It seems that some veterans want to create an impression that a veteran is a veteran is a veteran. Then there are guys like me who think combat arms veterans, in particular, have paid one hell of a lot more dues than the majority of vets, especially those we call rear echelon mother fuckers (REMF).
Let us take two guys, one is 18 years old and the other one is 23 with a college degree. The 18 year old enlists in the active duty Marines and does 30 years as a grunt, rising to the rank of Sergeant Major before being put out to pasture with a pension that is not worth spit.
The other guy joins the Air Force reserve as a finance officer with the intention of milking the tax payers for all he’s worth; but at the same time and throughout his career, he takes every precaution to ensure that the greatest risk he will ever face are paper cuts and swear words.
Then America gets attacked on 9/11 and Congress, in order to retain mid-level officers and enlisted personnel, sweetens the (retention) pot with something called the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The problem now for our Air Force (AF) REMF is that he has to do 90 days in OIF (Iraq) and/ or OEF (Afghanistan) theater of operations in order to get this new, improved and quite lovely GI Bill which allows him to pass that 4 year free ride on to his dependents.
Now imagine that his lust to snag that GI Bill and pass it down to his kids is so intense that he breaks that vow to self, and starts shopping around for a cushy yet super-safe ‘in theater’ gig to qualify for it. A little problem arises for our future war hero/ vet in that there are no 90 day billets available that are completely risk free or our AF Reserve officer; but he is tenacious in pursuit of his goal and finally lands a 45 day volunteer gig inside fortress America in Kabul where he can buy good quality European wines and such at the German PX.
Iraq was always too dangerous, even inside Baghdad’s green zone the bad guys could always reach out and touch you no matter how cushy your assignment, but Afghanistan was not. Actually anywhere inside the Green Zone in Kabul was safer than your mother’s womb. This fact of course would make OEF/ Afghanistan the only so-called war zone in which our reluctant warrior/ hero/ soon to be VFW/ vet would be at all interested in. Winning that 4-year free ride on the backs of the US taxpayers ‘scholarship’ for his son would be less dangerous than almost any neighborhood within the continental US. Plus the tax free because you know, war zone, officers salary combined with danger pay and other perks would be a nice boost in his annual income so once again we find our AF Reservist vet guy practically ecstatic when he manages to find and ‘volunteer’ for his second pump to Afghanistan and the 90-day golden ring is grabbed.
If you think it could not happen, I will gladly introduce you to an Army Major, also a reservist, who proudly announced that he volunteered for some chickenshit assignment in Djibouti for 6 months because it got him the Post 9/11 GI Bill which he promptly signed over to one of his sons. There were also tax breaks and, in his case, a higher salary than he was making in his civilian job. For our Army Reservist dude, the war in Iraq was a Win-Win-Win with the taxpayers being the suckers as usual.
Still believe that all ‘combat/ war’ veterans are created equal?
The Pareto Principle is also alive and well within the bowels of your vaunted Department of Defense where fewer than 20% are trigger pullers and the other 80% are stealing both oxygen and tax dollars.
With love,
“Colonel” Templar
USMC/Ret.
ST UnWoked & UnVaxxed! 
The grunts have many unflattering nicknames for REMFs. I realize that the American war machine requires a massive effort to support the grunts and not everybody can be in combat arms. On the other hand, some guys earn and deserve the moniker chicken-Hawk.
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Yikes! Not to mention the “veteran-as-victim” perception that seems to have replaced ‘the ‘veteran-as-non-functional/crazy’ that emerged after Vietnam….
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Then there is all of that OIF/OEF PTSD out there from all of those in-coming paper cuts.
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Snowflakes are everywhere….
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Yes ma’am. They sure as heck are, and not all of them are Millennials.
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Copy that….
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As a matter of fact, I would bet our hypothetical AF Reserver Finance Officer also is milking the VA for all of his ‘combat’ stress.
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Yeah….
