[Michael]

Last Tuesday, I received a letter to report to the Air Force base and go thru a physcial (I am Air Force Reserve retired). Yesterday I did this and failed my physical as I have a heart mummur and a tube in my left ear and I was released from any further consideration for reinduction into the Reserve.

Chief, I would highly reccommend that you get your affairs in order as the chances are high that you may get a letter. It seems the military is geting really short of bodies and they are now hitting us retirees as a source to keep manning levels up.

I have also heard that they are really going after retired doctors and shrinks also. One gentleman who I read about in the paper was 72 years old and received the letter (a shrink).

 

[Live Oak]

Thanks for the heads up Michael. I was medically retired. I was having some severe migraines and some visual disturbances, not to mention other serious problems. The Doc did an MRI and did not like the item he found on it. I was immediately medically grounded and retired. Needless to say, it is HIGHLY unlikely they will be calling me up. I will do whatever I can to help out. I still have a lot of friends who are in the fight and do what I can to help out.

 

[Michael]

I also was medically retired 8 years ago also for the heart mummur and I had a heart operation 6 years ago to replace a vavle in my heart, but they still have to check on everyone.
I am guessing stop-loss is not going to work much longer and they are going to have to get more folks who have experience.
I am guessing the war on terror is going to be sapping us bad if something is not done soon.

 

[P71]

sounds like Hitler's last defense to me.

.....And really, Give that a moment of thought.

 

[P71]

I could care less who is President, I don't Belong to a Party, I dont limit my thinking to to a list of popular themes,.

I AM very supportive of our troops, I feel they have been mislead, at this point and are facing unnessary dangers, Now they are being deployed to a country that a few weeks ago was thier enemy, now they must take orders from them,. If I were in that situation, I am not sure I could do that,

Any moron would have had a Backup plan, (planted Weapons Just to show >>>>> SEE , here they are:buzz: )


B ut so far I see>>> no WMD, saddam turned over to Iraq, Calling up 72 year old medically retired personnel, , Our troops being deployed for security to a government that was re- instituted in late june .

WHERE IS THIS LEADING US?????

 

[Stewart]

Originally posted by P71
sounds like Hitler's last defense to me.

.....And really, Give that a moment of thought.

That is just a very poor choice of words.

 

[P71]

please expound on your statement!

 

[Michael]

Originally posted by P71
sounds like Hitler's last defense to me.

.....And really, Give that a moment of thought.

I do not really understand the reason it was posted in the first place!

30 years ago I raised my right hand and stated I would defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic. I would still do it today if needed but the fact a 47 year old man with a plastic valve in his heart and a tube in his ear is basically not fit for military duty.

All I did is raise the fact that alot of us retirees are being checked for possible duty.

The second post is more understanable. I can agree with some of the remarks on it as I disagreed we did not have to go get Saddam until the country found Mr Bin Laden.

 

[P71]

I was simply stating That " The Volkstrumm, " was a last ditch effort by a man who was defeated, and had no other chance...


ok>>> Go see how many VOTES Bush gets by Saying , We need MORE Military so I am going to start the draft , because we used up all our reserves and Coast Guard ( In a desert Country with No Navy to speak of ) ...........


As we can see , Some people do not realize That Intelligence, not Brawn, is what is needed to win a war with terrorist,. I could send 5 billion troops in to a country But without a conventional army to fight the be usless ... they are only targets

 

[Stewart]

Originally posted by P71
please expound on your statement!

Maybe the Hitler part....maybe it is just me?

 

[P71]

As a Military Officer ( Citidel, Duke) . I would Prefer court marshall than to send Fathers , Sons, Daughters , Husbands brothers and such, Not to Mention Damn good Friends , Into a Certain Death, With no Reason,
I will choose sending Christmas cards to them from my cell , Rather than walking by thier Graves at Arlington with a chest full of Medals.

 

[ducati996]

If I could ask a question (because I dont know) if your retired or left the services completely how can they call you back ? that part is scary and unclear to me....again I ask because i dont know the fine lines between breaking free and clear and how they somehow hold on to you for what it appears to be forever?

Thanks in advance for those who answer

Duc

 

[memmurphy]

Originally posted by ducati996
If I could ask a question (because I dont know) if your retired or left the services completely how can they call you back ? that part is scary and unclear to me....again I ask because i dont know the fine lines between breaking free and clear and how they somehow hold on to you for what it appears to be forever?

Thanks in advance for those who answer

Duc

Never being in the service myself, I was wondering the same thing. I also wonder how many understand that when they sign up? Then again, aside from medical reasons, I suppose any of us could get a letter if the need reaches a critical enough level.

Mark

 

[Michael]

As a reserve retiree we are subject to recall up to the age of 60 years old. This is only in case of a national emmergency (which we are under at this time). I also understand the active duty retiree is also under the same type of recall. It is very unlikely I would ever be recalled of because of my conditions but they could always use us as instructers and such which doesn't place us in much stress but we are still considered. It also depends on our former skills we used in the military if there is a shortage we could also be recalled. I was a former loadmaster and also I have a aircraft structual repair background. So these skills are in high demand in the Air Force at this time. I am sorry if I used terms that might upset anyone but I feel that these things do have to be mentioned.

 

[ducati996]

Thank you for taking the time to answer....I just wonder when you put in the time, and when you want to break free with no strings attached , with no fear of being pulled back in, can you in general?
Or do they find loopholes and sneak it by you, and you find out after the fact?

Something about getting treated poorly, sacrificing life, limb and family, and having no escape, peace or constant fear of recall
doesn't sit well with me....I'm sure it dosent sit well with those in the situation -enough is enough?

