Army of Dude's Letter to President Obama

As per usual, Alex over at AoD rocks! His letter to President Obama and the use of the Individual Ready Reserve is spot on.

For years, you have spoken extensively about the need for a more robust civil service program in the country. I cannot think of a greater civil service than serving in the military, especially in a time of war. For eight years, soldiers have sacrificed their bodies, minds, and in the most tragic of cases, their lives, to complete the mission. We have stared into the black abyss of war to see an inner reflection of triumph and tragedy. There are pieces of us, physical and otherwise, that are left on the battlefield forever. That is what we gave up for this nation. Now that the war in Iraq is coming to a close, it's time to end the recalls immediately. Every soldier in the military stands ready to report, mobilize and deploy in any corner of the world in 96 hours or less. The abrupt cancellation of the Presidential Reserve Call Up Authority and subsequent orders would seem effortless in comparison to what soldiers stand ready for each and every day.

The issue of the IRR has a direct impact here in Minnesota.

I know one Iraq War Veteran from Dassel who has gotten IRR orders.

Back when this whole clusterf@#k started, I received calls from Army recruiters telling me to join a local National Guard or Army Reserve unit so that I could deploy to Iraq with people I know, and not be subject to the randomness of the IRR. They tried to put the fear of God in me.

The only hitch in their plan was that I had already served more than 8 years and was not subject to IRR call up. It was just another Bush Company ploy to lure folks to fight his bullshit war.

Alex is right.

The IRR madness needs to stop.