Posted on 09/09/2004 1:26:43 PM PDT by DRILL SGT. D
the purpose of monthly drills in the reserves and nat'l guard is to keep you trained so that you can perform in the case of activation, that is why you are required a minimum number of retirement points for a good year- and the points to which they are refering are retirement points. these points really only count for anything when it comes time to calculate your retirment benefits.
the fact is that in the reserves and nat'l guard, if your commander believes you to be worthy and not just looking for a free ride, they can allow you to miss months at a time. it is, for the most part, up to their discretion.
the only records of your attendance are your pay records and the sign-in sheet (which is rarely held onto for long). and when you sign in you see any number of names with either a "u" or an "a" in the signature block. the "u" stands for unsatisfactory, meaning that you are not excused, and the "a" stands for absent, as in excused absence. i have seen a drill sergeant buddy get "a's" for 4 months in a row to study abroad. he was allowed this luxury because he performed above the standard at other times and had earned leniency.
bush had a good year EVERY year of his service. one year was close, but still good, because he was working on a campaign trail...on-the-job-training for his future. and the chain of command in the reserves and nat'l guard understands that we are not active duty, and they tend to make allowances for this kind of situation.
so this article, found on the drudge report site, is a good one for those that dont know how the nat'l guard works.
Welcome to Free Republic!
Good article, Sergeant. Welcome aboard.
Suggestion! Use upper and lower case. All lower case is a bad profile on most posts. We don't want you to get profiled. Good article.
Good post, it explained a lot I didn't know.
Welcome to FR.
Mag
thank you! glad to be here! and if d.s. osbourne finds this, how are things in the old unit?
Welcome to the cutting edge Fellow FReeper!
Welcome to FR! Good first post...have you seen the story about Dan Rather's forged documents yet? We could use your military experience on those threads as well.
I'm out of practice when it comes to upper and lower case, but I'll give it a shot.
I don't think that I am who you think that I am. We're not even the same service. :-)
I've never been a paperwork guy (I'm military police), but I'll take a look. I guess having seen 10 years worth of military paperwork might give me some expertise.
I seldom use them in casual chat. But on FR it is a warning sign to many people.
I seldom use them in casual chat. But on FR it is a warning sign to many people.
Bump find later
Bump for later read
Not that its a problem to use capitals, but a warning sign of what?
My experience in the Army was similar. My experience dates back to 1975 and by then the Army was throwing O-3's and O-4's off active duty in reductions in force, or RIF's.
BEAUTIFUL!!
I'm going to print this out and MEMORIZE it verbatim, so I can better argue with those cretins who bash Bush while supporting creatures like Kerry the GI basher and Bill the draft doger Clinton.
We have infiltrators from the left that we call Trolls. They can't spell and use lower case too much. Their grammar is usually terrible.
There are a few people that will see these signs and announce a troll ping to their friends without reading everything. Then they descend on the poster in overwhelming numbers. It gets funny and nasty sometimes.
I read your post and comments before I even told you about the sign.
Welcome to Free Republic.
btt
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