My sister's fiance is being reactivated.

[xiphias]

He's 42. But he was in the Special Forces, so he has useful skills, and is therefore being called up.

I was just talking to Sibling, and we were commenting that, in all honesty, his brain is far more useful right now than his ability to be shot at, so we're really, really hoping that he's stationed, ideally, stateside as command-and-control, codebreaking, or training, or at least nowhere near the front lines. We thought about how we could get this message to someone, and I pointed out that at least ONE of us has to have our phones tapped.

"Yeah!" she said, "and I'm on a cell phone anyway, so they're definitely listening: his name is XXX XXX XXX, and he's stationed out of XXX XXX XXX, and he's really going to be more useful in a training or control role, so that's what you should do -- it would be a waste to put him on the front lines. Plus, he's got many years of experience as a police officer, so he can help set up that sort of thing, too. See? This is the good part of illegal wiretapping!"

He's 42, engaged to my sister, and has a teenage daughter. He's got a number of years in various police departments, and a postgraduate degree in theology. If they ask him to carry a gun and be shot at, he'll go and do that, and won't even complain about it any more than average, but I hope, for his sake, for my sister's sake, and for the country's sake, that they have a better idea in mind.

Comments

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

That's sort of assuming that they will place people intelligently.

We have a friend who has been in Iraq for over a year. Worked for a Think Tank here in the USA doing strategy stuff for the government in regards to diplomacy stuff, and in his 40s as well. Really a brains kind of guy... and an officer.

Unfortunately, his experience for the govt was in military intelligence. So, he's in the field, collecting data, dealing with the locals, and pretty much a guy with a translator, a computer and a sidearm and not much else, as are the people in his command, setting up attempts to network with the local police, sub-contractors, politicians etc.

He left his teenagers in guardianship of a couple of friends while he's been gone, and one of them took his own life a few months ago. They wouldn't give him leave or send him back to deal with it... another friend had to step in and take over the day to day household ops with his kids.

The military is being about as intelligent and sympathetic as rocks these days.

[ckd]

But that's clearly not possible, because the Republicans are all about family values, "children need a mom and a dad", etc etc! So how can anything they do harm a family? Sigh.

(Which is a bigger threat to marriage? Statistics say deployment divorces are common, while here in Gay Marriageland the divorce rate is... er... lower than Texas's.)

[theletterelle.livejournal.com]

One of the friends took his own life? Or one of the kids?

Either way, it's dreadful, but if they wouldn't even send him back if his own kid committed suicide... Jesus.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

One of the two friends who were acting as guardians to his kids while he's de[ployed. Basically one was taking care of the day to day household needs, the other was handling the bills/accounting etc. The day to day household operations guardian who was taking care of things is the one who killed himself.

I've heard other horror stories from friends, of two parent families with both parents deployed over seas in different units and either having to leave an older child more or less in charge of things with very elderly grandparents left in guardianship on paper.

The concept of hardship exceptions are pretty much non-existant. They've even dragged doctors who had been retired from practice for a decade back into service in some cases.

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

A most clever strategy. If you wanted to double your chances, you could also protest against the President or Rumsfeld saying "Don't you dare send my sister's fiance to some cushy desk job. Just because he's 42 and I'm a liberal doesn't mean that he's not capable of taking the fight right to the front lines!" They'd be sure to give him a stateside desk job just to spite you.

On a less silly note, I hope all goes well. Deployment is rough no matter how risky the assignment is.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I have two data points you're not going to like. First, they're using military intelligence battalions on the front lines, and they're making up these battalions with a lot of former special forces types (I know this because a co-worker's son is a former Ranger who took two semesters of Arabic before dropping out of MIT, and he's currently taking the waters near Tikrit). Second, that same battalion has been in-theatre for a while now, so they're going to have to muster a replacement with comparable capabilities soon-ish. I don't know/can't say what those capabilities are, but if he has the relevant background and clearances (or can get the clearances), his ass is probably going to Iraq.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

USAF Combat Controller, Special Forces. Motto, "First In, Last Out."

