Well, I couldn't resist jumping on this bandwagon...
Apparently, some Army wife from her own little world published a post stating that National Guardsmen are not "real" soldiers, wives of NG soldiers are not "real" Army wives, etc, etc, blah blah blah. It's causing quite the stir. (Update: Her blog has been removed and a public apology from the commander of a Vermont-based Army recruiting station has been issued.)
Sound familiar?
Yep, I had this discussion with another "real" Army wife a few years ago and it caused words to fly across the blogosphere. (I'm sorta curious if she still shares the same opinion and if she'd have the balls to post it again, ha!) I didn't post much about the discussion at the time, but I did post this originally on Memorial Day of 2009: Honoring the Sacrifices. And of course, my favorite post of all time: National Guard: (Insert Joke Here)
I would like to point out two other things though that seem to get missed quite frequently in this discussion.
1. If Army National Guardsmen are not soldiers, but are simply Guardsmen, then by the same token Army Reservists are also not soldiers, but are in fact Reservists. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that follows the same logic.
So then that would also mean that those serving in the Navy Reserves are not Navymen, but Reservists, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves are not Airmen, but Guardsmen and Reservists, Coast Guard Reserves are not Coast Guardsmen, but Reservists and...wait for it...those in the Marine Corp Reserves are not Marines they're simply Reservists.
Stings a little bit when another military spouse takes away the name you've worked your whole career for, huh? Now throw in, "No offense, but Reservists just don't do as much as active duty to be considered Marines." I'm guessing the dander is going up. It seems that this way of thinking doesn't stop at National Guard soldiers, but extends to the entire military community.
2. And the most obvious sign of all of whether or not those in the National Guard are in fact soldiers, regardless of how many NG spouses argue out the wahzoo that those in the NG are soldiers and we are "real" Army wives...
A search on the Department of Defense's website of the phrase "National Guard soldier" brings up 241 articles that include that phrase. These articles include:
"..., an Army Commendation Medal for a National Guard soldier from Georgia..."
"...a National Guard Soldier contributing to a CENTCOM..."
"...The 21-year-old Iowa Army National Guard soldier discovered..."
"...An Indiana National Guard soldier escorts an Afghan..."
"...A Texas National Guard soldier receiving treatment..."
"... A Pennsylvania National Guard soldier here can be doubly proud..."
I'm not seeing an article that says, "Oh, by the way, we've been wrong to use the term soldier in reference to National Guard."
I'm sure you see where I'm going with this, but if not, let me spell it out for you. If the DoD calls them "National Guard soldiers" then *gasp* they must be soldiers. I could be totally off base with this assumption, but I'm assuming the DoD knows what the proper names would be for it's personnel. Shot in the dark on my part, but there it is.
Now just to do a little inappropriate rant because I want you to know how I really feel...
For those of you who say any of the following or any version thereof:
1. National Guardsmen are NOT soldiers.
2. When NG soldiers are not serving their one time a month and two weeks during the summer, they have a "normal" life.
3. NG soldiers are "lucky" because they get to work a "normal" 9-5 job.
4. NG soldiers don't sacrifice as much because they don't deploy as much.
5. NG soldiers don't work as hard or train as hard as active duty soldier.
6. NG soldiers need to "learn their role" because of numbers 1 through 5.
And then add, "But I totally respect NG. You all serve our country, just in a different way." Followed by more pretty sounding bullsh*t...
To you I say...
...And a lot of pretty bullsh*t to try and make you feel just a little less worse about yourself.
4 comments:
Totally agree. Also, it would seem the original drama has been deleted.
I completely agree. I also think that the original blogger may have some of her information wrong. The days of one weekend a month and two weeks a year in the National Guard or the Reserves is a thing of the past. These Soldiers serve in the War on Terrorism just as often as Active Duty and then return home to try and take up a partial civilian life. Some of them have more to lose by deploying then an Active Duty Service Member whose family is used to the everyday life of a Soldier. I am proud to say I am a Soldier in the Reserves as well as a spouse to an Active Duty Soldier.
I just found what she wrote in someones Facebook page. I think that she is going to have issues with the other spouses when her and her husband are at an actual Army Post.
Agreed.
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