Charles Levine was blind in February when he was about to withdraw from the army and discovered that he would not cover more than $ 40,000 in final move costs, a benefit of service granted to retirees.
Lieutenant Colonel had served for 30 years, deploying five times and leading a infantry company in the air in Iraq and Afghanistan. But because he chose to continue serving after being eligible to retire in 2022, he was stripped of advantages of moving and storage promised almost all retired soldiers.
“It was a broken promise,” said Levine, 59. “I was incredulous.”
The news of the lack of roof delivered a strong emotional needle and a financial intestine. Levine and his wife, Ginger, trusted the benefit.
They have been renting an apartment in Charlottesville, Virginia, for $ 2,800 per month, thinking that the military would help them vacate their home in the post in West Point, the Military Academy in New York.
According to the couple’s estimates, at least $ 42,000 packs, transporting and storing a lifetime of belongings, so they feel trapped in West Point, paying another $ 4,400 per month for rent.
“We cannot afford to move and we cannot afford to stay,” Ginger said.
To save money, Ginger, 53, has been driving, writing cardboard boxes and paper used from new neighbors, while “he feels humiliated that this is how our service ends.”
Levine said she had a satisfactory career. But when he thinks of toll in recent months, he and his wife for 18 years, he questions his choice to stay longer in the army.
“That is the only thing that rises to the level where I might make a mistake,” he said.
Levine served in the National Guard from 1995 to 2001, when, three months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, active service began in the Army.
For the next 21 years, he crawled through enemy caves; He participated in more than two dozen aerial assaults in search of soldier captured by Taliban Bowe Bergdahl, who was in his battalion; He rose to the executive official of the battalion; and obtained several medals, including three bronze stars.
At that time, at home, the totality of his first year of marriage was lost, many vacations, the birth of his first grandson, the death of his father -in -law and all the soccer games of his son’s high school.
“We have given everything we have,” said Levine, who spent the last six years of his service showing calculation to cadets in West Point.
In the fall of 2022, Levine had completed the maximum number of years in active duty and could be withdrawn. But, he said, the leaders of the Army Reserve Mayor convinced him to make the transition to the reservation and continue teaching in West Point.
Levine officially separated from active service and went on to teach for two more years as part of the Army Reserve. Just before officially retiring from the military in March, he learned that he had lost the benefits in motion.
“They told us, without prior notice, that our family would not receive any support for our final movement,” Ginger said. “Without sending household items, without storage and without recognition of the circumstances.”
In a statement, Lieutenant Colonel Orlandon Howard, army spokesman, said that soldiers like Levine who choose to be released from active service after at least 20 years of service, deferring retirement to continue working for the reserve, have about six months to use their mobile benefits. Those who choose to withdraw from active duty are three years old.
To guide its decision -making, Howard said the army offers soldiers “significant resources, education and support”, including transition assistance programs throughout the country.
“The transition from soldiers must weigh their options and the associated advantages and disadvantages to make the best decision for their circumstances,” Howard said in his statement.
Levine said she did not choose to be released from active duty and, on the other hand, separated involuntarily, which said she should have granted mobile benefits for three years. Levine, a doctoral candidate at Northeastern University and a visiting scholar of the University of Virginia, also said that a regulation section allows those who pursue advanced education four years.
The Army said that soldiers who leave active service and join the reservation are not considered involuntarily separately, but Levine said that their separation documents show otherwise.
After fighting their case for more than three months, the Levines have reached their breakdown. They have decided to immerse themselves in their savings to move, fearing that they were already wasting so much money paying two rentals.
“I broke,” Ginger said. “I was emotionally broken.”
The couple creaked the estimates of multiple removals and storage companies. At the lower end, if they are packed, they would pay around $ 42,000 in their pocket.
Your regular income is approximately $ 5,000 Levine obtains every month from her pension, and the compensation of Jengibre has until the end of September after giving up her federal work.
“For the first time in our life, we now have debt,” Levine said.
He thinks of pure happiness and pride he felt in February during his retirement ceremony. A four -star retired general flew from the Middle East to preside over the event, and Levine was celebrated by her exploits while she was surrounded by loved ones and high -level leaders.
“It was amazing. I was afraid to leave. I felt really satisfied,” he said. “All those things disappeared and evaporated.”
