Army Reservist Plagued by Problems

by Jose
(Round Rock, TX )

When will the rain stop?

• Miltech working full time with the Army Reserves
• GS7 During the work week and E6 during drill days.
• Army Reserve, soon to be forced into the IRR
• Married
• I have two sons, 9 yrs and 1 yr old.
• Occasionally my wife substitute teaches.
• Round Rock, TX, just outside of Austin.


• A series of events that hurt me financially has recently occurred.

* First, my car has a blown engine in Jan.
* Second, my wife and my youngest attended a funeral, during the funeral my son had seizures and was admitted to hospital for 4 days in March.
* Thirdly, my AC unit went out in April, thus having an outrageous electric bill due to the house not cooling. (That's how we found out).

These bills are holding us down! I'm already one month behind on the mortgage.

And lastly (this one is a kick in the groin), I just found out 3 days ago I'm losing my job at the reserve center due to my status of not being Duty MOS qualified.

I've tried to fight it... but my battalion commander has already pushed several people out. I have 17 yrs in the military and 15 years of federal service! But all he cares about is his "precious" numbers.

In my perfect world, I gave my GI bill to my wife so she can get her teaching credentials. A year ago since her graduation, she was supposed to get a job and help me go thru school. Now in my area, they are still laying off teachers.

I'm really trying to pull myself out of this rut.

Robbing a bank comes to mind, but what can I do (legally)?

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Wow, Jose, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. And you're right, of course - it seems that when it rains, it pours!

I'm afraid I can't be much help; I'm not familiar with the resources available to you in Round Rock. But I found someone who will be! Contact the folks at TexVet (http://www.texvet.org/crisis) - you'll find a phone number at the bottom of the page - and I'll bet they will be able to provide you with some suggestions for help available in your area.

One question I have (forgive me for not knowing more about the Army): You mentioned that part of your problem is not being Duty MOS qualified - is there a way for you to GET qualified? If you could overcome that objection, I would think it would be a big help.

You might also contact Congressman John Carter's Round Rock office (http://carter.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=62) and see if they can make some inquiries on your behalf about your job being terminated. Sometimes, just having your Congressman ask questions can help.

At any rate, we wish you the best and hope you are able to get these issues sorted out and get back on your feet soon.