Citizen Soldiers

"The earth? Oh, the earth will be gone in just a few seconds...Oh dear, this is most inconvenient. Now I'll have to call out the Reserves."
--Marvin the Martian, Looney Tunes cartoon

There is a great inequity in treatment facing returning veterans who are members of our National Guard (NG) and Reserve units ("Service to Citizen Soldiers," Thom Wilborn, DAV magazine, Jan/Feb 2007.)

DVA documents show that 37% of active-duty veterans have filed for disability compensation, compared to a significantly lower 20% for N.G. and Reserve members. In addition, N.G. and Reservists experience an 18% denial rate for their claims, while active-duty troops have only an 8% denial rate.

These statistics indicate that, contrary to the lip service that the N.G. and Reserves are part of the total force structure, they are in fact the red-headed stepchildren. The Guard and Reserve serve with honor and dignity, yet when their time is up, it seems the active component dumps them out without proper counseling or other processing. Yet another stab at economy by our fiscally responsible government.

If the reader doubts this, ask any Guardsman or Reservist, and they'll tell you the read deal.