Posted on 02/11/2003 2:05:09 PM PST by 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.
HAMPTON -- To understand how hurriedly America's armed forces are mobilizing for a possible war against Iraq, talk to Ely Wolfe.
``I'm leaving when?'' he asked Monday after a reporter told the 23-year-old airman he's shipping out for the Middle East today.
Wolfe is one of more than 600 airmen at Langley Air Force Base scheduled to leave this week. Their deployment will support, in part, the departure of a dozen F-15 jets and their pilots from the Langley's 71st Fighter Squadron.
Hundreds of other members of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley have been told to stand by for deployment orders, said Capt. David May, a Langley spokesman.
Though they've known about the deployment since late December, not many knew exactly when the departure date would fall. Most airmen said they could go home for Christmas, but after that, they've had to stay within an hour's reach of the Hampton base.
``It's been tough,'' said Noor Razzaq, 22, a senior airman from Virginia Beach. ``We've had our bags packed for months.''
As the U.S. military prepares for a second Persian Gulf War, attention again is focusing on Langley's air power.
Fighter pilots from the Hampton base were among the first to deploy to Saudi Arabia after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 and strike targets at the beginning of the air campaign in January 1991. Continue
I truly believe that most of our men and women in the military are proud of what they are doing and have no problem whatsoever with what they are being asked to do. However, I also believe that the few of those that do have reservations are being spotlighted by the media. I mean, what better way for the media to take stabs at W than to point out that some of those he is asking to deploy would rather stay home than go fulfill their duty and defend their country and its interests.
I have NO sympathy for 99.9% of the people this article refers to. I understand there will be an occasional exception, but the rule is if you are called up, then you go.
Again... if you are called up, then you go.
I despise anyone who lacks the intestinal fortitude, character, or conviction to serve his country when asked.
I love the United States. I have lived many places, and been to many others, and this is without a doubt the best country in the history of mankind.
If our country is to prosper, if our grandchildren are to walk freely in our footsteps, if the marble in our tombstones is not to be marred by the yellow blemish of cowardice, then every American must fulfill their responsibility and do all they can, on every level, for this country.
TC
My nephew's NG unit was just activated and he thinks he's going to......better not say. I emailed him and told him I am very proud of him. He's been in many years, an E7 and close to retirement. He was excited about going and was very antsy since 9/11.
I served and it's the only thing in life I can be proud of.
1) Do their duty.
2) Pay back every penny they have received in pay, benefits, compensation and cost of training, then receive a Dishonorable Discharge.
3) Face a court-martial for deriliction of duty.
4) Pay back the interest that the money would have earned.
5) Pay back their civilian employer, who were defrauded when they allowed them time off under the law -- even when they had no intention of following orders.
6) Public spanking until they cry. I'm serious.
7) Mandatory full-time military service, doing the most laborious job imaginable.
I'm red in the face with anger, these pansy-waist cowards who steal our money and won't even fight!
I'm hoping he will have an opportunity to come home for a visit before being shipped off. I picked up a Colt HBAR Match rifle so he could polish his marksmanship at our local range. I can't take the rifle down to California where he is living because the damn socialists have banned it as an "assault rifle".
That could get him beheaded in a Muslim country. They play by different rules. Proselyting anything but Islam is a capital offense.
Another sly media trick--a "statistic" with no meaning! What does it mean? You had one call, then this month you had three? Another fine example of media bias. What a load.
Pure crap. We aren't using them. They are being called upon to honor a pledge and commitment that they voluntarily made; nothing more.
Yeah, up to 2 calls a week now. What a credible source.
My first-hand knowledge says we have a lower rate of people trying to avoid duty. Most kids who have joined in last few years are well aware that they are a mobilization asset (1991 is not that long ago) and most everyone still remembers September 11.
This is just anti-American hate speech trying to masquerade as investigative journalism.
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