i guess those 23 years of my life i invested in the fight for freedom means nothing to Squaw Valley?

quote:

Originally posted by 12400552:
i guess those 23 years of my life i invested in the fight for freedom means nothing to Squaw Valley?

Get used to it, once you're retired you're not remembered when they dole out discounts. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

IT SEEMS THE RETIRES AND VETERANS ARE HISTORY. THERE IS ONE COMFORT THOU, I AM NOT ALONE. THE CIVILIAN LIFE DEFINETELY SHOWS THAT. I HAVE COME ACROSS AN EMPLOYEER THAT DOES NOT FIGURE MY RETIREMENT INTO IS PAY ANALYSIS ON ME. DISCOUNTS SEEM TO BE LESS AND LESS AS WE GO ALONG. ALL I CAN ADD IS THESE ARE THE CHILDREN WE RAISED AND THIS IS THIER DECISIONS, MAY GOD HELP US ALL.

Retirees are like second class citizens at the Naval Hopsital. It is a shame that some dependent of 1 year gets priority over my husband who has served over 25 years, when it comes to appts. And now he has to pay $9 to have his precriptions mailed to him.

Oh and God forbid that 19 year old dependent wife might have to wait for a retiree to get thier prescriptions before she can get her over the counter meds for her three children. Want to see rude?

Yes, I agree, it's a damned shame how they get treated after they retire.

I have one question to ask to the folks complaining about active duty dependents getting preference -- did you step aside for the retirees when you were an active duty dependent?? Some how I doubt you gave any thought to them as you busied about your lives. Shoes on the other foot now -- Retired, proud to have served, BUT its time to support those who are in the fight now. Don't forget that 19 year old needs a lot of support with a husband in Iraq or on the way!

quote:

Originally posted by MrMJ:
I have one question to ask to the folks complaining about active duty dependents getting preference -- did you step aside for the retirees when you were an active duty dependent?? Some how I doubt you gave any thought to them as you busied about your lives. Shoes on the other foot now -- Retired, proud to have served, BUT its time to support those who are in the fight now. Don't forget that 19 year old needs a lot of support with a husband in Iraq or on the way!

MrMJ - I dont know your branch of service or time served. But come back here after your spouse has served over 25 years and tell me how much you love the treatment you or your spouse are receiving.

So this is the complaint thread about retirees and vets....am I understanding this correct?

Well on a positive note then, some of us still respect our elders and those that have more needs than us.
Some of us actually let others who have waited longer than us go ahead because they look worse off than us or whatever the reason.
Some of us still use respectful terms like "yes sir/ma'am", "thank you sir/ma'am", "please", "thank you", etc/
Some of us still open doors for others, pick up things that we see people drop and give it back to them.

Those of us from a different and slightly older generation still know and show respect and honor to those who deserve it....

I'm 100% with Bobby.

quote:

Originally posted by bobbysangelwife:
So this is the complaint thread about retirees and vets....am I understanding this correct?

Well on a positive note then, some of us still respect our elders and those that have more needs than us.
Some of us actually let others who have waited longer than us go ahead because they look worse off than us or whatever the reason.
Some of us still use respectful terms like "yes sir/ma'am", "thank you sir/ma'am", "please", "thank you", etc/
Some of us still open doors for others, pick up things that we see people drop and give it back to them.

Those of us from a different and slightly older generation still know and show respect and honor to those who deserve it....

Hey, I'm only 24, and I was always taught to respect my elders, esp. those who have fought, or whos family has fought for me and my family. I am almost daily totally appalled at how ppl treat elders, esp. veterans. They deserve so much better than a lot of them get treated. It breaks my heart when I see some of them that are homeless. I'm sorry that you all are not treated the way you should be.

I don't mean the above statement in offense either

quote:

Originally posted by bobbysangelwife:
Well on a positive note then, some of us still respect our elders and those that have more needs than us.

And for some of us it gets harder everyday to find "elders" to respect.

It's hard getting old. When did that sneak up on me??

I'm now at a point I am starting to know more people in the obituaries than not.

I asked my dad what he was going to do when he retires this summer. He said he'd probably be occupied attending funerals, being a pall bearer, etc. My father (a young 63) attends at least one wake/funeral a week, sometimes more, as it is.

Wow. I dread that point.

I understand about retirees and veterans discounts. It seems as though the world has forgotten about all of us that served and protected our country, I am glad to the vets. get a lot of priorities, but they are forgetting the other ones. I see a lot of stuff for Viet-nam vets., Operation freedom, BUT NOT THAT MANY FOR DESSERT STORM> WE SERVED TOO.
Are we being forgotten????????

My husband has served since Beirut, has been in every conflict since. Tell me about being forgotten.

veteran's are on the back burner folks... look at the VA budget problems, and how the service is treating their wounded (some just getting discharged without proper outprocessing).

