What do you mean no draft? 52 yr old grandfather called back 13 yrs later

[HereSince1628]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/nov05/373934.asp

Mosinee-Gary Olson is a 52-year-old grandfather, a retired U.S. Army veteran - and soon to be a soldier again, thanks to the need for troops in Iraq.

Gary Olson

Photo/AP

Gary Olson, 52, accepted early retirement from the Army in 1992 after 17 years of service but had to remain on ready reserve until age 60. He's been ordered to report for duty Dec. 4.

Olson was ordered to report for duty Dec. 4 in Fort Jackson, S.C.

"They're just looking for bodies to fill in. I have been out cold turkey for 13 years," Olson said. "My philosophy is this: I'm going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If I have to go, I have to go."

Sally Olson, his wife of 33 years, said that she was shocked by the orders and figured the chances of it happening were "slim to none" when he took early retirement more than a decade ago.

"Why don't they just go to the draft if they are getting this desperate for people?" she asked. "In a couple of months, he will be 53."

<snip>

. . . . . . . . . . .

The US DoD sent him home in the 1990's cause they didn't need him. He was just 3 years away from a 20 year retirement and a pension! He declined their "invitation" to rejoin the military 2 years ago. Now, because he was a mechanic (HUMVEE IED-magnet?) they think they can put him to good use.

I have to say here is one more example convincing me Bush/Cheney has broken the US military.

[babylonsister]

1. This scares the heck out of me, hits too close to home. How

many vets out there fall into this category? :-(

[MADem]

6. A LOT!!!

Here's a background doc on it, dealing solely with officer drawdown figures (the enlisted numbers are far, far greater): http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=1772&sequence=2 The table does not translate very well with ye olde cut-n-paste, but you can see the numbers more clearly in the original:

THE DOWNSIZING PLANS OF THE SERVICES

The special incentives--VSI, SSB, and TERA--were not available to the services in 1990 when they submitted their initial downsizing plans (covering the 1991-1995 period) to the Secretary of Defense. The services were therefore limited in how they could balance cuts in accessions with increased separations of officers already in the force.

The Army's and Air Force's initial plans called for reducing their officer corps by 26 percent and 20 percent, respectively (see Table 3). The Army hoped to reduce the number of officers by means of selective early retirements, the voluntary early release of officers who had not yet completed their initial period of obligated service, and some cuts in accessions. The Army had followed a similar approach when it reduced its officer corps in 1987.(12) The Air Force planned to rely heavily on the separation provisions in the promotion system and on SER boards. Although Air Force managers had relied on large cuts in accessions to reduce the number of officers in 1987, they did not plan to repeat that strategy.(13)



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TABLE 3.
DRAWDOWN OF THE OFFICER CORPS, BY SERVICE, FISCAL YEARS 1989-2003
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Service Number of Officers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage Cut from Base
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Base,
1989 Planned,
1995 Actual,
1995 Planned,
1995 Actual,
1995 Actual,
1997 Planned,
2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Army 106,877 78,790 82,539 26.3 22.8 25.8 27.2
Air Force 103,697 82,667 78,444 20.3 24.4 28.7 33.3
Navy 72,153 65,196 58,788 9.6 18.5 22.1 26.3
Marine Corps 20,099 17,413 17,831 13.4 11.3 11.3 11.1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office based on data from the Department of Defense.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Navy's and Marine Corps's initial plans called for more modest cuts in their officer corps--10 percent and 13 percent, respectively. The Navy planned to achieve its reductions using SER, cuts in accessions, and the up-or-out provisions of the promotion system. The Marine Corps planned to rely on SER and on a provision in DOPMA that allows the separation of officers holding reserve commissions.(14)

As the ultimate shape and size of the post-Cold War military gradually became clearer, the Navy and Air Force revised their plans to accommodate larger reductions. By 1995, the Navy's officer corps was about 6,000 below the level initially planned for that year, and the Air Force's officer corps was about 4,000 below the level initially planned (see Table 3 and Figure 3).

[laruemtt]

2. this is obsene.

wish i could say i'm surprised. so sorry, HereSince. the best to you and your family.

