Retired Reservist

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  • Wow, I have let this site sit dormant a long time. So a quick update is in order - I retired from the U.S. Army as a Civilian employee after 32 years. Retirement is great - I highly recommend it. I am still waiting for age 60 to begin drawing my Reserve Retirement and more important - sign up for Tricare Medical which is a much better deal than my current Health Insurance arrangement. My Daughter (E-7 US Army Reserve) has deployed for her fourth tour. This time she left a 2 year old child behind...
  • Checking in after a long hiatis. Just found a new site I like - This aint hell. This site provides interesting stories about stolen Valor and the dirt birds that try to pull it off. You can find their site at http://thisainthell.us/blog/ I have the occasion to run into some "wannabe Vets" at different places in my travels and they universally discust me. Weather its the claims of glorious service or the Special Ops, Seals, Ranger types...lol. Thank goodness there are some folks that expose...
  • Call me re-energized - I got news from Afghanistan - from my Daughter who is serving there. As you can see in the picture, she decided that even though she is a Reservist with 5 years service and two deployments (one to Iraq and this one)that she would re-enlist. Of Course I am very proud of her decision. I pray for her safe return in several week. She faces a period of change for the Army Reserve. Will the benefits be better for her? (at least one is, she can retire at 58 due to her deployments...

  • Reserve Drill pay changes

    After a considerable period of time I have been nudged to think about posting again to retired Reservist. My issue was that after a couple years departed from the Reserve life, I feel less inclined to weigh in on policies and events. However recently I saw the consideration that is circulating to change the way Reserve soldiers are paid for drill weekends. The DOD panel has proposed: The QRMC recommended modernizing the reserve compensation system by transitioning the reserve components to a total...

  • Packing boxes for soldiers

    I stumbled across this great list of items to send to soldiers overseas. Having been there myself I have to give a seal of approval to the list that was constructed here…I added a note or two for extra ideas. I can also tell you that it is a big deal for a soldier to get a package from folks back home…reminds them that someone is remembering them and took the time to personally thank them by taking the time to mail. I will tell you it beats any verbal expression of support because it is tangible...

  • Guns or butter budgeting for the military

    The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment’s Todd Harrison has a new paper out warning that DOD is fast approaching a difficult choice: either fund the people or the weapons they operate, it will soon reach the point where it can’t do both. Read more : This article lays out what is the perennial “guns versus butter” debate. The butter includes pay and benefit increases that have what economists call “stickiness”: they are almost impossible to rollback. The increase in pay and benefits that...
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  • 5 years ago today

    It was 5 years ago that we loaded up our armored vehicles and headed to Baqubah, Iraq. A warm spring day in Iraq and we had the task of going to look at several police stations, District police facilities and a couple potential military facilities. The day was going to be a long one – Easter Weekend in Iraq. We had lived a charmed life so far in the deployment up to that point. On the ground since September 2004 and few exciting incidents other than the daily impersonal bombings, mortar and rocket...
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  • Gay service in the Military

    I was a soldier for 24 years in a variety of assignments. Over the course of my career I came in contact with lots of different military personnel, and I never identified any one by their sexual preference while in the line of duty. We discuss the concept of allowing gay soldiers to serve “openly”. The word "openly" bothers some people. To my knowledge we've never allowed a heterosexual soldier to practice his/her sexuality "openly." Nor should we allow a gay soldier to practice...
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  • Alcohol in the Warzone

    In the Marine Times this week is an article by Rick Maze – he describes comments by Senator Jim Webb regarding the alcohol policy in the warzone. The policy – known as General Order Number 1 is a policy of no alcohol, pornography, etc… that has been in force for deployed soldiers everywhere since at least 1991. As noted in the article found here Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam veteran and former war correspondent who now chairs the Senate panel that oversees military personnel policy, seemed to endorse...

  • Guard and Reserve Retirement Conference

    The National guard is hosting a conference for its retirement Services Offeicers (The Army Reserve does not have such a person - yet- To jumpstart the flow of information between the National Guard Bureau and the states on retirement services, the Soldier Family Support and Services branch will convene March 1-5 in Savannah, Ga. Geared toward the full-time program managers and state retirement services officers. The focus of this conference is to distribute information via stats to guard soldiers...

  • How is your pay, soldier?

    From the Stars and Stripes – this news item on the cancellation of the Defense Military integrated personnel transaction system - a system to update soldier records and pay: After spending $1 billion and 12 years of effort, Defense officials have pulled the plug on a hapless plan to bring the four military branches under a single payroll and personnel records system. "This program has been a disaster," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told the Senate Armed Services Committee...

  • Duke Deluca - formerly of MNSTC-I J7

    Saw the General Officer appointments this last week and its with pleasure that I noted the Col Peter "Duke" Deluca (USACE) was promoted to General Officer. Duke was the chief of the MNSTC-I J7 shop in Iraq in 2004-2005. He was a highly respected officer and motivator for his organization and he was amoung those active component members that recieved the 98th Division USAR soldiers and made them excell in their duties. I have respect for Duke and know he will do well in his assignment at...
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  • LTG Helmly on the 98th Division Deployment

    Found an Article about the 98th Division’s deployment to Iraq. (This is the unit I deployed with in Sep 2004) This deployment was discussed as a pivotal and sea state change deployment for the Army Reserve by the USAR Commander at the time LTG James R. Helmly. As a side note -I had the opportunity to work for General Helmly when he was the 78th Division Commander where I was the senior Civilian for the 1st Brigade at the time. He was a no nonsense commander that worked thru all obstacles. I recall...

  • MNSTC-I cases its colors

    My unit in Iraq has ceased operations – this information from Army describes the inactivation which occurred on New Year’s Day; Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, commander of Multi-National Security and Transition Command-Iraq commander rendered final honors and cased MNSTC-I’s colors, signifying the commands’ official inactivation. “Though we are activating a new headquarters today,” said Odierno, USF-I commanding general, “the support we give our Iraqi partners will be no different than they received...

  • Gray Area Army Retired

    I am approaching 25 years service as an Army Civilian employee and my career as an Army Reserve soldier is occasionally referenced at the military facility where I work. With regard to that service, just 11 more years until I will be able to draw a retirement check for my 24 years of active and reserve service. There has been little movement in efforts to reduce the retirement age for those of us that answered the call to active service before 2008… with impending budget constraints; I doubt the...
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