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Obviously the soldiers require a break after serving in the army. But who can force the army to respect the contract?
posted by
adventurer02
on June 27, 2015 at 12:12 AM
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Maj, so what happened to him? Did he survive?
posted by
Cynthia
on January 27, 2007 at 10:12 AM
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Thanks. Of course there could be some "Secret Squirrel" thing going on.
A former coworker, newly married and a kid on the way, was three months shy of finishing his inactive reserve time (six years after active duty) when he was called up for Deseert Storm and wound up in KMMC sitting in a warehouse with a parachute and a shotgun listening to SCUDs coming in. He was a med tech, but in his spare time he'd gone out and gotten jump qualified....and they needed jump-qualified medicacl personnel in case the "Hail Mary" attack went sour and trapped our tanks and troops.
posted by
majroj
on January 22, 2007 at 12:49 PM
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Bel, I understand what you are saying
but apparently, in the cases that were brought up on 60 minutes, the contracts they signed were clear to them but there were hidden aspects that they were never told about. And pulling the wool over someones eyes to get them to sign something is no way to build an "all volunteer" army.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 22, 2007 at 5:30 AM
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Maj Your comments are very instructive as
they are backed by actual experience. It really provides some detail and I always learn something from them and I thank you for that.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 22, 2007 at 5:26 AM
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The biggest loss of autonomy is is for the "common" soldier/airman/sailor.
If you think the regimentation in peacetime is irksome, suddenly you have lost most of the autonomy you had left, plus you have mission with life/death endings and insufficient resources.
In peacetime training is soft to prevent losses due to casualty or getting scared and quitting (after all, peacetime military needs peacetime skills). We had people who could not wear a gas mask despite ten years' chem warfare emphasis against the USSR. It's rare, short, and usually in nice weather because it's expensive and training sites compete for visits from military units to justify their existence and budget.
Then, when it's time to go to war, it's all real.
posted by
majroj
on January 21, 2007 at 6:33 PM
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I believe these people need to read the paperwork they signed
There are a limited few that can be called back because they have a very specific MOS and the military gave them that training that can also be used in the civilian world to make a pretty decent living, it is made to clear to them when they accept that training that they can be called back at anytime.
It is also made clear the when needed the military can extend their service. If they didn't read the contract...no sympathy on my end.
posted by
bel_1965
on January 21, 2007 at 1:08 PM
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There are some ways to suck folks back in...
If you are an officer over the rank of Colonel.
If you are within your inactive reserve period.
If you are within the "retired reserve" period.
If you are an active reservist.
All military members are subject to the all-encompassing clause "...or as mission requires", whereby they can extend people's service but not forcibly re-enlist them.
People with "special experience identifiers" (SEI) codes are more prone to being recalled frmo inactive reserve. These short numeric codes, which usually are assigned to you without your knowledge, identify people with special skills such as parachute jumping, medical specialties, nuclear engineering, etc. But you cannot be reenlisted using them alone, you must be in a reserve state.
posted by
majroj
on January 21, 2007 at 1:03 PM
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Maj, these guys were guests on 60 minutes,
But it was a show I saw in 2004 and wrote about it then. After following such stories and the horror of how our troops and civilian workers are STILL being treated by this government 3 years later ASTOUNDS me.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 21, 2007 at 10:16 AM
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Um, could I see the reference about Korean and VietNam vets??
Personal interset almost
posted by
majroj
on January 20, 2007 at 9:19 PM
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