Free Republic

Tennessee Army National Guard Spc. Michael Parson speaks with authority about two things that matter most to National Guard troops involved in the war against terrorism these days: serving in the Army's total force and the extent to which some civilian employers are supporting the troops. Parson has good reports on both accounts. He belongs to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 115th Field Artillery, that today completed a month of condensed military police training at this central Missouri post. Next stop is Hawaii, where Parson and about 100 other soldiers in that company will pull garrison duty for the next year....

Spc. Michael Speed is about to become one of the new sheriffs in town. So are Spcs. David Dillivan and Billy McCormick. So are nearly 200 more Army National Guard artillery soldiers from Tennessee who, this month, will join active Army military police forces a long way from their homes. Those citizen-soldiers from Tennessee's 2nd Battalion, 115th Field Artillery, have been reclassified as military police officers after four weeks of nonstop training here because, for the time being, the Army needs a lot more MPs than it needs artillery troops to help wage the global war against terrorism. That's why...