Raising price of Medical Premiums

SSG R, I believe as a Retiree that these cuts will affect me and many other retirees!! It is a double whammy, first they cut my cola, then charge me more for Tricare. It will not break the bank for "ME" however there are retirees that it will affect in a huge way. They already have a hard time and now to add to this these cuts and higher payment, when will it stop??

I don't think it will effect recruiting too much as it probably wont be discussed that much prior to enlistment. Military health care coverage in general will always outperform its civilian counterparts despite raising premiums. Retention will probably see a challenge because Soldiers usually have more skills and disability percentage and higher paying jobs waiting for them depending on career field etc. As far as how it would affect me.... I have another kid on the way which will total 2. It may put me in hardship due to some other added liability and depends how sick one of my dependents may become God forbid. Either way I think Service Members should be have safe flow of continual benefits and stability. We owe it to our service men and women especially since it was us who fought to establish our country and still continue to fight current wars.

There are a few examples of demobilization from war in my lifetime. My dad often said, "When they think they no longer need us, they will take everything away, destroy a lot of the good done, and complain about us. When someone threatens America, they will come screaming, 'save me,' and expect us to assume the front lines again, except they will drag their feet getting funding for our equipment ready for combat." "They" are the American People, and "they" include veterans who should know better.
Unfortunately, "they" are almost right, and that gives them the rationale they need to take everything. Yes, during peace we don't need a full standing Army. Yes, technology has outdated a lot of our equipment, from LBE and ALICE to LVE to MOLLE.
But our veterans are a symbol of American Pride. A country that can take care of her old Soldiers is a powerful country.
I have this suggestion: Our people will forget this need, us. Before they forget us, we need to find ways to identify all of our Brothers and Sisters that need our help, because our country will forget us until we are needed again. The DAV, GI Forum, VFW, American Legion, and all the other groups need us to be apart of their groups and keep the standard of care of America's Veterans high. We are the only ones who will know our Brothers and Sisters are suffering. Lastly, we are the only ones that know why there must be a standing army in peace. Not for show, but because we are always under attack. And our people will get comfortable. They will forget: The Drug War, Cold War, 9-11, The USS Cole, Benghazi, Kobar Towers, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, Somalia, Bosnia, Guam. They will think us as those leaders from the movies like Outbreak, Broken Arrow, The Last Castle, etc.