Quote Originally Posted by 82redleg View Post
Unless you're a brain surgeon or burn specialist, or something like that, which simply isn't done in Iraq, there is no excuse for a MAJ (or CPT P) to be without a deployment. Not at 8 years into the war. There is just no excuse.

Find a CS branch that isn't in Iraq- they all are, and if you are a MAJ and haven't deployed, you are hiding. If you don't want to be a combat leader, find another organization.
I can think of plenty examples that make sense on the eaches, and it's simply a matter of timing. I'm coming off of five years between grad school and teaching at West Point that were programmed in the fall of 2002 when Afghanistan was a brigade blip on the radar and the world was watching as Colin Powell was sitting in front of the UN making the case about Iraq and new resolutions.

Because I turned down an immediate command at Fort Lewis so I could command during the latter part of the initial operation capability train up and be with the unit with the potential to deploy, I deployed to OIF 1.5/2 and when I entered grad school, Iraq was supposedly on a glide path to having very few forces by now (we all know that that plan was thrown out pretty quickly when reality hit). However, I know plenty of folks who either hit like assignments the year ahead of me (no Iraq) or else right after me (they finished command before their unit became part of the OIF/OEF rotations) who haven't deployed. They weren't hiding and it was a matter of timing. They're moving directly to the front of the line for their branches for deploying (whether to a unit that's deploying or more likely, to a MiTT/ETT) now that their time is up.

That being said, I also know of cases where folks are hiding, and so the reality is a little more nuanced than no deployment = you suck.