Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
If we're not going to be in loco Parentis to Joe -- and the new Barracks say that is the case -- then we need to train Joe to take care of himself and treat him like an adult. That is a massive mind shift for the Army, one that'll take a generation or so to embed.
Agreed, and when you are half stepping between "Being Daddy" and "You're an adult, bucko!" it will be increasingly infuriating for our soldiers.

We could, in the interim, at least stop giving Joe a pay increase to get married...
I just gotta share this story.

When I was a DLI, affectionately know as the Desperate Loving Institute, a sizable number of students got married to other students. This was in no small part due to the non-monetary incentives. First, if you were married, you got to live, basically unsupervised (i.e. like other people of your age) in quite nice housing on Ft. Ord. If you were single, no matter your age or rank (up to SFC!) you lived in a postage stamp barracks on the Presidio, where you were subjected to constant "Hey you!" details, mass punishment, and bi-monthly inspections that would take up every other Saturday, no matter how clean your barracks room was kept. Secondly, if you married someone who spoke a language radically different than yours, (e.g. Farsi and Chinese) you greatly increased the odds of being assigned to Ft. Mead, which everyone knew was a great place to ETS into a high paying job, instead of Ft. Gordon, or a line unit, where you were likely to deploy.

Funny thing happens on the way to the forum, though. Once you are out in the force, and have your orders, those incentives go away. Most people get promoted to E-5 where you can live off base, and off course, orders are orders. Therefore, the divorce rate sky rockets. Anecdotally, fewer than half of DLI marriages made it to the first duty station.

Bottom line is, I whole heartedly agree that the screwed up incentive structure is a bad idea. Indeed, given the time and the money I could probably convince the "Mothers of America" of it as well. I am sure that a fair number of the high divorce rates amongst soldiers come from people who married purely with the intent to make money off of it.