| I gotta say this, That is pretty selfish considering you are an American soldier. To NOT go because your family worries? That is a real wussie reason . . . That is the kind of thing that makes me believe that women should not be in the military -I say suck it up or GET OUT. Shame on you. You are just running a scam to get a paycheck. I am completely embarrassed FOR you. Proud Mom |
Dear Proud Mom,
I've been in the military for 6 and a half years. I enlisted before 9/11 with the full knowledge that I could deploy. In fact, I've been ready and willing to deploy since I got in the military.
I was supposed to deploy to Iraq 3 times and to Afghanistan twice. I was ready and willing to go each time, until my orders got revoked or my unit got stood down.
Finally I voluntarily deployed to Kosovo last year because I could not afford to wait around for the army to deploy me or not (I tried to volunteer for an Iraq or Afghanistan mission as well but was turned down). Now its time for me to continue on with my life. I considered getting out completely. However, I feel the need to continue serving.
Right now the army is in a critical point where they need soldiers to be trained and they are relying on the US Army Reserve to supply Drill Sergeants to train these soldiers. I have four choices right now.
- I can get out completely, meaning I can stop drilling right here right now as I have no more obligation to the military. Chances are, coming this soon off a deployment, I will not get picked up to go on another deployment.
- I can serve out my time in the unit (16 months) and a BIG maybe, get picked up for the Iraq mission. If I get picked up, I get picked up. I'll serve.
- I could flat out volunteer for the Iraq mission. I HIGHLY considered doing this. But I'm not going to do because right now is not a good time in my life to do this. And if my family had their way, for cripes sake, I would be getting out completely!
- I could reenlist and go to school ASAP to become a drill sergeant, which is my current unit's primary mission. There is a severe shortage in female drills. If I don't get to school on time, I could (possibly) get picked up to go to Iraq. Mostly because there are a lot of people in those slots who are just biding their time.
I looked at going to Iraq this past weekend, and asked my NCOIC about finding more information about it. What did he say? "You too? You can't go, we need Drill Sergeants!" Three Drill Sergeant Candidates have already volunteered to go, leaving our unit even more short.
If I get orders for Iraq, I'll go. I've been waiting to go for the last four years. And you know what? After trying to volunteer and almost going this long, I'm tired of waiting. Maybe my family is more important to me since the Army can't make up their mind to utilyze me for the war in Iraq. If they want to send me, I'll go. But right now, it is not a high priority in my life. Frankly I want to go back to school and get that degree I should have gotten a year ago if I hadn't decided to selfishly use the military for my own reasons.
I'll take a critical mission that is also needed, regardless of whether the US is at war or at peace, and be proud to continue to serve my country.
So maybe I'm using the army to my advantage now. Heck, going to Iraq right now would be to my advantage. I'd make a buttload of money and it would all be tax free. I WANT to go! I'm WILLING to go. I'm even READY to go! But I'm not going to put my family through another deployment voluntarily. If the army wants me, they can utilyze me. But they are going to actually have to buck up and sign the orders first, and I won't even count on those orders being valid until I find myself in Iraq.
Sincerely,
A Selfish, Wussy, Scamming, Female Soldier.
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