I will begin my service in the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) with my first Initial Entry Training (IET) – or I guess the defense force’s version of basic training – on November 12th. Not only am I excited, but I’m blessed and thankful to be able to serve alongside our military in uniform. I’ve seen some posts discussing how cool, neat or fun it will be to do this. Is it cool, neat or fun to serve in uniform, even in the federal army, police, fire and rescue, etc.? I’m sure with most service people, there is an element of that. You can’t escape that level of excitement; we are only human. My brother-in-law served in the National Guard for 20 years, and not long before his retirement, he was deployed to Iraq, and thankfully made it home okay. My wife told me he’s always been a GI Joe, and always into the military, guns, etc. So I’m sure there was some level of coolness, neatness and fun to what he did. That was his life. But there’s another side. It’s called service and sacrifice. Whether you like something, and it’s cool or not, in order to serve and give it everything you have, there is a level of sacrifice.
This is no different with the Defense Force. I respect anyone – even if it’s somewhat for a “cool” reason – who puts on a uniform and serves God, community, state, country, fellow citizens, etc. Just attending a defense force drill is sacrifice, it’s sacrifice of time. A wise person once told me “The most valuable thing you can give someone is your time.” And in this day in age, if I have to stop off at the gas station in the morning with my MDDF ACU on, I run the risk of attack from people who are out to harm those of us in service. Sure most state defense forces like Maryland’s are operational support, but there are operational support units in the regular army. I have family members who were in the Navy and Air Force, and never once carried a weapon or were in combat, down-range, etc. In fact I know a corpsman who, aside from basic training, and Navy field med training at Camp Lejeune, worked most of his time at Bethesda Naval Hospital, and got basic housing to live at home. It was like a regular job. Yet there are defense force personnel who voluntarily deployed to Louisiana to help victims of Katrina, and even voluntarily deployed to Kosovo to assist with medical training. It happened, google it! I respect neither situation any less; both demonstrated people who honored their country with service and sacrifice.
This being said, am I trying to compare a state defense force soldier to an active duty soldier, airman, sailor, marine, coast guardsman, or national guardsman? Absolutely not! They are two different services, one at the state-level and one at the federal level, one that can be deployed into harm’s way, and one that cannot legally be deployed out of state. Additionally, state defense force personnel can essentially quit at any time. But there’s a flip-side, defense forces personnel don’t get paid, receive virtually no benefits, and are doing it in many cases to serve and help others. And let’s not forget the “others” they are trying to help are active-duty military and national guardsman. Anybody who wants to put down the mission of a defense force should remember that.
Finally, just like a fire department, “regular military,” police department, Peace Corps, etc., if the members of that organization know their place, they can be very effective. I heard about some defense force members in, I think Washington State, who tried to acquire a tank. What?!?!?!? That makes no sense, and even if they could do that, what good would it do? We have enough heavy artillery and trained personnel to operate them in our military. We don’t need some yahoos running around with a tank for no good reason! But that is an extreme situation. Particularly since 911, we have seen a real need for defense forces. Operationally, they are an excellent force multiplier, and conduit to maintain continuity between state and federal emergency management, as well as personnel, logistics, etc. Remember that with all of the trained and qualified military personnel we had, many things were missed which led up to the attacks of 911. When trained, they also are effective with Search and Rescue (SAR), etc. Plus, in Maryland, we have many highly-qualified personnel such as doctors, nurses and certified EMT’s in our medical unit, lawyers in our JAG unit, chaplains in our chaplaincy unit, IT technologists in our cyber security unit and engineers in our engineering unit.
One of the things my Brigadier General (who has over 30 years service in the Army and National Guard) said to me during my interview when I mentioned some other states who have underwater rescue units, etc., was that there has to be a need. So for instance if the National Guard stated they needed that particular service from the defense force, then we could look into providing it. But right now we provide the services needed. That’s how you work as a team. You know your place by working in concert with your National Guard to offer the most effective support to your state and therefore your country. The Maryland Defense Force wanted my resume and conducted an interview with me. They wanted to see what I could bring to the table. Just showing up to an orientation saying I wanted to serve wasn’t enough to get me accepted into the MDDF. I had to have what it took to add to and complement their mission.
One other point relating to this and adding to this long post is, when we talk about respect and saluting a defense force soldier - and which I’ve read quite a few posts relating to this topic - there seems to be some consternation with some people regarding this. A solute is a show of honor and respect. If a member of our military feels that they should salute a defense force soldier, then I feel that is fine to do, if solely because they are another human being giving their all-valuable time to help them and others. But I don’t feel it’s required. I also oppose any defense force soldier – because of rank – requiring a member of the federal military to salute them. That’s arrogant and self-centered to me. But at the same time, this goes out to members of the military or others who don’t understand the role of a defense force. Remember that though their basic training is different, and not has intense or thorough, many defense force personnel bring a lifetime of training, experience, education and knowledge to their job. They’re seldom a 18-22-year-old who has accumulated very few life experiences. They at times have already acquired knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s), as well as discipline through college, grad school, job, career training, family (being a spouse and/or parent), serving in their church and community, etc. I’ve accomplished each of these things. It may prove to be a bit silly for someone like that to go through some of the things a recruit goes through in boot camp. Again, each military unit has its place.
As a final note, though some people refuse to stand or recite the Pledge of Allegiance, particularly in this day in age, remember that we are still a republic, and when you serve your state, by definition, you are serving your country. Know your role, service with honor and distinction, and as the Army used to say, “Be the best you can be!” I’m honored and proud to serve as a state defense force soldier with the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF). Hooah!!!!!!!!!
Yes there are those who disparage the contribution of the SDFs, and some of that is deserved, but not all. In my experience every organization has its movers and its deadwood. A SDF is no exception.
IMO, no one should criticize another person's desire to serve country or state, no matter how minor the contribution during that service. One might justifiably criticize the level or quality of service, but not the willingness to give service.
There has always been interservice rivalry. That is not all bad as it manifests competition and the striving to be the best. However, it can be taken too far. In the end, all services are on the same team. A sports team is a good analogy. If the best player disparaged the third stringers, most people would rightfully judge the best player an arrogant jerk. It would be a better approach for the best player to mentor the third stringers, so they could up their game. (BTW, I often used the third stringer analogy with respect to SDFs. The Active Component (AC) is the first string, and the Reserve Component (RC) is the second.)
There will always be those who criticise or attempt to devalue the SDFs. In my time in a SDF, I always tried to ignore that BS. I knew my motivation was pure, and I always strived to do my best, and that made it much easier to ignore the naysayers.
Sometimes members of the AC or RC would offer addition challenges to me as a SDF member...challenges they did not impose upon fellow AC or RC members. (Usually, these were not direct verbal challenges but additional attention or requirements directed at me.) I interpreted these challenges as special tests given so that I might prove my ability or worth. I always accepted these challenges and met them head on. I assumed that if I met the challenges, the AC or RC members would me more likely to accept me and my fellow SDF members.
One final thought. Some people who disparage SDFs assume that the members lack experience. In my SDF, this assumption was the exact opposite of the truth. Most of my SDF members were retired from the AC or RC, and many had 25-30 years or more of military experience.