Duc

 

[Live Oak]

Unfortunately, my suspicion is that after the elections in November; reality will be rearing its head and the draft will become a hot issue and most likely activated. The truth is that the volunteer military is rapidly dieing. When service members are held in the military against their will when their committments have been fully completed; it is no longer a volunteer military. The foot hold is firmly established in Iraq and the next step is to take out Iran and Syria........then on into Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Our nation will need a military rivaling the size of the fighting force wielded in WWII to undertake such a huge task. I have many friends still in the military that are just plain run ragged and their morale is not well. If we are to be a nation of the free and the brave we ALL must step up to the task and help out where we can when the time comes. The threat out there waiting to strike us is one that most Amercians can not begin to imagine and if we do not take the fight to them and exterminate them, they will surely destroy our way of life and civilization. I hate to sound like the dooms day forcaster but all it would take is just one back pack nuke in close proximity to the White House, Capital Building, and Supreme Court building on the right day and our entire government could be decapitated. Or in a port city like Long Beach or San Diego or New York; it could be rendered uninhabitable for many many years. Don't think it can happen????? If drugs and people can be smuggled into our country on a massive scale; why can't one of many unaccounted for Soviet man portable nuclear devices be smuggled in?????? We have to be lucky EVERYTIME, they need to be lucky but ONCE. Something to think about

 

[parts man]

God bless, Chief, Michael, and all you others that have and do serve your country!! I admire your patriotism, and your commitment to your country and our way of life!:friends:

 

[ducati996]

Chief and others,

Of course I always respect the little guy who sacrifice every fiber of what they have and own - and its always to those who don't appreciate it (Gov't) I hate that they treat people in the services like expendable assets where as in reality the Gov't leaders should be expendable...

This war must be fought severing the head and not attacking the body - Saddam was very effective in controlling his country, he did an excellent job at it....likewise Iran, Korea, Syria, Saudi
Cut off the head, the rest dies....destabilize a country or a coup de tat is easier than taking over a country...just ask Germany and Napoleon, or the Romans, etc....its also why George Sr passed on the option....

Its was clear as day it would be a distraction and prevent us from focusing where we needed to be looking at -Iran for starters
We will never have the credibility or resources to be preemptive again...I can honesty say it was the biggest blunder in our history and existence, and our survival as a nation is more now in jeopardy than ever....again maybe we shouldn't expect much from a leader who never sacrificed, had everything handed to him, and was never successful in anything except failing business ventures...so how can we expect anything different, its no surprise..

Ok I went on a tangent rant, but I appreciate the little guy always will. My heart goes out to the service people, who seem to sacrifice everything for the rest of their lives...

Duc

 

[Michael]

Originally posted by ducati996
Or do they find loopholes and sneak it by you, and you find out after the fact?

Something about getting treated poorly, sacrificing life, limb and family, and having no escape, peace or constant fear of recall
doesn't sit well with me....I'm sure it dosent sit well with those in the situation -enough is enough?

Duc [/B]

there are generally no loopholes, We all should know this as we did serve.
I agree with chief on the fact that the military is overworked and they are not getting the respect and time off as needed to keep the stress level down. A lot of the military members are displaying PTSD (post tramatic stress disorder) who have returned from Irag. Thats where the military is recalling a lot of retiree doctors to help treat this. I would not be surprised to see the draft being reinstated to help the current members. The other areas the the military is getting really short is folks who can be on flight status as it is a real shortage in this area. I thank you for the respect for our folks who have served and the one who are serving. But we really need more folks to step up and be counted and join to keep our military all volunteer.

 

[Stewart]

There are a lot of people that leave the service that have a period of inactive reserve. It is something that people forget about until it crops up and then it is woops I forgot about that!

I think Michael and Chief will agree that when people are medically retired they are eligible in some cases to a reevaluation of their condition and they may be brought back into the active duty or reserves. I had a supervisor whose husband got testicular cancer. He was medically retired and then after a period of time brought back on active duty. He had a relapse and eventually died for m cancer.

We are briefed and briefed to plan for our future and plan past our retirement or separation. You may be held over due to stop loss and not allowed to separate or retire. This may affect our planed of jobs and or school or just buying that boat and fishing. It goes against an all volunteer force.

I think initially most people in the military join to have a secure job and benefits, the literal three hots and a cot. Part of that rolls into service to our country as a byproduct. It gets people that have nothing else to do a vocation and then teaches them to be part of a team. It also gets folks that didn't have the resources to go to college after high school the money to do so and make something better for them. I don't think most people join the armed forces due to patriotism, at least pre 911.

Now that the media has really pushed the death and destruction angle of Iraq and almost completely forgets the good things we are doing, recruiting goes down. I had a chance to talk to some Air Force Academy cadets last week and asked how many were interested in flying. Only 4 or 5 out of 9 said they were interested. One of them even said that they didn't want to because choosing a flying job after the Academy means an 11 year commitment to the AF. The ops tempo can be a real killer depending on what type of job you have and where you are stationed. For Chief and Michael being medically retired and hearing why, the services would be pretty hard up to call them back!!! No offense guys but a new valve and migraines are pretty serious to me.

I am against the draft for many reasons, some are pretty selfish and some have already been posted but putting people in harms way because we don’t have enough bodies isn’t right either. People are our greatest commodity, we can get a new jet or tank, and it takes people to run them. In my opinion we need to ensure our military has the best equipment available, health care better than any insurance company can provide, money for education that rivals a full ride at the school of choice, that might keep the volunteer force going, but time will tell and it might come to a draft. Our freedom and way of life must be preserved, and it has and will be paid for with blood.

Godspeed to ALL our armed forces in support of this United States of America!

No short answer on this one, sorry for the long post.

:bigusa: