Check out this LTTE in my paper this morning

[AlCzervik]

The call up of the Guard
Those Army National Guard recruiters (as well as the administration) must be desperate to fill those many holes in the ranks of guardsmen and women whose deployments in Iraq have finally come to an end. Few are re-enlisting. My heart goes out to those who served (and are serving). Honestly.OK, but then I received a notice via U.S. mail to contact the U.S. Army National Guard to see if I qualify for a $10,000 enlistment bonus.

So, patriotically motivated by greed, I phoned the number provided.

I told the recruiter I would re-up if they'd up my rank to brigadier general, with perks. I explained, "I was so sure war was inevitable back then, I joined the California National Guard in 1939. My regiment was called to active duty the day after the Battle of Britain, Sept. 16, 1940, 15 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed."

I continued, "By the way, I turned 85 the day they coronated George Bush on Jan. 20, 2005."

The recruiter's response: "We'll remove your name from our list."

Any bets on the draft?

[salin]

1. bwahaha

both funny - and making a very strong point at the same time. Effective ltte!

[AlCzervik]

3. i've noticed that in the past 6 months the letters are slowly morphing

from "Liberals hate America" to more like "This war is wrong" "I wish i didn't vote for Arnold" "Bush is ruining our country." I'm hoping it's spreading.

[ktowntennesseedem]

2. I'm just sorry he'll miss out on that $10,000 bonus.

Great letter, thanks for sharing!

[ohtransplant]

4. Thanks for serving! n/t

[AlCzervik]

6. ok i didn't serve, the 85 year old letter writer did.

[ohtransplant]

9. OOPS

Sorry. I got so wrapped up in the letter and responded quickly.

It's something I try to always do - thanking veterans. We forget their service and their sacrifice so easily as we go about our daily lives. They, and our public safety forces, deserve our ongoing appreciation.

Thanks for the original post.

[gratuitous]

5. The recruiter's taking this guy's name off the list?

Shee-it, looks like I was wrong when I thought in their present state the military would take anyone. Okay, 85-year-olds seem to be exempt. For now.

[zbdent]

8. No, just that 85-year-old

he had the nerve to verify the data.

[gratuitous]

10. Well, I did qualify it with "for now"

Stupidhead seems to want to send the troops off to Iran, Syria, Libya and North Korea, and other, thus-far-unnamed countries. 85-year-olds might be required to serve so as to provide more human shielding for his own offspring.

[DemonFighterLives]

7. That was great

I got one of those dang national guard letters too. It scared the crap out of me. I did my six years and am 45 now. Not going to join the imperial war machine if I can help it. 10,000$ though, hmmm. :freak:

[AlCzervik]

11. kick for the swing shift