Robbing Peter
we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter
to pay for collective Paul
--Rudyard Kipling
and from every dead child a rifle with eyes,
and from every crime bullets are born
which will one day find
the bull's eye of your hearts
--I'm Explaining a Few Things, Pablo Neruda
_____________
This week Ranger met a young former Marine with two combat tours and now attending university, poring over his textbooks at a local coffee shop. "Mark" is two years out of service, and his grades and academic standards in that time are notable; he will have achieved his baccalaureate in only three years. Problem is, he has orders to report to Kansas City, Missouri, for his recall to active duty in three weeks.
This fine young man also has a 70% Department of Veterans Affairs service-connected disability rating, to include wounds to his hand with nerve damage, PTSD at 30%, migraines, headaches, head wounds and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The head wounds and hand wounds are clearly visible.
Why Kansas City? Why not somewhere in Florida? Why recall him at all? He has done his duty in spades. The orders specified that he was required for the Global War on Terror. What tripe!
What is happening here? Don't the DVA and Department of Defense computers talk? Is the USMC so desperate for fresh meat that they must prey upon discharged personnel? Not to mention discharged, seriously wounded combat veterans who have already paid the price?
Mark is planning to report for this induction. Ranger advised him to ignore the orders. Would any court possibly hold him in violation of the law?
Ranger is humbled talking to such fine young men. Older veterans can sometimes forget the trials and tribulations of our newest members (Veterans, Alone Together, Share Stories They can't Tell You), which is something none of us should ever do. As Andrew Exum wrote in the NYT (For Some Soldiers, The War Never Ends), these soldiers are being conscripted, contrary to the claims of an all-volunteer Army -- they should not be treated as "election-year fodder."
We should be working very hard to stop the cruel scenario in which Mark and countless others find themselves. That is our duty.
Follow-on: Saw Mark briefly at the VA OPC Friday and he said his father, a Vietnam veteran like yours truly, also suggested he appeal the orders. We will see.
Labels: andrew exum, injured marine recalled for third term of combat duty, tbi ordered back on service, usmc desparate for recruits
posted by rangeragainstwar at 6:33 PM
20 Comments:
That is absolute fuckery! I agree that he should ignore the orders, however, I believe it'd jeopardize his GI Bill payments, Ranger!
Did you see this...
Veterans arrested in protest outside debate...
Ctuttle,
I was at that protest at Hofstra marching behind the soldiers of Iraq Veterans Against the War. As a former grunt myself I had to show my solidarity with their plight. About 50 or so riot police made a wall and wouldn't let the IAWV soldiers through. Then five mounted police charged their horses into the Iraqi veterans, knocked one down and had the horse kick him in the face while he was down. His blood splattered on the ground. So, despite wearing their medals and carrying American flags, these veterans were still trampled by the police. One Vietnam Veteran put it best when he shouted at the police, "You did what Al Qaeda and the insurgents couldn't do, draw the blood of these brave men."
Curt
Reading this makes me sick. If this is what our country is doing to fill the ranks or specialty positions, then start a draft. Wouldn't that stir the public pot. But hey, those watching MSM probably forgot we're in a war, much like our media has d/t the election frenzy.
Another fine example of this Back-door Draft. We ought to remain vigilant, Ranger, we might be next.
CT,You are probably right about the VA eligibility. I'll convey this to "Mark".
Curt,The right to peacibly assemble seems to be a thing of the past.So much for democracy.
RN, this man is not a specialty other than infantry scout/sniper.There should be no shortage of Grunts in the USMC.
To all-this war must be ended and it's clear that the politicians nor the military will do so.What's to be done? jim
Curt,
I am furious and bereft at reading this. Did the school paper and/or local press not this occurrence?
Such mentions are the only way to raise public ire. Ask the Civil Rights protesters.
As CT says, its absolute fuckery! And pulling honorably discharged veterans from the IRR has been going on unabashedly and shamefully for 6 years now.
Amazing they are still going to this pool of veterans even when the DOD itself says "the Marine Corps had 37,991 accessions, making 100 percent of its 37,967 goal."
