Thread: "support the troops"

Soldiers are the pawns of politicians in their wars. Giving returned soldiers recognition while supporting the politicians who sent them off to war needlessly is like purposefully running someone down and then taking them to the hospital just so you feel better about an emotive indiscretion.

...and draw the commission

Once again, the US treats the soldiers like garbage after all of this fake symbolic lip service of "support the troops."

Reservists Face Rocky Return In Job Market

(CBS) With the Pentagon relying so heavily on the National Guard and Reserve to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan - 650,000 have been called for active duty since 9/11 - the least you'd expect is that after they serve, they get their old civilian jobs back.

There's a law, called USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act), that says their employers have to take them back at the same pay.

But what 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl found is that despite the law, thousands of guards and reservists come home to find themselves demoted or penalized, or out of a job completely.

Sounds like regular civilian treatment. It is.

Army Reservist Joanne Merritt is a nurse who works with wounded soldiers. When she got back to her regular job in 2006 after a two-year deployment, she was told her job was gone since she had been away too long.

"We had to give that to somebody else. So, your job is no more," she remembers.

Despite the law, she couldn't have her job back. "Yes. It really hurt. It hurt because I just wasn't expectin' this."

Considering who her employer is, why would she expect it: Merritt works at, of all places, the VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga.

Link: Reservists Face Rocky Return In Job Market, 60 Minutes Report Also Examines Costs Borne By Employers Of Deployed Citizen Soldiers - CBS News

^ sorry, i'm bringing this question over from what was being discussed on another thread, but it seems relevant here too.....why should young people join the military? aren't there better ways to serve the one's community and oneself?

Nope. It's a great learning experience. It's a great way to serve your country.

You wouldn't know because they don't take pansy loudmouths.

putting aside (yet another) juvenile remark on your part, are you saying there is no better way to serve the community than to join the military? good god, how ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Norton

^This kind of thing will worsen. As the troops are returned during a period of extreme job loss as a result of the economy there will be no jobs to return to.

Then what? I reckon the government will have to quickly get those infrastructure jobs in place or I foresee a long and expensive number of lawsuits from returning service people to ensue.

Good points, Norton.

There already was one high profile case from the Seattle area. The vet returning from a tour was actually demoted, had his hours cut, and got handed out lower-work.

He sued, and he won.

Yes, with the current economy, it's probably going to be rough for many returning.