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I’m fairly certain that at some point or another on this beloved blog of mine I’ve mentioned that the marriage system in the military is somewhat broken. Not as bad as, say, the cutting score system, but it could definitely use some refining. It’s no secret that Marines all over the Corps enter into contract-marriages with women they either barely know or friends from back home.
Why do Marines do this? A number of reasons really–for starters, a bigger paycheck. Yes, in the military you quite literally get paid to be married. Well, it of course isn’t defined as such, but that is the inevitable result of receiving BAH (Base Allowance for Housing). Married Marines automatically get BAH, which can be quite a large sum depending on where you’re stationed. Where I was stationed–beautiful Kaneohe Bay, HI–the BAH rate for an E-3 (Lance Corporal) is currently $2,016 per month–mind you, this is in addition to the regular paycheck he’s already receiving.
While this system works great the way it was intended, for people that genuinely love eachother and are married because of such feelings, it also tends to work great for those that just want some extra cash. Contract marriages usually work by agreeing to split the BAH with someone, still netting you an extra $1,008 a month in Hawaii and the added benefit of living off base. Granted, $2,016 in Hawaii isn’t going to get you much luxury, but anything beats the bricks, right?
I believe my stance on it before was that I had no real suggestions to fix it, but I do think it’s something that can be worked on by someone much smarter than myself. As for the issue of the gays… well, I think my opinion on it is both moot and obvious, and I’ll leave it at that.
Moving on, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of really derpish, sister-fucking, hillbilly, asinine comments on Facebook when I put up a review of Friday’s Conan the Barbarian. Some people apparently believe I have no business writing about anything other than what entertains them personally. I think it’s sad that I even have to say this, but this is my blog, and I’ll write about whatever I feel like writing about. If you find yourself having a problem with what I’m writing about, I feel I should remind you that the content that spews from my fingers onto this keyboard involves a voluntary action on your part to read. That is, of course, going to the site and reading it. If I write something you don’t like–like a review of a really, really shitty movie–simply don’t read it.
One more thing! I mentioned last week the confusion regarding the book release.
With 10% More Motivation!
The book is still on track for August 24th now, bumped up from August 15th. As soon as it is available I’ll be spamming the shit out of Facebook and Twitter, as well as debuting a related video… Stay tuned for updates!
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