I realize that it was only a day ago that I went on and on about have grateful I am to have so much communication with my soldier, but I was thinking about the internet issue when I was driving home today and I got a little irritated. Internet is available to my son in Afghanistan for $80 for the first month and $55 each month after. Now this expense isn't a hardship for my son. While he's away his wife is living at home and she works, but think of how many soldiers are away whose salary is supporting their family?
These families not only have to deal with their husband and father being deployed and having the stress of war on both of them, but the Army has added another bill to what could be their already stretched out budget.
These soldiers have to pay for too much for themselves. We really ought to do more for them while they are deployed. They have to pay their own airfare to come home - even pre-deployment. That can be very expensive because those with armed service experience know that the government isn't big on letting you know in advance the exact dates of your leave.
There are also a lot of items that the soldiers need while deployed that need to be sent to them. I'm not talking gum and beef jerky here either. Some of the bases are very remote and don't have a PX where necessities can be purchased. This isn't a big deal for some families, but like I said earlier, some are already living on a shoestring.
The government kind of double-dips on their pay. They are paid with tax dollars, that the government than taxes and then charges them fees on what's left for things like the internet, that surely they will pay for if they are away from home.
I'm just saying...
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