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If a guy is willing to publicly misrepresent himself as a war vet when all he really did was sit on his ass for two 45-day Uncle Sam sponsored vacations to an air-conditioned bunker within Kabul’s Green Zone surrounded & guarded by thousands of US Marine grunts & Blackwater operatives, then said same dude would have no compunction about ripping off the VA for all the ‘gimmes’ he can get his chicken-Hawk grubby fingers on – would he?
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Hypothetically true dat….
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(I would like to explore the actual subject of strategies for coping with trauma – combat or otherwise – what works, and what doesn’t. And surprises I’ve found along the way….This is both in my wheelhouse and in my experience, so….)
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Sounds great. I think it deserves a separate OP. I too have some experience in this area and even initiated a program within the 3rd Marine Division to combat PTSD.
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Copy….Cool! (Tried to start talking about that over there, but….)
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P.S. My initiative to combat PTSD was undertaken during my last year on active duty when I was the Divisions’s IG. I was not a leader of grunts at the time having been moved from Regimental XO to HQ to allow a LtCol with a shot at making full bird move into my job. Then I became the IG (full bird billet) for one year before I retired. I hated the IG gig because everyone hated me. A condition which I now find myself in whenever I visit so-called right of center blogsites. LOL
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You must explain:
1. What is an IG?
2. And why would you be hated after initiating a program to combat PTSD? Or was this a competitive thing regarding rank?
Also, Nanda is correct; I think we’d all be interested in hearing both of y’all’s take on effective methods of coping with trauma. If civilians were less than aware before, they certainly were not after watching American Sniper. Clint Eastwood deserves a Medal of Freedom for making that film. It brought a lot of attention to a serious problem.
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I would like to explain my thinking on and implementation of the anti-PTSD initiative but fear it will be mischaracterized as Nation-Building and thereby dismissed out of hand — over.
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Yikes! Same thing, different year….LOL May I ask what your initiative looked like? Not poaching, but interested to see a non-lab coat approach looks like. There’s so much theory-based junk out there….Everybody’s two-cents, y’know? Also, an LOL
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P.S. That last comment may be a grammatical landmine. Just sayen’
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Yep. Wheelhouse, for me equals training – without the *personal* experiential bits. (grin)
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Sorry, IG means Inspector General. IGs are hated because we are inspecting units on behalf of our Commanding General (CG) all of the time. Commanding Officers (COs) do not love it when an IG comes in to inspect his unit’s adherence to policy, laws, etc.
How copy – over?
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Solid Copy – over.
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I was not really hated, just that no one wanted to see me walking into their office. LOL
On the other hand, my mental hardening (anti-PTSD) initiative was very well received. The pilot program was conducted for the 3rd Marine Regiment where I was re-acquainted with my old buddy Col Milburn.
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Would love to see/hear more: You were coming from a perspective of *inoculation*, more than *remediation*, right? I have lots of Chaps-type questions, that I won’t bore you or others with here, but a consult would be totes awesome. How copy?…Over.
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You are so smart DeNanda. Yes ma’am, inoculation was the primary objective; but of course, we did remediation as well.
It has been 10 years so my memory is fading regarding the finer points; however, I think if you want to start the “convo” then drop an OP.
We may as well share our genius.
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Copy….Maybe from the Chaps’s Corner? This question is beginning to feel like my mission, somehow. (I know, corny.) LOL
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It is not a mission that I am giving to you. If you want to hear more about my initiative then ask me. I thought the proper form for that would be an OP, but I have no desire to make that your mission.
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No, hermano, I don’t mean that you’ve given it; I mean that I’m drawn to it as an outgrowth of my chaplaincy…Another way for it to be exercised. Paying it forward, sorta. That’s where I am. No worries….
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The OP will be a perfect place to start….
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P.S. I drop Col Andy Milburn’s name because DeNanda has read the book that he authored. At least I think that he wrote a book, and I think she read his book.
Over to you Nanda to confirm and/ or deny.
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“Over to you Nanda to confirm and/ or deny.”
Semi- Confirm: I’ve heard Col. Milburn on All Marine Radio a lot recently; have pre-ordered his book. It’s due out in Feb/Mar.2020. It’s not in hand yet.
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