Monthly Archives: January 2011

From the state of Social Security to the health care bill, the retirement age of men and women of America is on the minds of our representatives in Washington, D.C. However, one section of our government, the military branch (that’s YOU), has the option to take advantage of unique retirement plan benefits.  The programs are designed to take care of the men and women in service with offers of a pension, benefits, and starts the day you retire – regardless of age.

We thought we’d do a short overview of these programs for the You Served readers and provide some links to their services below.

Depending when you entered the military, you may qualify for one of three different retirement systems. If you entered prior to September 1980 you are eligible for Final Play. After September 1980 to August 1986, you are eligible for High 36. After August 1986, you are eligible for High 36 or Career Status Bonus/REDUX. If you do not let the military know your choice upon retirement you will automatically receive High 36.

The plans are similar because after 20 years of service in the military you will be eligible for a pension based on percentage of your basic pay. If you stay for 40 years, you will be eligible for 100 percent of your basic pay. The difference under each plan is based on cost of living, multiplier, and career status bonus.

Under multiplier, you receive a percentage of base pay for each year of service. For cost of living, each year the pension will adjust based on the Consumer Price Index. The career status bonus, under the CSB/REDUX plan, you decide in your 15th year of service to either take a $30K bonus and a 40% pension, or you take High 36 with no bonus – higher pension.

There are sites online with retired pay calculators to help understand the amount of your pension. For military men and women, deciding on a retirement plan is a huge decision, but at least they may rest assured that their service can lead to a comfortable retirement.

Learn more about the programs here:
DFAS

Secretary of Defense

It goes without saying that the Army motto used is “Train as you fight, fight as you train”. However, the news story below reiterates how important medical and commo training is to lives of all Soldiers. It was written by Private First Class Jannelle Sennert.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Thomas Lorenson considers himself lucky to be alive. The Seattle native from Apache Company, 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment survived a close-quarters grenade blast Jan. 13 in northern Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan.

Apache Company soldiers were conducting a routine patrol through the Nyazi Valley that morning, looking for an improvised explosive device facilitator who was suspected to have moved back into the area.

During the search of a compound, Lorenson encountered an Afghan man who pulled a grenade from beneath a pile of blankets on the floor, armed it and rolled it in his direction.

“Ultimately I was just kind of paralyzed,” he recalled. “I pulled the trigger just out of training I guess, and lifted my arm up just to shield my face right before it went off.”

The grenade detonated, sending shrapnel tearing through the left side of Lorenson’s face and body. The man who threw it died as a result of his wounds in the attack.

“I didn’t even know I was really hurt until I started seeing my kit [body armor] was covered with blood,” he said.

“It’s never easy to see one of your men injured, but after seeing Lt. Lorenson, I knew he was in good hands with the platoon’s combat medic,” said Capt. Matthew Piosa, Apache company commander.

Within moments of the attack, Lorenson’s soldiers sprung into action, providing first aid and transmitting a request to evacuate him to the nearby Role 2 hospital at Multi-National Base Tarin Kot.

“I couldn’t have asked for better treatment and care from my guys,” Lorenson said. “Once I got to the Role 2 it just seemed like everything was just clicking. I let my mom and my wife and my folks know that I’m good and I’m ready to get back up and keep working.”

Despite stitches in his left arm, back and face, he is eager to return to work with his soldiers and encouraged doctors to release him back to duty within days of the incident.

“I told them that if I can get up and walk around and move my arms and wiggle my fingers and toes, then I should be where I can help out with the platoon and I’ll come down to get my stitches taken out later on,” he said with a laugh.

Piosa couldn’t be prouder of the way his soldiers responded to the attack. He believes their training is likely the reason Lorenson is alive today.

“Being able to rapidly neutralize threats in a close-quarters environment is something that is engrained into every infantryman,” he said. “In this case, it not only saved Lieutenant Lorenson’s life, it saved the lives of the other soldiers within the compound.”

While Lorenson does feel lucky to be alive, he knows it wasn’t just luck that saved him.

“It just made me feel really good, knowing that they were so well trained that they just snapped into action.”