Take a Logical Approach

I'm sure that many of you have seen this picture on social media sites. Before you react emotionally, stop and consider the caption that is circulating along with it. "My good friend SSGT. USMC bank refused to work with him. Help me with making this go nation wide."

Reacting emotionally, immediately everyone says "That poor Marine!" If you think about it logically, you may come up with a different answer. A SSGT USMC is an E-6 in the Marine Corps. A Staff Sergeant normally takes about 6 years to attain that rank. Base pay for a SSGT with 6 years of service is $2886 per month. Add to that their Cost of Living Allowance, Basic Housing Allowance, Hazardous Duty Allowance and Combat Pay for a tour in Iraq and they bring in between $3500-$5000 per month depending on married status. Also, while serving time in Iraq, that pay is considered in a hazardous duty zone so their pay is also tax free. Three tours is a long time to be living tax free with extra pay.

Before you get your feathers ruffled, I realize the sacrifices that are being made by our fine troops. Remember, we are talking logically, not emotionally! So, say a service member gets a mortgage on a house and then is sent to Iraq where they are effectively doubling their pay. They are being fed and clothed and housed at no cost to them. Meanwhile they may have a family back home holding down the fort, OR they may not. Either way, the service member is responsible for keeping their bills paid just as if they were at home. If they are not being financially responsible, their command has the option to reprimand you and take your some of their pay.

Calculating the pay on the low end of the scale ($3500) per month for 3 tours or 3 years that adds up to $126,000 tax free. If you cannot pay your bills with 3 years of tax free income, you should never have signed that mortgage in the first place. It's as simple as that. Keep in mind that the entire time they are serving in the military they are being fed, housed, medically cared for, and clothed essentially for free.

I'm not saying all our troops are irresponsible or mismanage their money but it certainly seems correct in this case. Either the troop didn't pay their bills or they had a spouse at home throwing away their money. I don't know the entire situation but that's the way it appears to me. It's not that I'm unsympathetic to our fine troops..it's the fact that they aren't perfect and make mistakes the same as everyone else. Most of you know that I despise banks, but in this case, I'm betting that the service member didn't fulfill their financial obligations. Love me or hate me, that's my opinion.

P.S. I am a vet who served in the Persian Gulf and received tax free pay as well.  Ask any military member before you start saying that it's not true.