Over the past two years, services have been curtailed for the nearly 1,000 residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington - established in 1851 and formerly known as the Soldiers' and Airmen's Home - in an effort to balance its budget, according to a draft complaint that a spokesman for the residents, Homer C. Rutherford, said would be filed in federal court Tuesday.

"We're not griping, we're not whining. We just want to live," Rutherford said in a telephone interview Monday.

Among the cutbacks cited by Rutherford and other residents are the closing of the home's main clinic and an on-site pharmacy, elimination of on-site X-ray and electrocardiogram services and reductions in annual physicals as well as the number of on-site dentists.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke said the Pentagon does not comment on pending litigation.

The retirement home was opened in 1851 for wounded and disabled war veterans. It sits on 320 acres in the nation's capital. Four of the original buildings are still standing and are registered as national historic landmarks.

Veterans can live there if their active duty service in the military was at least 50 percent enlisted or warrant officer. They must have served on active duty for at least 20 years and be at least 60 years old. Also eligible are veterans unable to earn a living due to a service-related disability or whose disability is not service related but who served in a war zone.

All female veterans who served before 1948 are eligible.

Residents pay annual fees ranging from 35 percent of their adjusted gross income to 65 percent, depending on the level of care they require.

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