CAREER ALTERNATIVES TO THE MILITARY

by Cary Vigneri, Omaha Chapter Coordinator,
Nebraskans for Peace

Anti-war activity is more than holding signs and reading the news from Iraq with horror.

NFP encourages volunteers to step up and participate in the Career Alternatives to the Military program, which distributes literature to Omaha high school students about what it's like to be in the service. Volunteers spend about 90 minutes at lunch hour in the public schools, talking with kids.

The experience of doing this work has given me some insight into how our teens view current world events. In general, it seems that they, like many Americans, aren't paying much attention. They need more information to make choices about what to do with their lives after graduation.

Our teens have not been informed that 65% of American military recruits who pay the required $1200 into the Montgomery GI Bill never get a dime for college. And they don't get their money back, either. Armed service recruiters are in our high schools on a weekly basis pitching the GI Bill without giving youngsters all the facts.

Our teens are certainly never told that veterans earn less after service than non-veterans do, nor that veterans are more liable to be incarcerated than those who have not served, nor do they hear that a third of all homeless people are veterans. As Dick Cheney said, the military is "not a jobs program" but exists "to fight and win wars." Prospective endless wars will require endless recruits.

Some youth are paying attention, and they ask some good questions. The idea of the reinstatement of the draft has some kids worried. But few realize that the current bills in Congress proposing such a draft include both males and females, and leave little wiggle-room for deferments.

Save a child: volunteer. Call 453-0776 for times and dates for Career Alternatives to the Military.

Lawyer says Army exploits Reservists

York citizen-soldier says Pentagon policy disrupts lives, hurts military

By CARYL CLARKE
Daily Record/Sunday News
(York, PA)
Sunday, February 27, 2005

In his opinion, the civilian businessmen who run the Pentagon chose to fight today's wars on the cheap.

He wrote a letter to this effect that appeared in the Feb. 7 edition of Time Magazine.

Fifty percent of the soldiers in Iraq come from the Guards and Reserves, according to the National Guard.

Trebilcock said he believes the civilian administrators in the Pentagon decided to "outsource" military jobs to the least-expensive soldiers, the Guards, and Reserves, who leave their families at home far from military bases, coping with taxes and mortgages, and whose employers may cover health care.

They present none of the expenses associated with the regular Army, Trebilcock said.

Jack Coffey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Forces Command, said people who live in post quarters get an allowance, which the Army promptly collects. The pay their own phone bills, but no property or school taxes. They have access to the post exchange, commissary and medical care.

Kim Henry, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon, said that when civilian soldiers are mobilized, they are entitled to the same benefits as active duty soldiers.

They may be entitled, Trebilcock said, but their civilian families cannot be expected relocate temporarily to be near a base.

For example, the support group for his wife in Glen Rock and other wives in Texas is in Norristown, a Philadelphia suburb. When he was on active duty, his wife was free to use the post exchange and commissary at Fort Meade and Aberdeen, Md., both being too far for practical use, he said.

"It looks good on paper," Trebilcock said. "But it's unrealistic."

Extended tours

The repeated extensions of tours for Reserve and National Guard units, rather than an expansion of the regular Army, galled him, Trebilcock said. Two soldiers who served with him in the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in Iraq were called back after nine months at home.

He remembered the pep talk from the general at Fort Bragg, N.C., before his unit was sent to Iraq.

"You're going to war," the general said. "The Reserves are changing. Those of you who remain in civil affairs will have to change your lives. You can expect to spend the next 10 years of your lives deployed."

Coffey said Congress daily debates the rules that govern extensions, the length of tours and incentives to remain on active duty. Such policies are subject to change at any time.

eservists can be mobilized for 24 months, Coffey said. The lengths of tours differ. R

eservists can be repeatedly mobilized until they reach the end of 24 months. Then, many are offered extra pay to stay beyond their initial obligation, or are not allowed to return home or retire until their entire unit returns to the states, Coffey said. Such stop-loss declarations occurred in November and January.

Meanwhile, the numbers volunteering for the National Guard have changed dramatically, said Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for the National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap. Fewer retiring soldiers are signing up.

Ten years ago, 60 percent to 70 percent of the Guard came from those leaving active duty. Today, they comprise only 30 percent, Cleaver said.

He attributed part of that loss to the 40 percent reduction of active duty forces in the 1990s. Fewer on active duty translates to fewer in the Guard.

"We are a nation at war," Cleaver said. "If you do not want to deploy so much, you do not want to join the National Guard."

The Guard has refocused its recruitment efforts on high school juniors and seniors, Cleaver said.

Trebilcock expressed no comfort. He referred to former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who testified before Congress that occupying Iraq would require several hundred thousand troops, based on a study by the Army War College. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to expand the active military.

A larger, permanent Army would be too costly for a short-term benefit, he said.

At his 2003 retirement ceremony, Shinseki took one last dig at Rumsfeld's plans to downsize the Army, saying, "Beware the 12-division strategy for a 10-division Army."

he warning was prescient, Trebilcock said. The most highly educated military force in the world is losing faith in the honesty of the White House and the civilian administration at the Pentagon, Trebilcock said. Reservists and Guard troops are being treated as gullible and they are not. T

he National Guard missed its recruiting goal, so it is offering a $15,000 bonus to people who leave active duty and join the Reserves, Trebilcock said. That amounts to $21 a day for a two-year redeployment.

The Army spokesperson responded that the nation is blessed with the world's finest Army.

"Ours is an all-volunteer force representing the best individuals that our country has to offer," she said. "We are dedicated to taking care of our soldiers and their families. Concerning recruitment incentives, soldiers join the military, not to get rich, but overwhelmingly, to serve this great country."

Forces there to be used

Trebilcock said he agrees with the position that members of the Reserves and Guard are there to be used. But he said it bothers him that, in his opinion, "this shortage was intentionally manufactured by the Pentagon for two years now."

Soldiers are deployed in tip-top physical and mental condition. They return from war physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Their marksmanship plummets, Trebilcock said.

It may be true for the units who receive no training in the war zone, Coffey said. Some units, though, conduct training.

"One individual is entitled to his opinions," Coffey said. "They are doing real-world missions over there."

Returning active Army troops are processed and enter programs to help them reunite with their families, Coffey said. They have a month on their own before resuming training.

Guard and Reserve troops report to Fort Sill, Okla., for five to seven days of decompression before returning to their home base, Coffey said.

Reservists return in the same state of dazed exhaustion, Trebilcock said, but almost immediately resume their job and family responsibilities. Coffey agreed that the Guard and Reserves members do not receive that month to acclimate.

"Some jump when they hear a car backfire," Coffey said. "They're definitely jumpy."

He had served in a war zone years ago. When he returned home, he said the sound of a siren in the distance made him jump in alarm. It sounded like mortar and rocket attacks.

"It takes time to relax," he said.

Yet, the citizen soldiers are being recalled for service, Trebilcock said.

"They are doing this intentionally because we are cheap," Trebilcock said. "The noble sacrifice of all these troops is being taken for granted in Washington."

Craig Trebilcock is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and a commentator on subjects of military interest. Prior publications include "Why War in Iraq?" for the Oct. 21, 2003 edition of the Washington Times, and "The Myth of Posse Comitatis," for the October 2000 Journal of Homeland Security.

He served with a civil affairs unit, a part of the special services, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, in the Balkans during Operation Joint Guard, and while on active duty in West Germany during the Cold War. He is a graduate of the US. Army Command & General Staff College.