War Vet, 50, Stunned By New Deployment

mpenguin1

Well-Known Member
Former Soldier Last Served During 1st Gulf War

http://www.wsmv.com/news/18391549/detail.html

A veteran who has been out of the military for 15 years and recently received his AARP card was stunned when he received notice he will be deployed to Iraq.

The last time Paul Bandel, 50, saw combat was in the early 1990s during the Gulf War.
 
I'd be like "SWEET! I'M GONNA NEED SOCKS, UNDERWEAR, UNIFOrms, DEODerant...toothpaste.....aw crap this is gonna suck..."
 
DOH! Maybe Mr. Bandel should have resigned that appointment when he separated from active duty if he had no intention of getting a good “20 years” for retirement purposes. Did he get a buy-out when he left active duty? There is something more to the story here that I don’t think the media is doing a very good job of telling.
I can’t believe the number of officers that don’t understand that there are no expiration dates on those commission or appointment orders, if you don’t want to hear from Uncle Sugar after you separate from active duty, resign your commission or appointment. Even in retirement you are still subject to recall, just more hoops to jump thru for them to get to you….
Not every soldier deployed is an 18 year old, there were quite a few of us that were eligible for AARP membership, quite a few Viet Nam era veterans, and I heard about one pilot turning 62 in theater… :laff:
 
wow, that would be frustrating, I'm just off active duty and can still be recalled by the reserves, can't imagine getting that call 15 years from now! But, he probably was trained in or has knowledge in something that nobody (or hardly anybody) else does and can't really express it in the report. If you are an expert in some field you can be recalled at anytime, we all saw it in our contracts when we signed up.
 
Somethings not right about this story. Unless they forgot to give this guy a medical exam, unless he's some kind of health nut he probably has elevated BP, needs a heart stress test, procto exam for early colon cancer and after 15 years he needs all his shots redone. The article even says the system he trained on isn't even in the inventory anymore so whats the need for him?
 
DOH! Maybe Mr. Bandel should have resigned that appointment when he separated from active duty if he had no intention of getting a good “20 years” for retirement purposes. Did he get a buy-out when he left active duty? There is something more to the story here that I don’t think the media is doing a very good job of telling.
I can’t believe the number of officers that don’t understand that there are no expiration dates on those commission or appointment orders, if you don’t want to hear from Uncle Sugar after you separate from active duty, resign your commission or appointment. Even in retirement you are still subject to recall, just more hoops to jump thru for them to get to you….
Not every soldier deployed is an 18 year old, there were quite a few of us that were eligible for AARP membership, quite a few Viet Nam era veterans, and I heard about one pilot turning 62 in theater… :laff:
You hit the nail on the head.
 
Somethings not right about this story. Unless they forgot to give this guy a medical exam, unless he's some kind of health nut he probably has elevated BP, needs a heart stress test, procto exam for early colon cancer and after 15 years he needs all his shots redone. The article even says the system he trained on isn't even in the inventory anymore so whats the need for him?
Heck, my primary co-pilot over in the box was a 58 year old Viet Nam UH-1 pilot.
 
Somethings not right about this story. Unless they forgot to give this guy a medical exam, unless he's some kind of health nut he probably has elevated BP, needs a heart stress test, procto exam for early colon cancer and after 15 years he needs all his shots redone. The article even says the system he trained on isn't even in the inventory anymore so whats the need for him?

Realize the story not being reported; what has this guy been doing in the private sector for the last 15 years? It doesn't say and I won't hazard to guess, but that may have something to do with his recall.

I'd like to hear the Paul Harvey Rest of the Story version of this. He implies that he currently doing well enough that he's making double what a four or five year O-3 Capt would make which grosses $4700+/month in basic pay alone.

I'm in my 12th year as an active duty officer; I've seen a lot of decisions that, on face value, appear dumb. When you peel the onion, you find out the decision was actually a pretty good idea. I think, if the whole story is ever known, the recall will begin to make sense.

Or, it could turn out to be dumber than dumb; that happens too.
 
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