Posted on Sep 5, 2014
National Guard/Reserve requiring NON-ANNUAL TRAINING on Mon-Thu? Do you think this is fair?
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Recently an odd drill date had just come about where we have a MUTA 8 during one of the weeks in October.(NOT ANNUAL TRAINING) (NOT PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING) My unit does not have a deployment coming up.
Its a Monday-Thursday drill scheduled for next month and I had purposely selected my college classes to not be on the weekends because just about every National Guard drills are on the weekends.
I don't mean to be so rebellious but NG/reserve soldiers have jobs and some soldiers go to college and some soldiers do both. It's just a huge set back and extremely aggravating for college students who are in the guard as well.
I went ahead and requested for alternative dates but those kinds of requests usually get turned down unless its a wedding or funeral.
Any thoughts about this?
EDIT:
I just wanted to state I'm not complaining. I know what I signed up for and I have to comply to the rules and regulations that were stated to me multiple times when I signed two years ago. I just wanted to see opinions of other people and perhaps if anyone else has encountered a drill date that was a inconvenience to them.
Its a Monday-Thursday drill scheduled for next month and I had purposely selected my college classes to not be on the weekends because just about every National Guard drills are on the weekends.
I don't mean to be so rebellious but NG/reserve soldiers have jobs and some soldiers go to college and some soldiers do both. It's just a huge set back and extremely aggravating for college students who are in the guard as well.
I went ahead and requested for alternative dates but those kinds of requests usually get turned down unless its a wedding or funeral.
Any thoughts about this?
EDIT:
I just wanted to state I'm not complaining. I know what I signed up for and I have to comply to the rules and regulations that were stated to me multiple times when I signed two years ago. I just wanted to see opinions of other people and perhaps if anyone else has encountered a drill date that was a inconvenience to them.
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Edited 10 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 13
Deployments and exercises are one thing, but there's no reason to make life more difficult than it needs to be. If a National Guard unit doesn't take its members civilian life into consideration, it will lose some of its best potential members.
I don't like seeing "you signed up, so suck it up" types of responses. That immediately and unfairly points the finger at the service member who is merely bringing up the question of whether something the military is doing is really in its best interest. We should look at these situations fairly to see whether something really make sense.
Below is an article about the Alaska National Guard chief who was forced to resign after an investigation found that "...Guard members lacked trust and confidence in their leaders." The military is not a democracy, but leaders do need to earn the trust and confidence of their subordinates. Telling them to just "suck it up" is not always the best way to do that.
I don't like seeing "you signed up, so suck it up" types of responses. That immediately and unfairly points the finger at the service member who is merely bringing up the question of whether something the military is doing is really in its best interest. We should look at these situations fairly to see whether something really make sense.
Below is an article about the Alaska National Guard chief who was forced to resign after an investigation found that "...Guard members lacked trust and confidence in their leaders." The military is not a democracy, but leaders do need to earn the trust and confidence of their subordinates. Telling them to just "suck it up" is not always the best way to do that.
Alaska National Guard chief ousted in wake of scathing report
The Alaska National Guard’s commander was forced to resign after a six-month federal investigation found that some members of the Guard had been ostracized and abused after reporting sexual assaults and that Guard members lacked trust and confidence in their leaders.
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CPT (Join to see)
True. A state shouldn't take advantage of its soldiers. I have lost a great soldier recently due to the guard becoming a burden but often there is a reason behind the madness. I'm curious what was the intent of such a drill. I'm curious if needed resources were only available during the week. I have never seen this done but something would have justified such an action. States are cancelling drills not adding to them. Our maybe it is a catch up for a CoC turnover orsdone over activity.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
CPT (Join to see) Agreed -- we don't know the reasoning behind it. I think that is a failure in communication somewhere in the CoC for this Soldier not to know why he missing class for a week. There may be a great reason for it, but if it's not communicated effectively, that's a problem.
