Time to re-think the Reserves & Guard

[SoCalDem]

This ONE issue could go a long way to redefine our military.

Military life was , until recently, a young MAN's occupation. Some would decide to make a career of it, but probably most did their time, and then left. The benefits package was designed (and re-done many times) for the "lifers" (the minority of soldiers).

It makes sense to maintain a reserve and to have a National Guard, and it also made sense to offer these two to soldiers who had already been trained. In exchange for "some" of their post-service time, a monetary trade-off is a benefit to both the soldier and the military command. It saves money for the military, since the reservists/guard cannot use full benefits unless they are "active"...and for the soldier, they have a chance at a "regular job" in exchange for some extra cash when they do their "training" every so often.

It WORKED...(until recently)

the implied "promise" was that they would NOT be called up UNLESS it was a dire emergency.

That one fact allowed many people who should have gotten out LONG AGO, to continue.

A guy/or woman with some 40-something (or older) health issues, could manage to do the regular guard or reserve duties, go home and recuperate until the next one, and not do long term damage to their bodies.. That's all different now.

It's highly embarrassing and disgusting to me when I read about a SIXTY-TWO year old GRANDMA or GRANDPA killed in battle.

It probably does not do our world-image much good either. It sends a message that we are NOT READY.. that we cannot recruit/draft enough young, healthy, in-their-prime people into our military. We are a toothless tiger, over-burdened with billion dollar machines that are destroyed by cell-phones, left-over/scavenged bits, and young zealots who hate us more than they love their own lives. It also says that our own training must be lacking, if we cannot continually train up new recruits, and must desperately hang onto all the old ones. It says we are NOT ready for prime time

I would like to see reserves & guard duty ENDED completely upon their 40th birthday. There might be a few exceptions depending on their actual jobs..(computer programming, office workers, etc). The COMBAT divisions should NOT be allowed for people over 40.

My friend runs the club/restaurant on a reserve base and she's appalled at the condition of most of these 'reservists".. She once told me that by the way they chow down and the amount of time they spend at the club, the only exercise most of these guys get is lifting fork to mouth. Most are extremely overweight, out of shape, and not well at all.

The Guard should be for ONLY our own country. Katrina should have taught us all a lesson. The people and their equipment that were "out-of -the-country" might have helped a lot in evacuations.

[checks-n-balances]

1. Kicked & Recommended!

Who knew the situation would ever get to be this way? To lower the ceiling to age 40 would be a humane start.

[Corgigal]

2. I "almost" ..almost applied to a job posted that week

the claim it was a civilian job BUT would be a part of the reserves. I thought about this, because I thought the job was perfect for me.

Couldn't trust it.