Killing the National Guard and Reserve: Watch for a Reduced Reserve Component Force

Are they trying to kill the National Guard and Reserve? It appears so! Let me explain. After I got things underway this morning I logged on to the Internet to check my email, a common practice millions of people in the world do everyday. I was intent, to see what was new in the news as well as get messages from my friends. There among the many emails received was an email from Military.com.

The email carried the Associated Press headline - Reserve - National Guard Time Limit Lifted. Now I am certain that many people who saw this headline just gave the usual "hmmm" and continued on to other things without giving it too much thought. It was important to me, however, because I have spent 28 of the last 40 years either on active duty with the Army, in the Army Reserve, or in the Army National Guard. Having retired just 5 months ago my memories are still fresh and very vivid of military service and the commitment that goes with it.

Many citizen soldiers of the Reserve and the National Guard are there because they feel a commitment, as well as a deep sense of patriotism and pride in service to this county that has been so good to them. Those in my age bracket grew up in post-war America and had a deep and genuine sense of God and County instilled in us by our parents and communities. We were taught that if you have something worth keeping you should be willing to fight and die for it. We believe the American way of life is something worth keeping. The problem seems to be that there are many politicians who do not believe the way we do. The lack of patriotic action to go along with all the pretty words they say leaves us in a sad state of affairs.

Throughout the 20th century the United States has been on a rollercoaster ride of beefing up the military only to turn around and downsize a few years later. We are currently in a period of downsizing that began nearly 20 years ago in the early 90's. It would appear that every time a politician decides he has nothing else to contribute he begins beating the drum to downsize the military. Many excuses are put forth as the reason for downsizing such as a lack of threat when the Iron Curtain came down, or the cost of maintaining a strong military when some special interest group wants something that may include re-election to Congress. The problem remains that every time a threat is eliminated a new threat crops up to replace it. For this country to be safe and secure, especially in today's world, we must maintain a strong military.

When I joined the National Guard it was out of a sense of duty and commitment to my community as well as my country. Most of the soldiers I know and have known over the years thought the role of the National Guard was to serve the community in time of disaster. We thought we would assist in maintaining the peace when law enforcement authorities needed us, as well as be available to serve in the event of a major conflict or invasion involving our country. We were the citizen soldiers who protected the home front and kept American safe while the regular military, the career soldiers, fought our conflicts abroad. Were we ever wrong! The war in Iraq has proven this to every citizen soldier in the military.

I, like 3500 other soldiers in my state, was called to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III. There may have been a few who tried to get out of going, but the vast majority of these soldiers were proud for the opportunity to serve our country on foreign shores. It was a grueling experience for the majority of us. We trained for months and then deployed to a Kuwait and on to Iraq. We suffered in the terrible heat of that foreign land and, in battle some paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We were proud and determined and finished our tour of duty with honor and distinction. We were gone from our homes for 17 months. That doesn't sound like an extremely long time unless: you have a 2 year old grandson who grew up considerably while you were gone; or you lost a loved one while you were gone and never got to say goodbye; or perhaps you lost your family because your spouse could not wait that long. There are many things that happened to soldiers in Iraq and still happen today because of their long absence from home.

Now, according to the Associate Press, the Pentagon has decided to lift the limit on the length of time a Reserve or National Guard soldier can be mobilized. It seems that now the average reserve component soldier who is mobilized can realistically expect to be away from home for 2 years. What is that soldier going to say to his employer? Can an employer reasonably be expected to hold a position for that soldier for 2 years? Oh sure, I know the military will make every effort to keep the mobilization time to a year or less, but soldiers everywhere know how the bureaucracy of the military works and the reality of extended deployments.

Realistically, looking at the lifting of the time limit on mobilization, I believe that you can look for a serious decline in the number of reserve component troops who will be available the next time the unit is deployed. This move by the Pentagon will go a long way to fulfilling some of the spoken desires of certain Presidents who despised the military enough to want the military gone.

The United States military is stretched very thin even to the point of breaking. There are those in our Congress who cry freedom constantly. They espouse liberty for all. They want to feed and free the hungry, poor and oppressed throughout the world and they believe it is the American public who should pay the price. It is very easy to dictate that these things happen when you are not the one who has to go do them. They like to stand before the American public and say, "I've been to Iraq" or "I've been to Afghanistan."

But have they? Physically, they may have gone to a safe and secure area of a war zone where soldiers mustered to see them under direct orders. But no one stops to think about the danger that Congressman or woman is putting those soldiers in because of the added security required and the increased danger from guarding a political figure from the hated United States. It is for certain that few of our Congressmen or women have gone into the face of battle. They do not have a clue about the real cost of freedom.

To a professional soldier with many years of experience it looks on the surface as if certain political factions of this country are trying to disband the military and disarm the American public so we are defenseless and can no longer lead the world in resistance to tyrannical domination fueled by power, greed and the love of the almighty dollar. The cost of paying for a professional army is small in comparison to the cost of loosing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this great land of ours.