More young people who signed up to help out in local emergencies are on their way to Afghanistan

[garybeck]

First Lt Daniel Dykeman, 27, of Georgia, Vt. , says goodbye to his wife Amanda and baby Saveren, 18 months, at the Vermont Army Aviation Support Facility in South Burlington, Vt. , on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. A contingent of Vermont National Guard soldiers bound for the war in Afghanistan got a solemn send-off Friday, saluted as citizen warriors sacrificing life at home to serve their country.

Army National Guard soldiers headed to Afghanistan in advance of the larger deployment held at the Army Guard's Aviation Support Facility in South Burlington on Friday October 30, 2009.



May you, and the many others going with you, come home safely, Lt Dykeman.


Note:
The Purpose of the National Guard

The National Guard was created in 1903 by the Dick Act, which reorganized state militias into National Guard units. The Act standardized the equipment and training and poured massive amounts of federal funding into these units.3 The National Guard was meant to assist states in times of local emergencies like floods, earthquakes and other disasters, and to protect the country as a whole in time of federal emergencies.

Unlike regular Army soldiers who serve full time and are stationed on military bases; members of the Army National Guard serve only on weekends and live at home, the exception being when they are called up to active duty in time of emergency by the Governor of their state or the President.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2887


I have to ask, is this really a time of national emergency?

[saigon68]

1. Sucks to be him

One can only hope he isn't killed and his wife a widow in the Oily War for corporate profits.

And good luck in propping up the Thug, Hoodlum Karzai and his narco terrorist buddies.

[garybeck]

2. or any of his family n/t

[edwardian]

3. Sucks to not have the courage

to say NO!!! Moral responsibility accrues to ALL individuals. Soldiering is just being a hired thug.

[TicketyBoo]

4. Knock it off.

That's the kind of talk that had idiots spitting on returning soldiers when they returned home from Vietnam.

Hate the war, but respect the warrior. He is doing what he considers to be his duty to protect our way of life.

[Cyrano69]

14. You, Sir, are an uninformed ASS!

I am a U.S.A.F. Veteran, and my son is a currently serving U.S. Marine, currently stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, but having served two tours in Iraq, and being sent to Afghanistan in January.

He is a man of HONOR, and Integrity. He is not a hired thug, any more than I was. I was trained as an Air Force Medic. I was an ER tech, a Ward Tech, and a Medevac tech. My son is the platoon armorer, having qualified expert on the M-14, the Sidearm, and the .50cal. He was a turret gunner providing convoy security in Iraq, and led the trianing of Iraqi security forces.

If you wish to equate the men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform with Hired thugs, what do you call civilian police? stormtroopers?

[TwilightGardener]

15. Yes, it takes courage to stay at home and type.

:thumbsdown:

[Zywiec]

5. The real purpose of the National Guard

from the National Guard website.

I assume Soldiers didn't go to the United for Peace website before making a decision.

:eyes:

National Guard History

1636 The First Muster
1756 French and Indian War
1775 American Revolution
1794 The Whiskey Rebellion
1825 Lafayette and the National Guard
1847 The Mexican War
1861 The Civil War
1863 Gettysburg
1898 Spanish-American War
1918 World War I
1941 World War II – Pacific
1943 World War II – in the Air
1944 World War II – Europe
1951 Korean War
1966 The Cold War
1969 Vietnam
1991 Operation Desert Storm
1999 Post-Cold War Peacekeeping
and Warfighting
2001 9-11
2002Global War on Terror
2003Global War on Terror
2005Hurricane Katrina


About the National Guard

The National Guard, the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation's longest-enduring institutions, celebrated its 370th birthday on December 13, 2006. The National Guard traces its history back to the earliest English colonies in North America. Responsible for their own defense, the colonists drew on English military tradition and organized their able-bodied male citizens into militias.

The colonial militias protected their fellow citizens from Indian attack, foreign invaders, and later helped to win the Revolutionary War. Following independence, the authors of the Constitution empowered Congress to "provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia." However, recognizing the militia's state role, the Founding Fathers reserved the appointment of officers and training of the militia to the states. Today's National Guard still remains a dual state-Federal force.

Throughout the 19th century the size of the Regular Army was small, and the militia provided the bulk of the troops during the Mexican War, the early months of the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. In 1903, important national defense legislation increased the role of the National Guard (as the militia was now called) as a Reserve force for the U.S. Army. In World War I, which the U.S. entered in 1917, the National Guard made up 40% of the U.S. combat divisions in France; in World War II, National Guard units were among the first to deploy overseas and the first to fight.

Following World War II, National Guard aviation units, some of them dating back to World War I, became the Air National Guard, the nation's newest Reserve component. The Guard stood on the frontiers of freedom during the Cold War, sending soldiers and airmen to fight in Korea and to reinforce NATO during the Berlin crisis of 1961-1962. During the Vietnam war, almost 23,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called up for a year of active duty; some 8,700 were deployed to Vietnam. Over 75,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called upon to help bring a swift end to Desert Storm in 1991.

