Maybe they need to watch STRIPES a little less often and Jack Webb's THE D.I. a little more.

These units are so unprofessional I can't even believe it.

And we need to take a good look at what we can expect from Reserve and Guard units that are left to their own devices.

Considering that more than 40% of the troops currently deployed are reserve or guard units, don't you think you are painting with a rather broad brush?

We've seen behavior from both active duty and guard/reserve troops that we can all be very proud of, we've also seen behavior from both active and guard/reserve troops that has disgusted us all.

Painting them all with the same brush does a huge diservice to all of those who serve in dangerous and difficult conditions.

I do paint with a broad brush. However both Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca are Guard.

How much military culture and discipline do you absorb one weekend a month?

Amen to Donnah.

I can't speak for other guard units, but an estimate on my part of my husbands company..approx 70% are prior service.

My husband is prior service, he's also served in both guard and reserve units. In 14 years, I'd say he's absorbed a bit of military discipline and culture.

I've seen excellence on both sides of the line, I've also seen things that disgust me on both sides of the line.

Our battalion has currently been deployed for 351 days. However compared to their history, that's nothing.

Their history shows more days in continous combat than any other in history.. Guard, reserve or active duty. The Rangers were born from our division. I have no clue how many medal of honor holders there are, however it's quite a wall full.

Global security has a partial history here... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/arng-ia.htm.

What isn't written is current "history". That our state guard again has one of the highest rates of deployment than any other state in the country. They run between 1 and 5 on the list, and have for the past 3 years. That they serve with honor and professionalism, and bravery.

You don't hear much about them. You don't hear that in their 4 month training before deployment, when their active duty trainers left for the day, that they continued to train well into the night. Why? because they felt that not enough was covered, so they pulled on the experience in the unit and continued to train.

You don't hear about Kenny Lukes who lost his arm, and continued the fight during an ambush, and later had his purple heart awarded to him by President Bush.

You don't hear about Michael Johnson, who took heavy shrapnel across his chest and arms..yet refused medical attention while working to save the life of another one of the troops...stopping only when he lost consciousness. By the way, he is credited with saving Lukes life. He's still working to regain feeling in his right arm.

Sadly, they were unable to save Jamie Kearney. He was 22, and we attended his funeral in November. His brother is currently active duty Army, his father is retired military.

Our guys..and they are guys, they are infantry, just quietly work their tails off, on longer deployments than active duty troops, in the same conditions..

Thing is, there's nothing "special" about them. There are 10's of thousands of others just like them serving as I type..and being painted with the same brush as those who are responsible for Abu Ghraib and now Camp Bucca.

Tink, I understand you're defending the Guard because your husband's in it, but the Guard is meant to be short-term back-up. In both these incidents, it wasn't just individual soldiers who were losers, it was the whole chain of command. When the sergeants are bad, the unit is gone, and you know it. Both of these units are MP. What's going on with them that this is happening? It's not acceptable.

You're very right that we don't here enough about all the good guys. I haven't heard one bad thing about any 11B NG units that I know of. My friend Mike is infantry with the Virginia NG in the 'Stan.

Donnah,

The Guard was meant to be short term back up until it was decided to move many specialties to the Guard and Reserve during the last "reorganization", at that point, all bets were off.

I do agree with you. What happened in those two situations leaves me beyond disgust. It makes me angry, VERY angry. Just like you are angry because it reflects on the Army as a whole, I'm angry because it reflects on the Army and the Guard. It goes to reinforce the stereotype that already exists in too many minds, and it ticks me off. I'd personally like to smack some of those NCOs upside the head...there is no excuse, NONE.

Yes, I do know that if the NCOs are bad, then the unit is a waste, without discipline and leadership, you've got nothing. But you know as well as I do that there are NCOs and Officers don’t deserve their rank; the school soldiers, the ticket punchers, the ones who do what they do for the promotion points, not because it's the right thing to do. You also know it’s not restricted to the Guard or the Reserve. They may be few and far between, but they are there, in all branches, in any MOS. I’ve never worn the uniform, but I’ve still seen too much over the years not to know that it’s true.

The same is true of any profession. There will always be cops that shouldn’t be cops, doctors who shouldn’t be doctors; there are checks and balances in place to screen them out, but there are always those that slip through.

I don’t defend the Guard because my husband is now part of it; I defend the Guard because they’ve more than earned the respect of those who serve with them. They’ve changed the minds of too many that had fallen back on the weekend warrior stereotypes. They work and train too damn hard, have seen too many deployments and have paid to high of a price to deserve anything less...and it's not just 11 Bravo's I'm talking about.

As for me, heck, I can only dream of one weekend a month. Heck,I’d love it if my husband weren’t gone for months or years at a time. (This deployment is currently at 352 days with 100 days to go) But it’s part of who he is, I knew it when I married him as an active duty Soldier, and still know it as a Guardsman’s wife.

I can't say there's anything you've said that I disagree with, Tink. I read about the reorg, and I don't care for how it's working out.
BTW, we had individual Arab linguist Guard with us. None of them were prior service, and there were problems. They weren't exactly gung ho, and they had to either change their attitude, or hide it better. Now that's something you should have picked up in your first week in the Army. It's a game. To be fair, though, some of the fellows in my unit relished inculturating them fully in the ways of the Regular Army.

My sergeants were first rate. When I went to PLDC and sat listening to the list of all the character qualities of a good sergeant, I thought "Hey, that's my sergeant!"

Here's to all the good sergeants throughout the military. You never forget them.

May your husband hurry home safe.