.
Uniforms: A Yearly clothing allowance is provided for uniforms.
Transportation: Most military bases have adequate bus service, and for soldiers living overseas, many cities offer local public transportation FREE to US service members.
Comraderie: You will NEVER find better or closer friends than those you make in the service.
Education: Not a formal education, but I learned more about myself in basic training than I did in the 18 years prior.
Discipline: I didn't realize it at the time, but the military taught me discipline. Specifically: self-discipline.
I joined the Army in 1988, right out of High School. After Basic Training and AIT, I was sent to Berlin. I had spent the previous 4 years in Stuttgart (My father was Army), so I was excited to go. I made about $650 a month as an E1, and aside from buying new underwear and personal hygene items, most of that went to computer games (Amiga!), stereo equipment and beer. Anything I "needed", the military provided for me.
I left the military in 1991 when my 3 years was up, because I had other things I wanted to do. I joined because my father was in for 22 years, and I thought I owed him that, but in the end, I was a better man. I never saw combat, I missed Desert Storm by a few months, so I cannot comment on that aspect of military life.
My point is this: Even though soldiers are paid less in actual $$$, they are rewarded with something more valuable than money: Knowledge.
I remember specific details of the day after I was brought home from the hospital. I remember Oak panelling and maroon carpet, and snow up to the bottom of the window, and a stone fireplace. I remember an old man opening the front door and clearing the sidewalk. Had I not asked my Mother about these memories, I would have never knew what they were. She explained that it was my Grandparents house in Rhode Island, and that there was a lot of snow that day. The old man was my Grandfather. I didn't know it was my Grandfather until she told me. I know these are memories, and not "remembering a story" because my Mother never told me about that, as it was an otherwise unremarkable day to her.
My father was in the military, and got reassigned to Ft. Bragg, NC 2 weeks after I was born. My Grandparents sold the house and moved into another one, so I have never been back to that house.
There are photos of that day, but they were apparently taken in a different room (or a different house) because there is no oak panelling or maroon carpeting in the pictures.
My next vivid memory is of my mother frantically chopping lizards in half with a shovel in an under-house garage, and me losing a Colgate toothpaste cap down the drain. My Mother told me that was in Italy, when I was 4, and they had a terrible lizard problem there. My mother took me and my brother (born 18 months after me) back to NC until my Father's tour of duty was over. My contiguous memory, where I can fit memories into an actual timeline begins shortly after this. Now, if this was a case of hearing a story and incorporating it into memory, I would think there would be more than one or two before my contiguous memory begins. Considering the fact that I am the "Keeper of family photos" (3 footlockers full) and there are no photos of either event (other than those mentioned above), and I had very little contact with my extended family, I find it unlikely that these are anything other than genuine memories.