Military widows and veterans in Puerto Rico receive fewer health benefits than their counterparts in the United States, even though Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and serve shoulder-to-shoulder with their countrymen in Iraq and Afghanistan.That means that, like all island spouses whose soldier husbands or wives were killed in the latest U.S. wars, the widow of Army Sgt. Jeffrey Michael Rada Morales would get less than fully paid health insurance -- simply for living in Puerto Rico.The 32-year-old soldier drowned along with two others last month when their vehicle overturned in a river in Afghanistan during patrol duty.The unequal treatment his widow, Amanda Rada Morales, and his children, seven- and 10-years-old, would receive in Puerto Rico from the U.S. Department of Defense in its health care policy also extends to the 22,000 island military retirees under the age of 65 and their families.The reason: The Pentagon considers Puerto Rico an "overseas" location.Yet, military retirees and survivors in Hawaii and Alaska, also considered "overseas" by the Pentagon for purposes of the health plan, receive benefits on par with their fellow citizens who live in the contiguous 48 states.While active duty military and their families in Puerto Rico are eligible for TRICARE Prime, the Pentagon's fully paid HMO option, the under-65 retirees on the island are limited to a program called TRICARE Standard. Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in Washington, says TRICARE Standard is equivalent to a health insurance program that the Defense Department itself deemed inadequate several years ago. Survivors of soldiers killed in war, if they live in Puerto Rico, qualify for the Prime program for two years, then must switch to Standard."If the husband, who is from Puerto Rico, goes to Iraq and is killed in action, and his wife, also Puerto Rican, wants to return home to the comfort of her family and friends, she receives less than full health care benefits," said a former high-ranking officer who asked to remain anonymous because of continued military connections."Whatever happened to the saying by the military, 'We take care of our own?'" asked the retired officer, who served 20 years in the Army."They treat us like a foreign country," he added.This is despite the fact that Puerto Ricans have a long history of military service. Fortuno noted that the island ranks 15th among the states for the total number of deployments in the war on terror for the Reserve and National Guard. More than 70 service members from Puerto Rico "have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation" in these conflicts, Fortuno said.The inequality extends also to Pentagon programs for wounded soldiers. Fortuno said."I was recently informed that the Army opted not to establish a Soldier Transition Unit" in Puerto Rico, he said.Fortuno has been trying since 2006 to get the Pentagon to redress the situation. The Pentagon contends it is simply following federal law.E-mail Robert Friedman at friedmanr(at)verizon.net.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Puerto Ricans get less military benefits than other U.S. citizens
Submitted by SHNS on Fri, 07/11/2008 - 14:11
Puerto Rican military family are short-changed
I was born in Puerto Rico and live in the main land. I'm a combat wounded Vietnam veteran. It's a shame how Puerto Rican living in the Island who love America are treated when it comes to equal rights after serving in the military and paying the ultimate sacrifice. God bless Puerto Rico, America and our troops.
PS: Check my website at: www.bluewallnypd.com and see for yourself on the home page where in Korea how the Puerto Rican soldiers gave their lives serving with the 65th Infantry Regiment in Korea. Click on 65th Regiment.
Puerto Rican military family are short-changed
I was born in Puerto Rico and live in the main land. I'm a combat wounded Vietnam veteran. It's a shame how Puerto Rican living in the Island who love America are treated when it comes to equal rights after serving in the military and paying the ultimate sacrifice. God bless Puerto Rico, America and our troops.
PS: Check my website at: www.bluewallnypd.com and see for yourself on the home page where in Korea how the Puerto Rican soldiers gave their lives serving with the 65th Infantry Regiment in Korea. Click on 65th Regiment.
US Discrimination Against Puerto Rican Veterans
To think I believed I was a citizen of the land of liberty, equality and justice for all, regardless of origin, ethnicity, religion, and place of birth/residence.... Bull!
To add insult to injury, Puerto Rican War Veterans have an elected official in Washington, DC, Luis Fortuño, who obviously is aware of the official discrimination our Puerto Rican veterans and their families suffer when they are refused their hard-earned full veteran benefits, does nothing to correct the unfair discriminatory actions of the US Department of Defense.
Mr. Fortuño, instead, has opted to spend most of his term in office lobbying for statehood in the US Congress and politicking in Puerto Rico for his party's (NPP) nomination for the governorship. And now that he has achieved that goal, Mr. Fortuño is running for governor.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fortuño has had neither the interest nor the time to do his job working for the rights of our Puerto Rican Veterans.
Indignantly,
Jay Carlosi
Are you retired? Do you have someone to refered to enlist Army?
Are you retired? Do you have someone to refered to enlist in the Army? Then you could qualify to get a $2,000 bonus after your referal finishes training. Puertorricans have been serving in the United States Army for a long time, and it has become a proud tradition in our families to continue to do so. You might know someone who can take advantage of the many benefits the Army has to offer like college money to complete an education. To know more about this or any of our programs please contact me at 1-877-269-5262 SGT Burgos.
SGT Burgos
SGT Burgos is obviously an US Army recruiter who used the Comment Section of the excellent article by Mr. Robert Friedman in an effort to neutralize (at least partially) by asking the readers to join the US Army.
Please notice that he does not mention the benefits once you leave the US Army. Was he afraid of Mr. Friedman publishing more facts?
The $2,000 you promise in the name of the US Army is nothing compared to the $2,568 the candidates would make working at the prevailing minimum salary. And, by the way, he/she would not have to kill anyone (women, children, and so on), risk his/her life in the process, leave his/her family and friends and so on.
Incidentally, why don´t you mention the fact that most of the recruitment promises are not kept, as denounced by soldiers/veterans in the media???
The fact that you are probably Puerto Rican didn´t impress me at all. Quite the contrary, Sarge Burgos....
Jay Carlosi
Correction to my previous comment
Oops! I confused the $2,000.00 offered to retired people to "refer" potential recruits to enlist in the Army.
SGT Burgos is obviously trying to buy the conscience of retired persons to use whatever influence they may have on young people (Kids? Girls?) to to risk their lives, become maimed, etc. Burgos is actually asking people like myself to sell our conscience and dignity for $2,000.00, or should I say 30 coins?... (Maybe this was like a lot of money to Judas then, but, as it turned out, the 30 coins were worthless once he realized the horrible thing he had done.)
Jay Carlosi
IN THE ARMY NOW!!
I read some comments on the negative side of military service. While I am not in agreement to killing women and children, the military is a great way of life, if you choose that. I joined the Navy in 1987, and did 20 years. Best thing that ever happened to me!!
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