Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (114079)	9/7/2003 1:08:37 AM
From: Sam	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

John, Thanks for linking to Juan Cole. Reading his blog, he links to a poignant article about reservists which deserves a wider readership: Reservists caught in the middle home.hamptonroads.com Excerpt: Many reservists are in their 30s, 40s and 50s, leaving behind children, businesses and homes under construction. More than half of all reservists are married, and 37 percent have children. The rigors of fighting wars and keeping peace have been physically punishing -- even lethal. Some reservists ``are saying `Hey, this is not what I signed up for,''' said Jeffrey C. Crowe, chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a member of a high-level task force looking into issues such as frequency of call-ups and the unpredictability of deployments. ``Unless we address these issues, retention rates are going to go down.'' For the first time in more than a decade, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves may fail to achieve recruiting goals, the Defense Department confirmed. The National Guard and Army Reserve were lagging behind recruiting goals by 6,000 and 700, respectively, in recent months. And some National Guard leaders predict that as many as 60 percent of the Guardsmen mobilized today will leave the service at the first opportunity. ``They did not sign up to patrol a perimeter,'' said Jay Spiegel, past president of the Reserve Officers Association. ``They enlisted to drive tanks and shoot artillery.'' Some signed up to help pay their college tuition or household bills. A reservist who enlists as an E1, the lowest level, earns about $12,000 a year while activated, and a veteran commissioned officer can be compensated in the high five figures while on active duty. Reservists can draw pensions, beginning at age 60, after serving 20 years or more. Prior military service is not a requirement to enlisting in the reserves. Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., got an earful in January during a fact-finding trip to Germany, where a congressional delegation met with American reservists stationed there. ``We heard about strained marriages, lost businesses and jobs, and decisions by many reservists to not re-enlist because of the overwhelming demands on their time,'' McHugh said. McHugh said he was stunned when some reservists told him they no longer tell prospective employers of their military status.