Originally Posted by Suvorov
That does sound like a considerable time commitment, especially as "skating by" could never be an option. I would surmise that those last to are prerequisites to having a successful balance. I'm sure an airline would be extremely difficult though. Hopefully I can find a job that could be very flexible as I think the benefits would be worth the sacrifice, but everyone's situation is always different.
I said "leave" as in go find a new job. Don't like the hand the military dealt you, quit and get a different job when your time is up......unless it works differently in VT....but every branch of service I have been in has an EAOS, and you are free to go when you reach it.
Tricare is available to current guard soldiers as well. Individual plans cost less than $100 per month. Family plans are currently around $210 per month.
Coverage is exceptional, deductibles are low, a prescription plan is included including discount prescriptions directly from their online pharmacy. Payments are made directly from you and can not be deducted from your military check.
You can go to a military base or any in network doctor. There are lots of in network doctors. My daughter recently had knee surgery and her specialist was an in network doctor. No referral was necessary. We never go on base to see a doctor.
It is really good insurance. I honestly don't know anything about retired coverage yet. Haven't looked into it.
“If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi
Honestly, I think I would. Joining the military in general would check box one of my goals, to fulfill an obligation to the men and woman that came before me. I know we have thrown around all of these HSLD units, but at the end of the day, I would be very proud to just be in the military. With all of that said, if I go AD, it would be taking the risk to try and join those HSLD units (to see combat). If I did not/could not make it to those units, I would be somewhat disappointed as I would have put my family through that additional hardship and not met my goal.
When I was thinking about the answers to these questions, something came to mind. I already carry one regret with me in terms of military service, that I did not serve/fight in GWOT. I honestly wish there was never a war because it has claimed to many lives both mentally and physically. But there was a war and I sat on the sidelines. Most of you that have served would probably say you are glad that I didn't have to go and see the things you saw. I think I would say the same thing. But I will always wonder if I could have made a difference, not really on a large scale, but on a personal level. I could have been someone's friend, helped their family, maybe even saved their life. I may not have changed anything, but I will always regret not knowing what I could have done.
To answer your questions though, I would not want to be stateside for years training for something that I never got to do. As I said before, "my dream isn't to just wear the uniform, it's to put foot to ass for my country in the name of those that came before me." Those HSLD units are my goal because they give me the best opportunity to do this, not because of a cool patch and bragging rights. Please do not mistake that I would not be immensely proud to be apart of those units though. If you were to tell me with 100% certainty that those AD units would not see combat in the time I was there, I think I would choose the NG route as it would give me a better life balance. BUT I think there is a high probability that our troops will be deployed somewhere in the next 5 years, so the decision is not quite as easy as I outlined above. I hope I only ever get to check box one though.
Thank you very much for your prayers and advise. They are appreciated.
Thanks for the info Gregg.
Hello Everyone
From over here in my lane I have a question. I'm happy to make it a new thread, but it may be germane to this discussion. A lot of folks in this thread have, if I understand correctly, stated that the US military is going through a draw-down and transitioning to a peace-time posture.
Maybe it seems odd to me because the US military has been at war for so long, that the idea of peace seems foreign. Can it really be true, or do you think there are other hotspots that might require boots-on-the-ground?
The current occupier of the WH policies notwithstanding, hotspots abound.
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"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
Depends on the definition of "Boots on the ground" being used. For this Administration, it is very similar to the definition of "is" during the 90's.
Well said.
Usually. But not always. Not only when stop loss is in place but when the Mil thinks it needs someone with your skill. I have a relative who was in the USN. Got out. Finished reserve time. Totally free of any obligation. Then the Gulf War broke out and the USN thought it needed a bunch of people with my relative's training. Congress revised the law to add a retroactive year or something to their reserve obligations, which put them back in the inactive reserve; the day the law was passed, the Navy put them into the IRR and called them to duty. They had no idea this was going on and all had civilian jobs and lives. The Navy said tough, we need you and off they went. Luckily the war ended and they went home.
So yeah, sooner or later you get out--but not necessarily when you thought you were getting out, and as that episode showed the government can essentially draft ex-service guys without any public outcry (or even knowledge) if it thinks it needs to do so.
It doesn't negate your point, of course, and it is a rare occurrence, but at times uniformed service can seem like the old Irish Republican Army saying--"once in, never out."
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