Just for the record...
I'm willing to double down on saying
"it's ok if you didnt go to war"
"Didn't go" is completely passive. If you were in the Guard, or the Reserves, or simply left the operational force late in your career and ended up bounced around through a few staff jobs and then retired because you already "had your 20" and decided you'd had enough...
...bye
...thanks for your service
Avoiding a deployment, dodging ones responsibilities, evading a call to duty, choosing self interest over a sworn oath - those are all ACTIVE measures and they don't fit into the
"it's ok if you didnt go to war" paradigm. If you just "miss out" on the war - well, so be it. If you dodge the draft, move to Canada, hide behind college attendance, tore up your draft card, burned your bra, turned on, tuned in, checked out, or just straight up try to claim that you didn't know that unit deployment schedule is about to send you into harms way - you didn't "Not go" to war -you
dodged the war.
I know quite a few guys that were just heading into the school house when "the war" kicked off. These weren't rookies - these were seasoned dudes with 10 years or so of active duty service and they were fucking furious. They missed 3-4 years of deployments due to being in the school house. Now we're looking at 2005 with 13-14-15 years of service before some of these guys finally make it back to a group.
What happens then? Some of these dudes ended up on a BN or Group staff because they were "too senior" to get tossed right into an ODA that "only needed" a junior commo guy or a medic but NOT another senior E7 18F
...so what happens to them?
They wait - until the rotation schedule skirts around back to their unit. Then what happens?
FUCK
...they get put on an ODA that just got hit with some stupid fucking JCET to one of the 'stans or some ridiculous fucking trip to Africa or South America.
There were a few SF guys floating around all the way until the 2010 time frame before they finally got a deployment to Afghanistan - only to be on an ODA that was at Morehead teaching "Afghani Q-course" type bullshit.
Or sent up North to MEZ at a time when you could damn near walk around in a hawaiian shirt and baord shorts and not be in much danger - dudes that didn't get a CIB until damn near ten years into the war.
- THESE GUYS TRIED WITH ALL OF THEIR HEART TO GET INTO THE MIX
Now lets point that same bizarre timeline at a Reserve/Guard unit in a conventional unit that doesn't have seven MSG's per company going out on combat patrols - a unit that doesnt have over 50 NCO's conducting smallunit tactics with loaded guns.
It gets a lot easier to believe that someone simply "
didnt go to war" when they only spent 28 months in a uniform before retiring after "
24 years" of Guard Service.
...just like a math test in High School, I'm going to show my work here:
-Army National Guard members are required to attend one drill weekend each month (also known as Unit Training Assemblies) and one two-week annual training period each year (usually during the summer). Weekend drills are usually scheduled over a Saturday and Sunday each month, but can occasionally include reporting for duty on Friday night.
-Saturday/Sunday multiplied over 11 months = 22 days per year
-2 week annual training period = 14 days
Saturday/Sunday multiplied over 11 months + 2 week annual training period = 36 days per year
36 days per yer multiplied by a 24 year NG career = 864 actual days of service wearing boots and BDU's
So, yes - I'd give somebody a 'pass' that asked "
is it ok if I didn't go to war" - until it became clear that they sucked on the NG teat - collecting their veterans day discounts at Applebee's, enjoying the 'thank you for your service' accolades, and using their "service" as a springboard to self enrichment - until called to serve in conflict where they then ACTIVELY avoided the deployment, intentionally dodged their responsibility, and deliberately evaded a call to duty, choosing self interest over a sworn oath.
For some added National Guard to Politician context:
Tulsi Gabbard is STILL in the National Guard...
...she deployed one time to Iraq waaaaay back in 2005 - WHILE SHE WAS A POLITICIAN
...she chose selfless service over running for reelection
...AFTER she finished her deployments- she went BACK into politics
...she continued to serve in the National Guard even after getting back into polyticks
...she even tried to run for fucking president of the United States of America while serving in the guard
Tim Walz on the other hand - did NONE of these things - he cannot say
"I didn't go to war" because of a passive timeline that simply didn't line up with him deploying "to war"
Instead, Tim Walz ACTIVELY avoided his deployment, he intentionally dodged his responsibility, he deliberately evaded a call to duty, he SELFISHLY selected self interest over his sworn oath.
Tim Walz only escapes the mantle of "
dereliction of duty" through semantics and the legally acceptable administrative process of "retirement"
...but he cannot escape his betrayal of the NCO Creed
Tim Walz is an embarrassment to any one that EARNED their chevrons; from Corporal all the way to CSM.
Tim Walz has brought discredit credit upon the NCO Corps, the military service and the country.
...he does not fit into the
"it's ok if you didn't go to war" paradigm.
...he transcends it - he mocks it through his willingness to
spread misinformation about his service and his intentions.
Yet, millions of Americans are willing to put this turd within a heartbeat of the presidency.
Its no wonder I've got a fucking ulcer and high blood pressure.
