[Steel and Fire and Stone]

I was USNR for 11 years (plus active duty), and left as a Commander. I've elaborated at length about this previously, so I'll just mention a few things:

• Things were "looser" in the 60's and 70's. In the 80's (my era), the Navy changed requirements to both quarterly AND annual. Resevists could post-phone drills a maximum of 90 days, i.e. scheduling 3 months into one weekend. The reason for the change was the common practice during Bush's era of stacking six months, even a year into one period of service (i.e. 2 weeks or a month of drills during summer, at the same time they did their annual 2-week duty.).

• Navy Reserve pilots at Miramar Naval Air Station (now USMC) routinely drilled six days (i.e. "12" drills) once a quarter, when I had duty there. They told me it was the "only sensible way to get our quals in", because (a) they were airline pilots, and had the week to give up, and lived 1500 miles away from the Air Station, and (b) because getting training and hours on the aircraft was easier for the Active duty Command to schedule a week at a time.

Maybe those are Bush's reasons, or maybe he missed some drills. That was 30 years ago, and I have to assume that if his C.O.(s) allowed it, and he was honorably discharged, then he was NOT AWOL.

I myself drilled with a unit in Texas during a time when my Company required me to work there. It was either permanent transfer for 2-3 months, quit the USNR, or do TDY with this unit. I don't remember which one it was, they don't remember me, and I'd be hard pressed to prove by documentary evidence that I was there in 1986.

During my last year in the USNR, at my last Command, I drilled in Washington part of the time, meeting with Pentagon-type brass, with my unit part of the time, and at other meetings the rest of the year. My own unit saw me about 1/3 of the year (i.e. I had a good X.O. to back me up), but the result of my time away from the unit was 12 months of the best training the guys could get .. they were always doing "real-world" training with active duty units.

The Reserves and Guard works all sorts of deals for the right guy, more so in the 60's and 70's, but still to day, if it benefits the Service. If Bush was a problem child, he'd wouldn't have been in a jet, let alone allowed "detached" or TDY duty. That's something you "earn".

SFS

[Fury]

Good post.

I noted this in the original article:

The 9921st squadron met every Tuesday night to review military materials, including things like first aid manuals. Unit members were no longer in the active military and did not earn pay for their work.

*Sort* of sounds like what we had in the Army Reserve called "admin drills". Happened on 2 Tuesday nights per months (our paid drill was usually 1 Sunday per month and 2 Tuesdays per month).

The admin drills were unpaid drill time (8-10 hours per month - sometimes more). You did not have to technically attend, but officers and Senior NCO folks stated if they did not, it could hurt them at review and promotion time.

Then the Army National Guard unit in the same town had a good idea by encouraging folks to transfer to the Guard, and making a point of no admin drills. Several folks left the reserve unit.

Of course, that was in the late 80's, and as you state, it's a whole different thing now...

[Hon]

Yes, you have said what others have said, including Turnipseed. He touched on some of it in this article, too.

BTW, could you answer a question on this? When they say the current records show nine days, do they mean nine pay days? Were the drills nine days or nine periods--which could be longer?

Just curious.