That same news relase notes that "the Marine Corps retained far more first term personnel than last year, it did not meet its ambitious first term reenlistment goals and it achieved 95 percent total retention." Hmmm, sounds like the soldiers are VOTING WITH THEIR FEET.
And this unlucky guy gets called back as a result!
I agree with your advice and hope that this brave patriot will seriously consider questioning this order and taking it up directly with the Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of Defense, his local congressional representative and both of his Senators. There is no time to delay - his constituent representatives can help expedite and answer from the Defense Department and inform him - and the rest of us - exactly why this veteran is being recalled to the colors when the Marine Corps is successfully recruiting 100% of its annual mission???
SP
SP,
My first option to this Marine was- go to your US Senator for assistance.
Personally and professionally I don't believe there's a chance they can recall this individual- it's way too glaring. Hell he can't even fly due to headaches and migraines.I simply used his case as a example of what is being done in our PWOT AND NOT BEING REPORTED BY MSM.
But my key point is that nobody should be recalled after serving honorably for 2 combat tours.You sure can't pursue happiness in the USMC and one has earned this right thru their service.
Here's a thought-Bring Senators /Judges /Congressmen /Financiers /Career diplomats /children on Active duty. Whyn are only the people needing college assistance being ridden hard and put away wet? jim
PS- i believe the ptsd rating precludes re-entry to active or reserve duty. jim
i did three combat tours, and more than a few jungle dustups elsewhere. i do not say that as an example of my mental stability.
one and done, is about the limit of effective endurance of combat ops. the army shrinks of ww2 pegged the limit of combat effectiveness to around 250 days. after that, effectiveness is compromised. the amount of stress, both physical and mental produced by combat will begin to degrade an individual.
everybody has their own personal limits. i used to tell folks who marveled at the way i dealt with it "don't get too fired up about it, i was bred to this like a bird dog."
the constant exposure to the most stressful kinds of operations (the most dangerous job in iraq remains being a truck driver), where our troops are placed in exposed positions without rapid support being available or even a coherent strategy which can be explained is going to tell on them for a long, long time.
i concur fully with your advice to the young man ranger. there is no way on earth more should be expected of this youngster. he's already given too much.
rather than a senator, i would suggest contacting his representative in the house. those guys tend to be supremely responsive and able to get things done quickly. having a more local viewpoint (while senators tend to think state and nationwide) a rep can laze in on the targets with rapidity.
also, i would suggest that he contact a private physician (there are many docs who are antiwar enough that they will gladly 4F healthy folks pro bono) and get himself an attorney to represent his interests.
the act of ordering a physically compromised troop into battle is something that should only be done in conditions of absolute extremity.
curt: when faced with mounted police, take a page from the ghandi book. lie down. horses will tend to not trample or step on folks lying down. it fucks up their balance. it saddens me deeply that the police were so quick to charge a group of veterans.
MB,
I roger all your well-taken points. I don't feel there is anyway this troop can be forced on active duty. In fact he really should've been given a medical retirement or discharge. The fact that this wasn't done indicates the corruption of the system.
My fears are for the good men, much like yourself, who've served multiple tours and will be called back involuntarily. This is a back door draft, as M.C. says, and we should claim it as what it is.
We should not allow this travesty to be conducted in our name.
jim
SP,
Good advice, which Jim will bring to this veteran next he sees him. As you say, time is of the essence.
This is a weird story. Something is missing. I don't think even the bozos now running things are this stupid. Having been a snuffy myself once, I wonder how much of a snuffy factor is at play here. From the way you describe it, Ranger, this kid is pretty passive in this whole thing. ISTM passive is not a good ploy.
In addition to the wise counsel regarding getting congress critters, lawyers and docs involved (seems to me a VA doc would be very helpful), I'd think of contacting the press. This sort of thing is raw meat for an enterprising reporter and, if true, it's a PR disaster for the Marine Corps. Probably wouldn't hurt to throw it at the SecDef and SecNav.
