Duty

Posted By Grim

Cassandra says:

It's that time of year again, when young men, sound of mind and limb, worried that they may not be pulling their weight in a war that seems to be dragging on and on, form that age-old line down at the recruiters' office....

She thought she was joking, but unbeknownst to her, a little letter marked DON arrived at Doc Russia's house. Cassandra posts here sometimes, so you all must know her, but you may not all know Doc. You should, though, both because he's one of the original members of the MilBlogs ring, and because he's one of the best writers in the blogosphere. As this post indicates, he's also an honorable, patriotic man.

Drop by and see what he has to say.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2819/4545826

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Duty:

» Duty from Small Town Veteran
With all the ISP, circuit breaker and nephew problems I forgot to post a link to Duty. Read it and follow the links. [Read More]

Comments

[TheNewGuy]

The pull from that ingrained sense of duty is a strong one.

Doc Russia has already served, yet feels drawn back to the service, because he feels like his country, his team, could use him. He's also exactly correct about the financial hit with going the military route: a four-year military committment as an ER physician will probably cost him around 400-500K (I know this to be true because that's roughly what I calculated at the end of my tenure in the military). For my own part, I was able to go some places, do some things, meet some people, contribute to world-changing events, all while serving my country... but I was single when I signed up, and I didn't have children. What keeps me from going back is what stops most of us: our families.

I'm now inactive reserves, so I'm very far down the call-up list. Resigning my commission would further insulate me from call-up, and keep me at home, but it's not that easy. If disaster struck (WMD terrorist attack, etc), I'd want to be able to step back up and help.

Tally it up: taken away from your family, costs you about 500K, stresses your marriage, kids don't recognize you when you get back, risk your neck... seems like an easy decision, doesn't it? It's not.

Such is the pull of duty and patriotism.

[Synova]

That's one reason why I've told young people who are drawn to military service but undecided, to go ahead and do it. As much as it's hard to change course and do some things later in life, it's nearly impossible to make a mid-life career change *to* military service. So if you think you want to do it, do it *now* before life loads you down with other responsibilities.

Several times I've actually called guard or reserve recruiters and struggled with the choice to re-enlist and then given it up again because I had toddlers at home and/or responsibilities that there wasn't someone to take up for me. It ends up being the same reasons that I separated in the first place and I make the same decision. But the pull is still there, even if I won't call a recruiter again since I'm now officially too old.

Which is probably a big reason I hang out in places like this. Which is probably just a little bit pathetic.

[Theresa, MSgt, USAF (ret)]

Synova, there isn't anything pathetic about it. I'm recently retired (7 months now), but left active duty back in Sep 04 to join the ANG. It was a big mistake, but I also had others to consider when making my decision. I have been coming to this sight since right after B5 set it up and I will continue to come here until B5 shuts it down. I feel reconnected when I come here. I miss the hell out of my uniform, but realistically know that chapter of my life is over. I will "serve" in other ways though, donating, when I can, to the organizations who help our troops. Just wanted you to know you have a kindred spirit out here who feels the same way.

[TheNewGuy]

Family not only changes your decision to join, it impacts your decisions once you're on active duty.

I was already in the service when I got married, but it radically changed the career path I chose. I was approached on several occasions for SOF-type physician slots that came open (Disclaimer: I'm no SEAL or anything like that; I simply had some skills from other occupations that put me on the short list). Before I was a family guy, I would have happily gone off into the black world, but I turned every one of those offers down. I'll be honest: It was with no small amount of regret... invitations like that just don't come along very often.

What clinched the decision for me was being told "we can't tell you anything about the job, just that you'll be TDY >270 days per year." I appreciated the honesty, but the away-from-home time connected to a job like that is a huge disincentive for a married soldiers, and the commanders know it.

I was happy to be up-front about it early, if only to avoid their having to spend money training somebody up, just to have them drop out.

[jordan]

Once a sheepdog, always a sheepdog.

[Sig]

3 years after the fact, I consider myself fortunate that at 25, I had an IT career which was going nowhere. If I had been able to find a job more easily, I never would have been able to convince my wife to let me enlist in the Guard. =)

I write from Afghanistan. I still mean it.

Sig

[hunterk2]

Sig, I am 33 and still have a few "servicable" years left in me....I still think about going NG. Still comparing my sit-up, pull-up, push-up, & run times to the APFT....staying fit, ignoring the minor aches and pains of staying that way....
Wife and two young kids weigh heavy on the mind...still, "doing my part" is like a faint call....Its tough not to just go out and answer

[yak]

I hear the call constantly, but I retired in 1994 and I'll be 53 in June. And although I'm in fairly good physical condition, there's no way I could get back in the with my history of back and thryroid problems, let alone the arthritis or kidney stones. But it really does tick me off to have stand on the sidelines...

[septicwad]

I was retired for service connected physical disability some years ago, and used my benefits to get a BS and MS in chemistry. I tried to rejoin the Army, but was turned down. I decided to change careers and got a degree in nursing. I tried once again to join the Army, thinking that as desperately as that service needs nurses, I would be a sure thing. I did this despite knowing that in all probability I would be separated from my wife and sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Once again, I was denied. It was a bitter pill to swallow. I miss being in uniform to this day. I will have one more shot at wearing the uniform again, when I graduate from nurse anesthesia school. I will probably do it regardless of the financial disincentives. The call to duty is indeed a strong one.