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  • 2016-01-26 (xsd:date)
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  • Do a Net Worth Over $1 Million Disqualify You from Military Service? (en)
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  • A long-circulating military rumor maintains that individuals with a high net worth (a million dollars in this iteration) are prohibited from serving due to a supposed propensity for refusing orders: It's certainly unambiguous that the majority of active servicemen and women are of modest means. While many now-wealthy folks once served, individuals who've abandoned lucrative careers or opportunities (or were born into money) often so rarely opt to serve that such a scenario is newsworthy. However, examples to the contrary remain, one being Senator John McCain's son James McCain: Further back in history, all four of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.'s sons served in the military despite the family's wealth: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was killed in action in August 1944, President John F. Kennedy was awarded a Purple Heart for heroic actions in the same year, Senator Ted Kennedy enlisted in 1951, and Robert F. Kennedy enlisted in 1944 six weeks before his eighteenth birthday. None circumvented active duty despite their families' wealth and fame. Clear examples to the contrary regarding wealth and eligibility to serve contradict claims that net worth is an absolute barrier to service due to a high likelihood of insubordination. A similar rumor was addressed in a 20 July 2010 Stars and Stripes column titled Can winning the lottery get you out of the service? Although the question addressed in that item didn't directly pertain to eligibility to serve, it did confirm the existence of scenarios in which newly acquired wealth disrupted a military career: However, the scenario described didn't involve a question of eligibility to serve, merely a situation where wealth arose as a factor in the trajectory of a military career. That article also noted that sudden infusions of wealth were a potential distraction of which the military wasn't unaware, making such discharges perhaps best for all involved (again, in scenarios where individuals received unexpected windfalls in the course of service): Further supporting information can be found in military forms pertaining to requests for discharge following a once in a lifetime opportunity: So while branches of the service were aware of and provided for scenarios in which an individual's sudden wealth placed their continued enlistment at odds with the best interests of the military, we could locate no specific provision barring wealthy individuals from serving, due to probable insubordination or otherwise. It appeared to be true that servicemen or women who encountered a windfall could under some circumstances be relieved of their obligation to serve, but the request seemed to be most often triggered by the individual and not their relevant military branch. It's possible the rumor was a byproduct of the idea such continued service was not in the best interests of the military, but that specific wording was derived from a protocol related to new wealth, not existing high net worth. (en)
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