Sinclair & Johnson: Betrayed military spouses often keep quiet for fear of losing benefits

[unhappycamper]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jilted-military-spouses-20140403,0,1822453.story



Col. James H. Johnson and then-wife Kris in Bamberg, Germany, in 2009. She eventually reported his sexual misconduct even though she knew it might mean that she and her two children would lose military benefits as a result.

Betrayed military spouses often keep quiet for fear of losing benefits
By David Zucchino
April 2, 2014, 6:47 p.m.

FT. BRAGG, North Carolina — Within the tight circle of Army spouses, Kris Johnson and Rebecca Sinclair became close friends as their ambitious husbands advanced rapidly in the officer corps.

Both women were ultimately betrayed by their philandering spouses. Both endured public humiliation as their high-ranking husbands were hauled before courts-martial amid salacious testimony about adultery and other sex-related military crimes.

And both women, along with their children, risked losing a lifetime of military benefits if their husbands were dismissed from the Army.

"You're advised to keep your mouth shut and let him retire because you could lose everything," said Johnson, whose now ex-husband, an Army colonel, pleaded guilty in 2012 to adultery, bigamy and other charges.

[yeoman6987]

1. Woman on the outside have the same issues

Divorce needs an overhaul....Ok easy for me to say especially with no specific details, but I do know that many people feel trapped in their loveless and often harassed spouse. I know it can be like this for men too. For a spouse to receive 1/2 the spouses retirement, they have to be married for 10 years. For a spouse to receive full medical benefits for life, they have to be married 20 years. The spouses are often trapped because they have given up their careers to follow their spouse and have nothing to fall back on. It is a tough and often sad situation. Of course, I only vent because until a full overhaul of divorce rules in America occur, it is just all we can do is vent.

[WCLinolVir]

2. Another reason not to marry into the military.

Sad. If I had daughters I would have to educate them about how to look after their own interests. No one likes to think that they will end up under those circumstances, but the reality is you may. The husband was a real pit putting it all in jeopardy for everyone.