Quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Fiction
My War
By LARRY DAVID
Even though the National Guard and Army Reserve see combat today, it rankles me that people assume it was some kind of waltz in the park back then. If only.
In those days, reserve duty lasted for six years, which, I might add, was three times as long as service in the regular army, although to be perfectly honest, I was unable to fulfill my entire obligation because I was taking acting classes and they said I could skip my last year. I'll always be eternally grateful to the Pentagon for allowing me to pursue my dreams.
Still, after all this time, whenever I've mentioned my service in the Reserve during Vietnam, it's been met with sneers and derision. But now, thanks to President Bush, I can stand up proudly alongside him and all the other guys who guarded the home front. Finally, we no longer have to be embarrassed about our contribution during those very trying years
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Well said! People think that way about the Coast Guard. Lemme tell you, back when I was in high school deciding on what branch to join ( missed 'Nam by 18 months ) the LAST place I was gonna sign up was the Coast Guard. Them boys saw action every freakin' day. First tour my best buddy was on was a multi-million dollar haul of dope and diamonds. Had to shoot a guy too. Coast Guard is no friggin' joke nor are reserves or National Guard. It's not a sit back and wait job. Often you may find Guardsman using technology the main branches don't use. Guardsman not only have to worry about multi-environmental combat but URBAN to boot! That's the scary shit, the urban stuff the guys in Iraq are fighting.
Don't take Guardsman for short by any means. In some respects it's way tougher because they have to consider the strong probability that they'll have to go into domestic situations and any cop will tell you those are the most dangerous situations of all. That takes special-special training.