Pray for him, willya?

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear.

I'm definetely going to be thinking of him, and his daughter, and your sister.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

stupid, stupid war

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Yep. At least Dad is mostly deaf and has bad knees and a bad back.

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

Damn. He and your family will be in my thoughts.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

1. Your sister's fiance is 42? *boggle*

2. Canada. Toronto is lovely this time of year.

You think I'm kidding.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

1. Yep -- Kent is 15 years older than she is. She's closer in age to her stepdaughter-to-be than her husband-to-be. Still -- you wouldn't know it to look at them -- Leila and Kent look about the same age.

2. Kent is patriotic. He hates the war, hates the President, hates the stupidity -- but believes that, if by incompetent leadership, we ARE in a moronic war -- as long as there's an American soldier over there, and they need him, he's got a duty to be there.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I assume the stepdaughter-to-be is okay with that? I think I'd feel oogy if it were me, but then, Leila is also a rather astonishing person, so she can probably get away with it.

I guess my definition of "patriotism" always has to include the possibility of civil disobedience. I can't imagine feeling patriotic about a country without also imagining choices for myself in the event of colossal stupidity on the part of the power structure. But that's probably just my fled-the-Russian-army genetics talking.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It does. But, see, he made an agreement when he joined up. He takes his agreements seriously. . .

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

He took an oath when he joined up the first time. Part of that oath was the possibility that the United States could mobilize him later, even after he left the service. Nobody ever expected that said provision would ever be used in anything less than actual invasion of the United States, but that's not what the oath said.

And he looks at his word the way you look at yours.

Okay, so I can't imagine you taking an open-ended oath of service to a country, no matter who controlled that country, although I can imagine you taking an oath to a person -- but that's what Kent did.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

And he looks at his word the way you look at yours

Rather better than mine, I should think. I've made too many mistakes I knew better than to make to say otherwise.

Okay, so I can't imagine you taking an open-ended oath of service to a country, no matter who controlled that country, although I can imagine you taking an oath to a person -- but that's what Kent did.

This is really the essential difference, yeah. I wouldn't take that oath.

Warriors have always been known for swearing great and terrible oaths that come back to bite them later, though, so he's in a vast tradition. I hope the forces that recognize that tradition will watch over him now.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Don't those often end in the warrior's death? I hoping something a little more merciful is looking out for him.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Only sometimes. Usually SOMEBODY dies, but not always the protagonist. But, y'know, warriors tend to have that sort of life.

I don't think it's a lack of mercy, although that's an argument I keep having with people who adhere to the religions of the Book. I'm not going to try to stuff everything I could write about that into a comment, so let's just say I meant it as something a bit more positive than all that.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

It's simply that those things tend to be a bit more into justice. Which is a good thing, and all, but I was hoping for something that would be willing to give mercy even at the expense of justice, rather than to balance them.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

See, this is why I was going to try to avoid writing a book, because this gets into theological definitions of "justice" and "mercy", and there just isn't space and it'd bore everyone else reading the thread to tears as it is.

But if it'll make you feel better, I'll refrain from prayer.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I trust your judgement, actually. Just . . . if you can include a request about him coming back safely and in honor to his family, I'd appriciate it.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that you felt the need to specify that.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Leila and her stepdaughter-to-be get along amazingly, and tend to team up on Kent. He's got absolutely no chance against the two of them working in concert.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Somehow, I'd have expected no less from Leila.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

http://thankyoult.live.radicaldesigns.org

Just a thought.

[psu-jedi.livejournal.com]

If they ask him to carry a gun and be shot at, he'll go and do that, and won't even complain about it any more than average, but I hope, for his sake, for my sister's sake, and for the country's sake, that they have a better idea in mind.

I hope so too. But this is the organization that booted an Arab-speaking soldier because he's gay (http://psu-jedi.livejournal.com/137314.html), so I wouldn't expect them to do the smart thing in this case. (But, like I said, I hope there's someone who's smart enough to realize what SHOULD be done!)