Letter to the Editor

I'm sure Milt Zall got "beat up" plenty on his topic of a "same-same" cost-of-living raise between civilian and military folks, so I won't go there ["Equal raises for all"]. Further, I won't rehash the argument of "not seeing civilians in my foxhole" either.

My only bone of contention comes from the years of silence from federal civilians when the situation was reversed. Weren't there even a few years where the federal civilians' cost-of-living adjustment increase exceeded the military raise? (I think so, but can't say with certainty; never paid much attention.)

How come I have yet to hear, "Hey, why don't we have matching Thrift Savings Plan funds for the military?" Or, "Why the heck did it take so long to even get a TSP for the military?"

One could draw a comparison up, down, left and right comparing and contrasting the differences or superiority of one over the other. In the end, we are all in the same boat.

Milt is correct when he says we can "vote with our feet" if we don't like the situation. At least in theory.

Having just less than 19 years in the Air Force, I don't qualify for a pension yet, and I'm not willingly going anywhere until I do qualify. Yes, prices do go up the same for everyone, but when you start off making a heck of a lot more than me, your 3.6 percent can end up being a lot more than my 4.6 percent anyway. You still have to pay more for that loaf of bread, just like me, but until I hit 20 years and a pension, I'm sitting right here.

And yes, I'm probably carping every time I see a civilian walking away with more pie than me. Same as you wondering what I did to get more gravy on my potatoes this pass through the line. So in that sense, I guess we are the same!

Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Kunich
Force Protection Battlelab