We have to start doing better by these guys - at UPS you're vested after 5 years and eligible for a small pension, but in the military it's 20 or nothing. They guy could flesh out his twenty with reserve time, but there's every chance he'd be called up at some point. As far as healthcare . . . move to IL and enroll in vetscare.

But the truth is the guy's got almost no skills that translate to civilian jobs. After 10 years in they ought to get partial pensions. If you can have something to show for slinging boxes, you ought to have something to show for being a SEAL.

>implying he doesn't have the GI Bill and the VA to fall back on

It's like reporters are exaggerating things!

The Corporate War Machine chews up another piece of meat. And many more have it far worse than this one has it. So onward to PROFITS!!!!

it almost seems as if a military career has drawbacks.

the deal is 20 years, and you get a pension & health care for life. he took the deal.

it wasn't a good deal.

I know it does not make me a good person, but the fact I seized on is that the article was written by Sharon Stone's ex-husband.

@1: Not that it makes the situation any better really, but many private security companies love ex-special forces guys, and pay ridiculous salaries. Not to mention the training they receive in demolitions, operation of special vehicles, and the repair of firearms and equipment.

But it can be hard for veterans due to the fact that they do not have the neat, tidy certifications and degrees that so many companies require.

But my understanding of the situation is that there are certain benefits that can be accessed ater 16 years, which includes a small pension and VA benefits, which would include health care.

If he has medical issues from service, he is eligible for medical care and disability pay for the rest of his life. Now VA medical isn't the greatest and disability pay isn't a lot, but it's far from nothing.

Looks like he volunteered for the wrong Armed Forces.

Do we have a source for this other than Esquire? They read like a trashy British tabloid.

Here's an article about this story in Stars and Stripes:

http://www.stripes.com/blogs/the-rupture…

"""[Esquire reporter Bronstein] said there wasn’t space in the article to explain that the former SEAL’s lack of healthcare was driven by an ignorance of the benefits to which he is entitled.

“That’s a different story,” Bronstein said in a phone interview with Stars and Stripes about what he omitted from the article."""

That different story would have some credibility with me. It was a LONG article too, there's no way there wasn't room to put in a sentence about how he is entitled to some care.

Great article, except for a how it is mostly incorrect.

He has 5+ years of free, no questions asked healthcare (and then more depending on situation and current income at that time) through the VA.

Yes, it makes for great headlines, though, doesn't it!

http://twitchy.com/2013/02/12/lying-liar…

When I see the commercials for military of any kind I remind myself of stories like this, not so badass now Hollywood.

Sorry. Pensions are the golden handcuffs that keep folks working in some jobs. Teachers do not expect to receive a regular pension unless they work the full 30 years. Why should that soldier expect anything at all when he QUIT before he was eligible? No sympathy here.

This story was largely creative writing. Gawker has already called Esquire on the BS and Esquire is sputtering in self-righteous rage.

http://gawker.com/5983706/esquire-editor…

http://gawker.com/5983327/the-seal-who-s…