Reservists Backpedaling As War Looks More Likely

The Tampa Tribune | Feb 9. 2003 | Marilyn Rauber

[FloridaGeezer]

Panic phone calls coming, lawyers say.

Washington-South Carolina freshman Gov. Mark Sanford-an Air Force reservist-sparked an outcry when he suggested his job would keep him from joining a war against Iraq.

Sanford, a Republican, was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the reserves in January 2002 and was elected governor in November. He said recently that he wouldn't deploy, then changed his course and said he would go if called.

But he's not the only military reservist with doubts about heading for the Persian Gulf.

Lawyers say they're being flooded with pamic calls from reservists who either don't believe the United States should attack Iraq or are worried about their safety, their jobs, their finances, their health or leaving their loved ones. The reservists are afraid to talk on record, their attorneys say.

"We have everybody from doctors to seaman apprentices wanting to get out," said David Sheldon, a former Navy lawyer now in private practice in Washington.

Virginia Beach lawyer Greg McCormack said a lot more reservists are calling him than in 1991 when the United States drove Iraq out of Kuwait,

This time around, with no overt aggression by Iraq, "a lot of people are questioning what are we doing, moms and dads saying, 'Why should my son go?,'" said McCormack, a former Army prosecutor.

No one disputes that most reservists are cooperating with the Pentagon call-up, the largest since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

"Most people in the military are there to do their job and do it well," said Pentagon Spokesperson Maj. Sandy Troeber.

No Pentagon statistics on AWOLs and deserters were available beyond 2001.

But the G.I. Rights Hotline, which was set up by antiwar activists to help those who have either fled or are thinking about it, say their calls have more than tripled in the past few months.

"Sometimes they say, 'I just got back, I can't go again,' or 'I was just in it for the college money,' or 'I'm willing to defend my country but I'm not willing to invade Iraq,'" said J.E. McNeil, a lawyer for the G.I. Rights Hotline.

Last week, Defense Sectretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged some of the nation's reserves have been "jerked around" since the rolling call-ups began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Reservists have been doing everything from guarding local airports to cleaning up after the war in Afghanistan. Now, they'r heading for the gulf. Rumsfeld is considering easing the future burden on the reserves by delegating more support jobs to permanent troops.

About 95,000 reservists and National Guardsmen are on active duty. More than 260,000 were mobilized during the Persian Gulf War.

Jay Farrar, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that after Bush declared a long term war on terrorism 16 months ago, many of his reservist friends began resigning or retiring to avoid being called up again and again.

Some of the services, including the Marine Corps, have frozen retirements and are keeping overseas units in place to ensure troops can't retire even if they want to.

But, Farrar predicted, despite a reluctance to go to war, the number of AWOLs will be about as low as during the Persian Gulf War.

Most of the people , while it's painful to go, believe in their commitment and will honor their commitment," Farrar said.

Reservist or full-time servicemen who dodge their orders can receive a dishonorable discharge or even jail time. The military usually waits 30 days before considering them deserters.

The Pentagon says not even governors are exempt from deployment,

Air Force Reserves spokesman Lt. Col. Audrey Bahler said only members of Congress or those holding "key" federal jobs are automatically exempted. Other requests are handled "case by case."

Reserveists sign up for a six year stint and are paid only when they are on duty. They also can get college tuition and other G.I. Bill benefits. While on active duty, they receive the saame benefits as military enlisties, such as health care, They can be activated for as much as 12 months at a time.

They also get added help from Uncle Sam and private industry.

Employers are required to save a reservist's job, and some companies continue to provide benefits and salary supplements to absent workers. A 60-year old federal law also tries to alleviate mortgage and credit card worries by capping the interest rates that banks may charge active-duty reservists.

[tracer]

Your point is well-taken by this former active-duty and reservist green-water sailor. Thanks....

[Timmy]

That could get him beheaded in a Muslim country. They play by different rules. Proselyting anything but Islam is a capital offense.

I believe the rules are different when you are an officer in the United States Army surrounded by thousands of heavily armed men. :-)

But he was thinking more about the other soldiers . . .

[Leisler]

Ignorant squid.

