Wednesday, August 17, 2011

NYT Article

So I read this article today: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/wanted-a-good-job-and-some-understanding/


Quite a good read. It makes me laugh too. The military and the government are always doing surveys and spending millions on how to fix veterans but they do not hesitate to keep troops away from their families for lengthy periods even when stateside. I ran the numbers and I was gone for training 1 day out of every 3 last year. This year has been even worse. Last year we had a month AT, two weeks off in between, a MUTA 12 (6 day drill), another 2 weeks off, another MUTA 12 then I was gone for 2 weeks for a school. I had two more weeks off, then was gone for a MUTA 4 (2 day drill) and a 7 day school. There has also been a disturbing trend towards having drills during the week instead of the weekend. Trying to get a job as a Guardsmen has been the hardest thing I've ever done. They ask for your drill schedule, see that you'll be gone at least one week a month, an entire month sometime in the summer and then either at the end of the year or early in the next, you'll be gone for an entire year. When you get back, you'll have a few months of nothing and then the cycle starts all over.

If I hear "we've filled the spot internally" one more time, I might get sick.