Since that time, the National Guard has seen the nature of its Federal mission change, with more frequent call ups in response to crises in Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and the skies over Iraq. Most recently, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, more than 50,000 Guardmembers were called up by both their States and the Federal government to provide security at home and combat terrorism abroad. In the largest and swiftest response to a domestic disaster in history, the Guard deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Today, tens of thousands of Guardmembers are serving in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the National Guard continues its historic dual mission, providing to the states units trained and equipped to protect life and property, while providing to the nation units trained, equipped and ready to defend the United States and its interests, all over the globe.

http://www.ng.mil/About/default.aspx

[unhappycamper]

6. The US Coast Guard has been going to war since its inception in 1790:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_coast_guard

[Zywiec]

7. The United for Peace website says the purpose of the Coast Guard is

to save swimmers from drowning at the beach while celebrating life.

:rofl:

[unhappycamper]

16. Until times of war.

Then the US Coast Guard is in the fray.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/coastguard/a/uscghistory_2.htm

Coast Guard at War

In addition to it's every day "peace-time" mission of law enforcement, safety, tariffs, and search and rescue, the Coast Guard supplements the United States Navy during times of war and conflict. The Coast Guard has been militarily involved in every single war the United States has fought from the Civil War to the war in Iraq.

On 11 September 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon in Washington, DC (the fourth aircraft crashed around Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers on board attempted to regain control from the terrorists). USCG units from Activities New York were among the first military units to respond in order to provide security and render assistance to those in need. In response to the terrorist threat and to protect our nation's coastline, ports and waterways, six U.S. Navy Cyclone-class patrol coastal warships were assigned to Operation Noble Eagle on 5 November 2001. This was the first time that U.S. Navy ships were employed jointly under Coast Guard command.

US Coast Guard units deployed to Southwest Asia in support of the US-led coalition engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom early in 2003. At the height of operations, there were 1,250 Coast Guard personnel deployed, including about 500 reservists. This included two large cutters, a buoy tender, eight patrol boats, four port security units, law enforcement detachments and support staff to the Central (CENTCOM) and European (EUCOM) Command theaters of operation.



Coast Guard Augments Army in Afghanistan

Long known to protect the waters surrounding the United States, the question asked each time someone sees them is, “What is the U.S. Coast Guard doing here?”

Chief Petty Officer Daniel Kinville and Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Kowalewski are part of an eight-person unit from the Coast Guard’s 1179th Deployment Support Brigade, and are the only two Coast Guard personnel in Afghanistan.

“Usually, everyone’s first reaction when they see us is shock,” said Kowalewski, a Pittsburgh native. “They can’t seem to figure out why we’re so far from the U.S. coast and why we’re in a landlocked country.”

The answer lies in the Coast Guard’s reputation for keen attention to detail with paperwork, packing, customs and hazardous-materials shipping and storage — their ability to continually ship containers across oceans without frustration issues. Based on this expertise, Army officials requested the Coast Guard’s help with redeploying and sealifting their gear.

The Coastie duo adds another flavor to the vast assortment of uniforms here, and for many soldiers, seeing a Bagram-based Coastie holds a silver lining, Kowalewski said.

“The soldiers get really excited when they see us,” she explained. “They know that once we get here and start customs services, means they are getting closer to going home.”

Kinville and Kowalewski are serving nine-month deployments, and neither is performing duties typical to their Coast Guard specialty. As a prerequisite for their duties here, each had to go through extensive hazardous-materials handling and packing and shipping courses, followed by convoy travel and weapons training.

Still, the additional training and stepping out of normal roles expands a servicemember’s breadth of experience, said Kinville, a Yorktown, Va., native.

“We get the experience of working with the Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines. This is something totally different than what we do back in the states,” he said.

They were both startled when they heard a 155 mm Howitzer fire for the first time, and Kowalewski experienced her first helicopter ride.

“The chance to be here, see the front lines with the soldiers experience their way of life in and around the different stages of deployment is really amazing,” Kinville said. “I’m proud to be able to support them and help where I can.”

[justiceischeap]

8. I'm all against war and people dying needlessly but...

If dude didn't consider when he signed up for the reserves that he could/would be sent off to war, then he didn't do enough research.

I was all set to enlist out of high school (AD) until I did some research about how the military could lie to you to get you to enlist and then screw you over once you signed the dotted line. That was during the first Gulf war. So, I feel bad that the guy has to go to Afghanistan but he knew it was a possibility when he signed up. I had an ex that was Air Force reserves. She didn't sign-up to help our state, she signed up for the bennies, as most do, I'd suppose.

[Cid_B]

9. Silly at best....

A quick visit to the website or wikipedia will tell you exactly what the role of the Guard has been and will be.

I would say the same thing to a Navy guy who thought he was supposed to be on a cruiser and is working in a shop in Afghanistan as well. Needs of the military.

[KG]

10. screwed by the Dick Act?

[Vidar]

11. Sadly not unlike the press gangs formerly used to "recruit" for the British navy.

[Cid_B]

12. Totally...

except for the whole volunteering and paycheck thing.... sheesh

[kiva]

13. Not so much -

The British government never devised an orderly procedure for impressment, or conscription, for naval service. Instead, captains of shorthanded men-of-war sent armed details to scour British waterfronts or to board merchantmen to exercise direct and immediate conscription. Lieutenants commanding these "press gangs" were ruthlessly undiscriminating.
http://www.answers.com/topic/press-gang

When recruiters begin trolling waterfronts or boarding ships and kidnapping men, I'll agree.