[CWOJackson]

I can only accept that as high praise coming from a little craven coward such as yourself. The nation has always had little parasites such as you living off the freedom purhased by the sacrifices of others.

[Leisler]

It wasn’t praise it was an insult. I suspected ignorance you further confirmed stupidity. Natch. Anyways, my people go right to the Revolution and, actually, we like to fight. We just don’t go around spouting off like some fat, coffee slogging, mini-admiral Mahan.

[CWOJackson]

"It wasn’t praise it was an insult."

To you it was an insult? Being spouted at by creatures such as yourself is praise to my ears. It assures me that I'm still on the right track when whinning little defeat mongers don't like me. Hope you and your people do well in your revolution...toilets of the world rise up and unite.

[cherry]

"These bastards, who over the years gladly cashed their drill pay checks and watched their retirement packages grow, are worse than draft dodgers and deserters who never claimed to be patriots...."

I hate to tell you but the money is very weak and the benefits consist maninly of being able or allowed to go to the base to shop at the commissary 24 times a year...although it used to be only 12 times a year...

retirement?....you get a sliver of what the normal military gets but the kicker is, you don't get it til you are 60...

so for these guys to not be able to even get proportionately the same benefits as an active duty person, all the while being called up constantly, well, I don't know what the services would do if its wasn't for the guard and the reserves...

I do agree that it is dessertion if they refuse to go do their duty....but please, the guard and reserves are no picnic...

the people in the guard and reserves carry on a lot of important work as civilians as it is....firemen, policemen, postal workers, construction , nurses, pilots, doctors, etc....

[kcvl]

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[LPStar]

I have to say I hate the idea of a mother of a two-week old baby being called up to go to the Gulf for six months -- which happened in 1991 a number of times. But that's more an issue of women in the military.

[kcvl]

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[kcvl]

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[CWOJackson]

The Coast Guard sent a grandmother reservist over to the Gulf during Desert Shield/Storm. Sweet lady who was a small business owner; shut down her shop and shipped out with a week's notice.

She manned an M-60 on a small boat doing harbor security. If you had seen her on patrol she would have scared you a whole hell of a lot more than a Rambo poster. She WANTED something to happen.

[kcvl]

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[kcvl]

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[LPStar]

Sounds like she was past childbearing age. Congratulations to her for a job well-done. My concern is about women of childbearing age on active duty -- first, because the nature of the job requires months-long separations from their infants, which is terribly cruel to the infants, and
second because an unseemly percentage of women who aren't pregnant or aren't mothers somehow take the opportunity to become pregnant on active duty.

[Dec31,1999]

The reservists are afraid to talk on record, their attorneys say.

Translation: We made this up. Prove that we didn't.

[kcvl]

One of Hillary Clinton's best "friends"...

The Sick Mind of Noam Chomsky
By David Horowitz
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 26, 2001


WITHOUT QUESTION, the most devious, the most dishonest and -- in this hour of his nation’s grave crisis – the most treacherous intellect in America belongs to MIT professor Noam Chomsky. On the 150 campuses that have mounted "teach-ins" and rallies against America’s right to defend herself; on the streets of Genoa and Seattle where "anti-globalist" anarchists have attacked the symbols of markets and world trade; among the demonstrators at Vieques who wish to deny our military its training grounds; and wherever young people manifest an otherwise incomprehensible rage against their country, the inspirer of their loathing and the instructor of their hate is most likely this man.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=1020

[CWOJackson]

I know where you're coming from but...I think it best I just not comment. There are a whole lot of very qualified and capable women in the military. Performance wise, as a whole they're no different then the men; they range from outstanding to below average.

But, as you point out, there's that "nature" thing. Because of the conditions on Navy ships on long deployments, they are probably the best/worst example. It's amazing what percentage of the crew (they are still member's of the crew) become not fit for duty/full duty due to some collateral torpedo damage.

Then there's the whole protection instinct issues for the ground troops...the Isrealis' found out it didn't work and pulled women out of combat units (in a nation that needs every fighting person it can field).

[Dec31,1999]

Every upstanding citizen should own a Frenchman.

[CWOJackson]

Are they as good as truffle pigs?