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CPT (Join to see)
I would only concur with that. I have learned that a soldier would always know their task and purpose. They will do any task when they know why they are doing it. If you tell them to go out back and fill sand bags they will waste time and perform that task halfheartedly. If you tell them to fill sand sand bags to help civilians in a nearby town that is flooding they will perform at their best.
A break down in communication is often the true problem with many issues with leadership. Sometimes they don't feel a need to justify their actions or intent for a task. In this situation all suffer.
A break down in communication is often the true problem with many issues with leadership. Sometimes they don't feel a need to justify their actions or intent for a task. In this situation all suffer.
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I fought this same thing in the Coast Guard Reserve. Some active duty LT who didn't want to come in on the weekend would decide that reservists just needed to come in during the week to handle admin issues. I told the LT that in order for one of my people to come in during the week, they would need to have orders cut so they could give them to their civilian boss.
The reserve has always revolved around the model of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. It's what is advertised and it is what people are told, but there isn't a law, as far as I could find, that protects reservists from being told that they have to drill during the week.
The effect that I saw in the microcosm of the CG, is that we lost civilian journymen and gray collar reservists and we retained stay at home moms, unemployed people, and people who were retired from their civilian jobs. There is nothing wrong with any of these people, but one of the strengths of a reserve force is in leveraging the skills and qualifications that reservists bring from the civilian world. If it becomes too hard to balance, the employed, skilled workers leave and the overall effect is a dilution of the reserve force as a whole.
The reserve has always revolved around the model of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. It's what is advertised and it is what people are told, but there isn't a law, as far as I could find, that protects reservists from being told that they have to drill during the week.
The effect that I saw in the microcosm of the CG, is that we lost civilian journymen and gray collar reservists and we retained stay at home moms, unemployed people, and people who were retired from their civilian jobs. There is nothing wrong with any of these people, but one of the strengths of a reserve force is in leveraging the skills and qualifications that reservists bring from the civilian world. If it becomes too hard to balance, the employed, skilled workers leave and the overall effect is a dilution of the reserve force as a whole.
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I hate to be that guy but I will. When you joined the guard you made a commitment to serve. You didn't make one just to serve on the weekend or two weeks in the summer. I have had to make many sacrifices while in the guard. Being away for a deployment for over 14 months when we are supposed to only do 12 is one of them. For this I have no sympathy. I have been gone for the most part of the past 12 months only to find that I'm deploying. I pretty much ruined my hopes with my civilian job but that is part of it. If you don't want the guard to interfere with your personal life I recommend getting out after your first contract.
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SN Kevin Townsend
good/bad/etc, when you take that oath at MEPS to serve whether active duty or guard, you are making a lifelong promis to do what is needed of you at any time no matter what is going on elsewhere. its called making a committed promise. I have no sympathy for reservists who think that they are only gonna have to do anything 2 days a month. when it comes down to it, you are still under oath to serve when called upon no matter how long or how far.
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CPT (Join to see)
LtCol (Join to see) It would impossible to avoid damage your civilian career while in the guard. It is a sacrifice that must be made. I don't advocate the suck it up but yet I am coming from a "what would you have expected." Nothing is ever certain in the military. You may never know where you may find yourself. I recall during the Iraq invasion in 2003 soldiers were complaining about being in Iraq and that this was not what they joined for. But how could you be in the military and have any expectation of your limits. If the cause is just or even if you don't view it that way you don't have a choice. I fault much of the leadership by not putting out the information out to the soldiers and the recruiters putting out false expectations.
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LtCol (Join to see)
I think mobilizations/deployments are a little different and one should enlist with every expectation to be called up at anytime, for any reason.
But while you are not mobilized, commands need to ensure they are taking care of their personnel while they are in AND out of uniform.
But while you are not mobilized, commands need to ensure they are taking care of their personnel while they are in AND out of uniform.
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CW3 (Join to see)
Thank you! You shouldn't have to be unemployed and homeless to be in the Guard (or in my case, the Reserve)
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