No joke. It's really bad that this soldier allowed a reporter to entice him and his fellow soldiers into coming across as poorly supported and poorly disciplined (which the media is constantly trumpeting, that's why they constantly latch on to every whiner reservist that wanted to go to college, not fight). I'm sure the guy is feeling pretty bad right now, and I'm betting his commanders are letting him feel the pain for not addressing concerns through the proper channels. Blind-siding your bosses in a public or semi-public forum is not a smart way to do things.
After spending several years in a training command I don't have a real high opinion of many of the National Guard weekend warrior units. Although most were very good, many were highly political organizations rife with patronage and nepotism. Worse, they had a very civil service-like attitude about anything hard or dangerous. Why shouldn't I believe this guy is from one such unit?