Now Dad's getting deployed

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Joined
Jun 9, 1999
Messages
4,729
Things just don't ever get easier do they? Some of you may remember that last summer about this time I posted that I was taking a trip to the sandbox. They cancelled my mission, but now it looks like my Dad is going. He's an Army Reservist too, he's dodged the bullet for over 25 years but I guess it's his turn now. In typical Army fashion they called to tell him he's being mobilized, but don't yet know where he's going or when he's leaving. The bastards didn't even have the courtesy to let him tell my Mom himself. They called his house and left a message asking him to call back "about his mobilization packet". Of course Mom heard it before he had a chance to let her know what was up. So instead of getting the chance to break the news at an opportune time she had it sprung on her. God I hate the Army with a passion.

So now here I sit feeling more than a bit guilty that I miraculously had my mission cancelled and knowing full well that the chances of that happening for Dad are slim to none. But hey we can always hope. He's not overly stressed about it, or doesn't seem to be. He's even said a few times that he might volunteer for a tour if it weren't for the stress that would put on Mom. He feels a little left out having never been on a combat tour. Part of me is proud of him for that and another part says keep your ass home and out of the line of fire man! Looks like the choice is out of his hands now. Sorry to dump this here, but I need to do something and this is a group that understands such things. Send up some smoke for my Dad if you get the chance, I would appreciate it.
 
Oh Man that really bites! Just how old is your dad RR and is he in pretty decent shape? Could it be possible that some petty medical problem that is okay for the reserves might get him off TDY in the full service?

Smoke sent.:(
 
K-man,

You're not making Blade this year, are you? I certainly understand both your and your dad's mixed feelings.

Peace,

John
 
dammit.

OK.

He'll be in my thoughts, as will you and your family.


dammit.



Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
Roadrunner said:
Things just don't ever get easier do they? Some of you may remember that last summer about this time I posted that I was taking a trip to the sandbox. They cancelled my mission, but now it looks like my Dad is going. He's an Army Reservist too, he's dodged the bullet for over 25 years but I guess it's his turn now. In typical Army fashion they called to tell him he's being mobilized, but don't yet know where he's going or when he's leaving. The bastards didn't even have the courtesy to let him tell my Mom himself. They called his house and left a message asking him to call back "about his mobilization packet". Of course Mom heard it before he had a chance to let her know what was up. So instead of getting the chance to break the news at an opportune time she had it sprung on her. God I hate the Army with a passion.

So now here I sit feeling more than a bit guilty that I miraculously had my mission cancelled and knowing full well that the chances of that happening for Dad are slim to none. But hey we can always hope. He's not overly stressed about it, or doesn't seem to be. He's even said a few times that he might volunteer for a tour if it weren't for the stress that would put on Mom. He feels a little left out having never been on a combat tour. Part of me is proud of him for that and another part says keep your ass home and out of the line of fire man! Looks like the choice is out of his hands now. Sorry to dump this here, but I need to do something and this is a group that understands such things. Send up some smoke for my Dad if you get the chance, I would appreciate it.
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Mate how old is Dad?
Surely they do not deploy people over 40?
Not in Combat roles.
 
What does that mean mate?
What is a flag grade?
I would have thought that in most countries like here (Australia) senior people might be used in training roles or rear echelon roles but not fighting roles.
Certainly not as a part time reservist.
I understand that there would be many career soldiers over 40 but not used as front line combat troops.
 
When I reported in, I saw a 50-something 11B (infantry) sergeant. They only released him because he had a badly arthritic back. :eek:
 
Don't worry too much, Roadrunner. The older warriors are the wiser warriors. If he doesn't know how to handle himself when he hits the sand, he will acclimate very quickly.

His years and his skills make him particularly valuable. Chances are very good he will be in a supervisory/leadership role (or perhaps training?). The Army will use him to keep their younger troops safe and on mission.

Be proud. I believe your father will bring more than a few young soldiers home safe.
 
Thanks for the well wishes guys. Dad will be 52 in a month. He's in very good shape for his age, hell he can still run 2 miles in around 16:00 minutes for his PT test. That's the minimum standard for someone my age. His job is Petroleum Supply, they truck around and pump fuel to the people who need it. He's actually a trainer for this job, but I believe that he's going to do the real thing rather than train it. It sounds as if someone in another unit who's being deployed couldn't go and he gets to fill in. I really don't like the job he has to do because trucks full of fuel make easy and valuable targets. Any job in transport is incredibly dangerous over there because of the IEDs.

As to the age thing, the Army doesn't care. I read stories in the Army Times a few years ago about 60+ year old soldiers serving over there. One was a grandfather who was a surgeon, so that was a somewhat special case, but it's not at all unusual for guys 50 and up to go to combat.

Oh, and today I got the date he'll be leaving. Yup, you guessed it; Father's Day. The sons of bitches are deploying him on Father's Day. Do they do this on purpose or are they really just that dense? Seriously the whole command structure of the Army is just plain messed up. If our generals were doing their jobs the way the Marines and Air Force do our guys wouldn't be doing one and two year tours, they'd be going for six and eight months like the Marines. But our 'leaders' just roll over and let us get worked into the ground. Oh, and now they're having trouble meeting recruiting quotas. Gee I wonder why [/sarcasm]. I gotta get my punching bag set up again.
 
RR, what's his rank? During my tour in the sandbox, the majority of the fuel was hauled by the truckdrivers (88M, Motor Transport operator) and the Petroleum Supply guys all ran the fuel farms at the FOB's. Very seldom did I see any fuelers leave the wire. The ones that did leave the FOB were all E-5 and below, the E-6 and up had to run the fuel farm and were in charge of military guys, KBR fuel guys and LN's (Local Nationals).
Everyone gets the same pre-deployment training though.

Bill
 
Soon the army will stop drug testing, advertise "all the hash you can smoke" and "don't worry about don't ask don't tell if you're gay"

I heard they are already waiving a lot of stuff to get people because they are having to get tons of people for the surge.

Serious prayers for your dad RR and also prayers you don't eventually have to go.:thumbup:

My dad just had a bypass so I know how you feel, but in his instance I just had to really worry for 24 hours. Sorry to hear that.
 
Roadrunner said:
Oh, and today I got the date he'll be leaving. Yup, you guessed it; Father's Day.
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I have enough friends in the Army to know how pathetic it's become, but that absolutely disgusts me. From what I've heard, he'll have plenty of other forty and fifty-something reservists to compare notes with. This should make the rest of us appreciate having our dads at home on Father's Day. Your whole family is in my prayers.
 
Prayers from AZ. My nephew will be deploying for his 2nd tour shortly. Don't have a date yet. He's a marine, though.
 
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