However... as for retirees having to wait at the MTF... I've sat and waited for 4 hours while on Active Duty, for required appointments. When I was in college and a dependant spouse, I sat and waited 4 hours for prescriptions. As a disabled veteran, I sit at the VA and wait for 4 hours for prescriptions, and drive around for an hour looking for parking because all the doctors and staff are overflowing into our lot, while we are forced to go to a mall parking lot and take a shuttle back to the VA for our appointments.

If you're a retiree with privelages at a MTF, you also have TriCare... some have TriCare for Life... you have other options. Some also have Medicare...

The young mother who's a dependand spouse on a military base, usually has NO other options. They have to see the docs on base, unless they can get a referral for an off-base doc. At a military facility, the AD, and their immediate families have priority. If you are a retiree it is a PRIVELAGE to have that option... some of us have suffered injury and wounds, and weren't able to complete 20 years of service, and don't have the options you have.

Next time you have to wait for the 19 year-old to get her medication, remember, this is probably the only option she has for medical care at all.

Since when did we start having to pay for priveleges? Albeit it's a small amount compared to what civilians might have to pay as their portion for healthcare, but it's still not a "gimme".

I'm not begrudging anyone an appt. at the MTF, and believe me, after sitting last week waiting for prescriptions, it's the retirees that hold you up there.

At our dispensary there are three different "lines"--one for active duty (which I applaud), one for call in prescriptions and one for people getting a prescription after their visit that same day.

But, I think it's deplorable when my husband, the retiree, calls up for a follow-up appt. with our dr for recurring pain, that he's told there are no appointments until the following month.

That said, it's a hell of a lot better than that witch doctor they mandated he see while AD.

Tricare Prime for AD dependents opened up a whole lot of options for today's dependents that we didn't have years ago. There's been vast improvement in the medical delivery system for dependents.

Too bad that didn't also translate to our veterans in the same magnitude.

Our MTF(the largest in the US) does not have room for retirees. Active duty Dependent spouses have the option to chose a civilian doc, they dont have to use the MTF.

AD dependant spouses do have the option of a civilian doc -- with co-pays. I was on TriCare Prime for years. It's not that simple. There are only a few selected doctors that you are allowed to use, and most of them having waiting lists.

These people are paying for it too. They aren't getting 'free' medical either. It comes out of their pay monthly (which I'm sure you all know).

A lot of MTFs don't have room for retirees. They have less and less doctors available now than 5 years ago, and the same amount of military folks and their families trying to get seen as well. You think you're having issues, try going to the VA. I'd rather sit and wait for 4 hours behind a young dependant spouse at an MTF, than what I have to do, which is fight for an appointment for my service-connected disabilites at the VA. We often times can't get an appointment any sooner than 3 months out.

AD and their families take priority. It's just the way it is, with limited resources. They've stopped prenatal and birthing care at most MTFs now (which actulaly is probably a good thing). Even active duty women giving birth no longer do so at the MTF.

VA care is a right, that you've earned as a veteran. MTF is designed for active duty, so yes, it is a privelage if you can still use it as a retiree. THere are hundreds of thousands of us veterans, disabled and otherwise who can't even get into the VA system because it is totally overloaded, therefore aren't getting ANY medical care at all -- what about them?
People getting turned away for VA care because of income levels. Does it matter that they were combat veterans and served 10 years of active duty time? That's what the VA was designed for... not the MTF. The MTF was designed for military members primarily. Great if you have the option, but I don't think having to wait, means you're screwed.

BTW, to use a civilian doc -- when I was in California 10 years ago, there were only 5 in the local area that accepted TriCare. That was 40 miles from the base in Palm Dale. There was a waiting list of 6 months to see one for an initial visit. Our only 'option' was the MTF.

My peeve is at a much higher level, it has reached the Congressional level.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MrMJ:
I have one question to ask to the folks complaining about active duty dependents getting preference -- did you step aside for the retirees when you were an active duty dependent?? Some how I doubt you gave any thought to them as you busied about your lives. Shoes on the other foot now -- Retired, proud to have served, BUT its time to support those who are in the fight now. Don't forget that 19 year old needs a lot of support with a husband in Iraq or on the way![/QUOTE

But why can't we get eye appointments so we can even purchase eyeglasses off base. Dependents and Civilian employees can but NO SPACE AVAILABLE for retirees. Dependents can wait in line behind me to get their prescriptions filled also if they came into the dispensary after me. My dependants did not get any special treatment, but that was the "Old" Navy!

WAAAAAAA. somebody call a WAAAANBULANCE. Use Tricare and go to a civilian doc not the MTF or VA. Move on folks. We are civilians now.