Is having the global war on terrorism without a deployment viewed negatively?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:06:59 -0500

The unit I’m in awards it for work done in the scif. My concern is when I pcs my next unit will give me sh*t for it. There’s no combat arms are Gordon to ask their opinion

Response by LTC Greg Henning made Mar 4 at 2020 9:10 PM

LTC Greg Henning — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:10:16 -0500

There are something you can not control. Enjoy your current assignment and everything will work out,

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2020 9:12 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:12:13 -0500

I'm sure there are other Soldiers running around with the GWOT-S on their chest without a deployment. Unless you plan on rolling around in your ASUs all day every day, no one is going to know. Don't sweat it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2020 9:17 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:17:48 -0500

GWOT-S is awarded for service during the GWOT. If you deploy, you get the GWOT-EM. they are completely different

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2020 9:27 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:27:00 -0500

I would bet that more than 60% of your peers at your rank are also slick sleeves. After 2014 the US mission in Afghanistan switched to advisory, training and counter terrorism. While I am sure there were junior enlisted providing some measure of support, the majority of Troops in Afghanistan the last few years have been more Senior and experienced, as would be expected for the change of mission focus. You are in good company and should not sweat it.

Response by SPC Charles Palmer made Mar 4 at 2020 9:54 PM

SPC Charles Palmer — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:54:05 -0500

There are numerous Veterans that didn't serve in Vietnam. They call us Vietnam 'Era' Veterans. I have not heard of this distinction other than for the Vietnam War. It made sense at the time as Vietnam War Veterans had a hard time.

However, I am told all the time by Vets it's not a big deal. Which doesn't help me to know where I fit.

Guess the bottom line, I don't know and wish DoD would declare what is appropriate.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Mar 4 at 2020 11:04 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 23:04:10 -0500

It is what it is. Let it roll off your back.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2020 11:11 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 23:11:03 -0500

First of all, not everyone deploys out of country SPC Private RallyPoint Member, but everyones position is crucial! I’m not sure where you want to go in your military career that you want to have so much salad on your uniform anyways. Lol

Personally I think the less people know about my service the safer they are .....lol... no pun intended. But then again the military uses soldier differently during major war then they do when we’re at peace.

There’s always opportunities for advancement and cross trainings in your field. Good luck and thank you for your service.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2020 7:56 AM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 07:56:20 -0500

You did your job, so be proud of that. People will always be envious or even jealous.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Mar 5 at 2020 10:26 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 10:26:18 -0500

It all falls back on "needs of the Army". These things are largely out of your hands, and often the only option you'll have is to volunteer to deploy (IF the opportunity presents itself, and IF you are allowed to take advantage of it!) or wait until you PCS to a unit that does deploy. Therefore, if people are looking down on you for not deploying--and I don't think you'll run into much of that--it's not really because of anything you did to avoid deployment (which is a whole different thing!).

Understand however, not only has the mission has changed over the years, the sheer numbers of troops going downrange is not what it once was. More people are entering the military and not deploying in these last few years, than at the height of GWAT. You'll be in better company than you think.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2020 11:26 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 11:26:05 -0500

As pointed out by SGT Dickhoff, there are two different awards, one is for work directly related to the global war on terrorism and one for if you actually deploy, I have both.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2020 11:42 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 11:42:08 -0500

It's an award that doesn't require a deployment.

Response by Sandy Linden made Mar 5 at 2020 1:41 PM

Sandy Linden — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 13:41:02 -0500

The lies and half truths about these Wars are just incredible and shouldn’t be tolerated

Response by TSgt Melissa Post made Mar 5 at 2020 3:16 PM

TSgt Melissa Post — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 15:16:54 -0500

Serve where you are needed to serve. If that means no deployments and bling then that’s ok. My first unit never deployed because my job was only found stateside. You are still serving so do what you can where you are.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2020 4:25 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 16:25:24 -0500

You know what? It really doesn't matter if you deployed or not. The question is, will you deploy if required? Awards are provided to Soldiers based on merit, regulation, or both. We get several awards without deploying like the NDSM, Army Service Ribbon, and GWOT. Soldiers who deployed should not be harassing Soldiers who have not deployed about their awards. You earned yours. When you deploy, you will perform as expected.

Response by CH (MAJ) Mark Diddle made Mar 5 at 2020 7:16 PM

CH (MAJ) Mark Diddle — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 19:16:32 -0500

If someone is busy looking at your awards, they aren’t doing the right thing and looking at the person.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2020 8:22 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 20:22:39 -0500

No matter how fewer of us actually get to deploy these last few years, that ability to shame others who weren't offered the same chance to deploy will happen. I won't say it's a fact of life, but that goes for those who're at Fort Bragg and aren't Airborne or if you're at Fort Campbell and aren't Air Assault.

Shaming others for not given the same opportunity is the wrong answer, but it maybe come up in conversation or never at all. The hard part is making sure that if it comes up, you don't take it personal or get bullied/harassed because the army said you needed to do something else.

Response by Col Kyle Taylor made Mar 5 at 2020 10:16 PM

Col Kyle Taylor — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 22:16:39 -0500

The GWOT is in the same category and the NDM... are you alive during that time? The “value” has been degraded.

Response by MSgt Dan Calhoun made Mar 6 at 2020 1:55 PM

MSgt Dan Calhoun — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:55:45 -0500

The GWOT-S is a service ribbon...everyone in every branch gets it if they are serving in the time period. It is the same with the National Defense Service Medal... awarded to everyone who served in the specified time frames. If someone is looking down on you because you have this then they have their own issues to deal with...especially since they also recieved this decoration prior to any deployment.