Minstrel Boy, you raise an interesting point. We were all fucked up after Vietnam. I never really appreciated that until years later. Of course, by then, I'd already stayed in and had advanced to ever-more responsible positions in the military and subsequently went on to what some term a fairly successful afterlife. Truth is, I suspect I'm still fucked up.
So what we have is a situation where, given our propensity for war, our military is usually going to end up being run by guys who are fucked up from the last war. ISTM that the only way to counter that is to discharge everybody after a war and rebuild with new guys. And, actually, that's been tried this time around. If one tracks the senior officers in the current goat-rope, because of the gap between Vietnam and 9/11 (Gulf War and Panama, etc., don't count) one will see little combat experience. One will also see some incredibly stupid behavior.
My tangent above has little to do with this kid here, who I don't think should go back. Rather, it's to point out that there are some virtues in having senior leadership that's been through the grinder. This kid's case is different. As an IRR type, he won't have been promoted and will be living Groundhog Day all over again. Unlike how it was in Vietnam, for instance, where, if one went back again, one wasn't a 2LT or PFC in the next go-around. This is more like WW2, where a guy might be a PFC all of the way from North Africa to Italy to the Bulge.
In the final analysis, it looks as if the military is trying to handle this so-called "long war" as it did WW2: duration plus six. Which may be OK if you have a national command authority committed to getting the job done as rapidly as possible.
Everybody does understand that Mr. Bush, those around him, the Congress and the American people have never taken this all that seriously, right? If they did take it seriously, things might be very different. We all thought the "long war" meant one thing; they meant it in the sense of Orwell in "1984," where the war was a necessary backdrop for the state's political agenda.
Wow, that story is mind blowing! I know very little about military service but would never have believed that it was possible to be discharged and then recalled back to service. I was outraged to recently learn of the Stop Loss policy but this is simply too much! I agree with Lisa, Mark should go to the media -- people need to know about this.
Does you have stats on how many men and women have been recalled? And what is the name or title of the law which allows the government to re-enlist these men and women?
I'm truly horrified! Anna.
Publius,
All this troop needs is his DVA-Award letter of disability.He's not in danger, it's the others not disabled that will be recalled that concern me.And should concern all of us.
I don't believe he's being passive- he's simply reacting as he's been trained-to follow orders with out question.Thats what Marines do. jim
Anna,
All personnel leaving their active service incur a Reserve committment in the Reserve force structure.Some join active units but most revert to IRR status(indiv ready reserve) and are subject to recall in times of National Emergency. jim
Jim, I have been blogging for ages about active duty troops with serious physical and mental issues being sent to the combat zones. And we know a few already out who have been recalled. It was only a matter of time before they began calling those who already gave more than enough. They would recall the dead if they were able.
Labrys,
they have recalled the dead.Remember Palin evoked Gen. McClellan as the Commander of US forces in Afghanistan. jim
Thanks, Ranger. I had no understanding of IRR. In an effort to educate myself I googled it and found this quote of the wikipedia page: "'Presidential Reserve Callup Authority' (PRCA) is a Provision of a public law (US Code, Title 10 (DOD), section 12304) that provides the President a means to activate, without a declaration of national emergency..." So unless I'm missing something, it appears the the president has more authority over the IRR than you thought.
Another question, is there an amount of time a "reservist" can serve before he/she is out of the grip of the US military's ability to recall him/her?
Thanks again for all you do here on this blog. I come here often and always appreciate your views. There is no more important voice to the anti-war movement than the one spoken by an articulate, informed, former soldier.
Anna,
From my experience there are several levels of call-up which are normal when transitioning to war. The key is the length of call up: that is, can it be for the duration. That's the disconnect in this phony, long war jive. It's not a true emergency. Instead, it's a manufactured exaggerated event.
All reservists and soldiers signed on to fight if need be, but defining that need is a sticking point.
I believe the standard commitment is 6 years, unless released due to disability or any other deferment. That obligation can be discharged in any combination, such as 2 active, 4 IRR / 4 active, 2 IRR etc.
jim
oh my god!
we have come to this!
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