Send OUT the clowns...

A letter to Senator Mitch McConnell, KY...

Sen McConnell:

I recently read that you received a congressional inquiry regarding alleged mistreatment of Kentucky-based Reservists in the 8-229th Aviation Regiment during their pre deployment trainup for Iraq.  

As a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom with two Iraqi tours under the Texas Army National Guard, I share their sentiments and, I believe the DoD, the reserve component, and especially the soldiers and family members would benefit from a complete disbanding of the Army Reserve Training Divisions, with the trainup mission reassigned to the National Guard in the states where the units are located.  Similar trainup missions are already being performed by units such as the Combat Skills Training and Evaluation Battalion (CSTEBn) under the Texas Guard.  

Any soldier who has ever suffered through a reserve component trainup can testify to the time and money wasted by the Reserve Training Divisions dragging out three weeks of useful soldier skills training over three or four months.  The Reserve Training Divisions are jobs programs for largely useless officers and NCOs, and the missions are moved frequently from one unsuitable installation to another, in order that every installation can get a piece of the GWOT budget.  It is both shameless and obvious.  

It is particularly insulting to lock down troops (some of them Vietnam vets) for months with no civilian clothes, no alcohol, no privately owned vehicles, and little freedom, under the control of their Reserve trainers who work an eight hour shift, stay off post in a hotel, draw full per diem with benefits, and allegedly are subject to the same restrictions as the troops in training. 

In contrast, the CSTEBn under the Texas Army National Guard is a lean organization which chooses its trainers from guard veterans noted for their recent and relevant combat experience, and trains the troops what they need to know quicker and more efficiently, saving large amounts of money and time, and keeping the mission local and the money within the state.  

Moreover, the Air Guard regularly deploys airmen on a more frequent basis than the Army National Guard, with LITTLE OR NO time or money wasting trainup required.  

Finally, a personal note.  An aircraft from our sister company on my last OIF tour, Red River 44, crashed on the night of 17 September 2008 just after crossing into Iraq, due to spatial disorientation of the crew.  As a pilot who has flown in Iraq and Kuwait since 1994, I truly believe that if that crew had spent time doing USEFUL aviation training and not wasting the previous three months at Fort Sill under a Reserve Training Division, those seven men might still be with us today.  

Senator, this is a no-brainer in these days when we are looking to save the DoD money.  It can be done, it can be done smarter, and it can be done cheaper.  Shutter the Reserve Training Divisions and give the trainup mission to the states.  

Sincerely,

CW2, Retired

US Army

CF: Sen Cornyn, Sen Hutchison