75 Year Old Reservist on Third GWOT Deployment
Nothing earth-shattering, no tactical, operational or strategic effects, just thought this guy deserves kudos:
Retired Reserve Doc Deploys Third Time
Quote:
...Having joined the Marine Corps in 1950, Bernhard was soon discharged due to a knee injury, which he said was a major disappointment. He joined the Navy as an anesthesiologist and served 10 years on active and reserve duty, then switched to the Army Reserve for 22 more years.
When Bernhard leaves his home tomorrow, he will spend about five days at Fort Benning, Ga., before traveling to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. From there he'll fly to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, then convoy into Kabul, where he will connect with the Oregon Army National Guard's 141st Support Battalion.
"I don't sign up when I go overseas for anesthesia because I've done all that," he said. "I'd much rather sign up to be a field surgeon, which means that I can work at a battalion aide station and at a trauma station, and I sign up to work also as a flight surgeon, and that gets me flying a lot of missions and taking care of aviators."
Last year, he deployed to Iraq with the Mississippi Army National Guard's 155th Brigade Combat Team. He took charge of medical facilities at five forward operating bases west and south of Baghdad...
Army Reserve Col. William Bernhard
http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/images/bernhard.jpg
Col. William Bernhard, an Army surgeon, stands in front of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on Forward Operating Base Lima, Iraq, Oct. 15, 2005.
Bernhard, 75, is about to deploy to Kabul, Afghanistan, reportedly as the oldest deployed member of America's armed forces
Only applicable if he is on the retired list.
He may or may not be, article doesn't say. Anyone who enlists or is accessed as an Officer has an eight year obligation, active or reserve in any mix. If he enlisted back in DS/DS days, say in 90, his obligation expired in 98.
Involuntary recall for 'vets' as the article states thus are good only for that eight year period. Rarely, there may be case where there was some obligated service due to special training or a promotion that was waived so the person could be released from active duty and then they could be called back to fulfill the obligation -- but that is really unusual.
Active or Reserve retirees OTOH are obligated from date of retirement to age 65.
Probably a screwup...
Heh. That almost certainly means he's retired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SethB
Ken, someone on another site looked that 50 year old up on AKO. He is a CW3.
Hope he enjoys his tour... :D
All that retainer pay -- and that's what Retired Pay is, retainer pay, it is not a pension or an annuity -- is advance payment for this possibility...
Thanks, Seth.
Retirement Orders Para 3.
"As a retired Marine you may be ordered to active duty without your consent."
What is odd about the Corps is that when you leave active duty between 20 and 30 you are not 'retired' but instead placed in the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve. A similar paragraph appears in your orders to the FMCR. Then after you hit 30 years from initial enlistment you get your big certificate and retired pin.
Course not long after 9/11 I tried to enlist in the NG but was told by the recruiter I no doubt had an RE-2 code on my DD214, which I do, and it means "Ineligible for reenlistment. Recommended for reenlistment but ineligible because of status: Fleet Reservist Retired." So they'll bring back a 75 year old but brush off a then motivated 40 something year old. Go figure. :D
Ken's Younger Brother/Cousin?
From AKO News, Soldier, 79, asks, 'What can I do now?'
Quote:
FORT BENNING, Ga. -- With four military retirements behind him, Col. William Bernhard said former President John F. Kennedy's plea to the nation nearly 50 years ago inspires him to keep going.
"JFK once said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country,'" Bernhard said. "And I've always tried to do that."
The 79-year-old physician, who is possibly one of the oldest Soldiers on active duty, reported to Fort Benning's CONUS Replacement Center March 20, prior to leaving for Hohenfels, Germany.