[MADem]

3. It's called FORCE SHAPING, and it sucks!

During the CHENEY DRAWDOWN (do not call it the CLINTON Drawdown, the plans were put in place and implemented by SECDEF CHENEY under GHWB) DOD gave pink slips to a SHITLOAD of service personnel. They used all sorts of carrots and sticks to get folks gone, to include tougher promotion standards (fail to pass exams or meet other milestones to promote and you are GONE), tougher physical readiness standards (can't run, do sit ups, and so on, or you are too chubby, you're GONE) and when too many people actually studied for their exams, raised their performance levels, and got fit, they resorted to TERA (Temporary Early Retirement Authority...but looking back, it was more like Monkey's version of 'terra!').

A lot of the folks who took the TERA had very mixed feelings about it. Many did not want to go, but found opportunity for advancement waning and career satisfaction to be nil. It was a nitpicky, screw you, don't-step-out-of-line, no forgiveness environment. So now, all these people who left in great pain, and have now resolved their angst and moved on, are gonna get to relive the agony all over again.

What bullshit!

And when they run out of those guys, the regular retired are next. Merry Fucking Christmas (pardon the expression).

Assholes!

[ewagner]

4. Wow! From Mosinee?

That's pretty close.

It's outrageous that the "back-door draft" is still in full operation.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Weird, Stupid question here...

I'd heard about this a few months ago (not sure if it's the same person or not). Anyway, since they've called back this guy, is it at all possible that they can/would call back into service any personnel that were drafted originally?

Sorry...no knowledge of how military stuff like that works. :shrug:

[MADem]

7. Most draftees are getting up in age, but it is conceivable

...depending on their time in service. If they were drafted, did 20 or more years, and have that "SUBJECT TO RECALL BY SERVICE SECRETARY/SECDEF" on their 214, they aren't out of the woods unless age overtakes them.

It looks to me like they are going to go for the officer and enlisted TERAs first, then the retirees. If you dip too deep, too far back, the training curve is problematic, and the added expenditures from a lack of fitness also make the effort less cost-effective.

Not a stupid question, at all, BTW. We should all be concerned!!!

[Coastie for Truth]

9. I'm 65, volunteered for the CG (to avoid the draft)

commissioned officer.

My SPN Code is "Early Release to Attend Graduate School (Special Circumstances)" where the footnote in the CG PersMan illustrated it as a "once in a life time fellowship opportunity."

But I had to attend Reserve drills for two years (not so bad), two weeks active duty for two years, and stay in the IRR until specifically released (I couldn't age out or resign), and take a physical every 4 years.

And, my DD214 does have that "SUBJECT TO RECALL BY SERVICE SECRETARY/SECTRANS" notation.

Haven't heard crap from the CG for seven years. So, I called to find out -- the personnel tech asked me a few questions (weight, body fat, cholesterol, fasting glucose, ...) and said - "if you get called - the medical officer will send you home with a hand shake, and a "See your civilian doctor."

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Altho, they did give me a sales pitch for the Auxiliary and the Coast Guard League and the CG-MARS.

[MADem]

11. The USCG is still fairly safe...for NOW, anyway

But if they decide to pull that airpower stunt, making a/c available to the Iraqis to bomb uncooperative tribal leaders and whatnot, they could end up back in it. Remember during Gulf One, the USCG was out in the Gulf doing minesweeping and interdiction ops, and helping out with screening for those oil tankers...

Ya gotta figure some of those aircraft are going to be coming off carriers, and carriers as well as their screening vessels are rich, ripe targets. So there could be a role for the CG in that 'brilliant' plan (Lord save us all!!!).

[HereSince1628]

8. I don't know. Back in 74, I got an early out...what was hiding

in the fine print?

Personally, at this point I would claim overtly that I am a homosexual--Long and loud (meaning no offense to GLBT community)

[MADem]

10. Check your 214, it will tell you all you need to know (see Coastie's post

above). It CAN happen, with the right circumstances.

I'm sweating it, myself. If they go with this airpower horseshit, the USN and USAF are going to be taking a greater share of the burden, so anyone in those branches should be getting a bit nervous. The Army and USMC are damn near tapped out...