The REAL story, the dirt on all this, and everything like that.

So since there are some people who can't just let something be good, and leave it at that, I'm explaining this. Thak signed his final Reserve contract today. Me and Orren stood beside him as he took his Oath of Enlistment for the last time, given by a Reservist Colonel in civilian clothes. It was very simple, quick, and easy.... nothing like when young soldiers enlist. I imagine that only the wording and the patch on his left sleeve will be different in two years when we go back for his retirement ceremony. It kind of felt like we were slipping out the back door of the Active Duty component, and quietly finding our place in the Reserves, but if you know Thak, that fits him.

Do we really WANT to do the Reserve thing now? Well, to be honest, no. We'd rather just be free. We do it because it is a smarter decision than not doing it, and it's really not asking too much of us. We will give them one weekend a month, during which Thak will drill just several miles from our house and still be home every night. Then we will give them two weeks during the summer, for which he may be local (and would come home every night) or they may send him anywhere in the nation, but it is only for two weeks. His job is as a mechanic instructor. Chances are, during the summer, they will send him to Virginia to help train new enlistees in AIT, or they may send him anywhere else in the nation to conduct on-site training for Reservist mechanics who are reclassing from other jobs. So we give two weeks per year for that.

We don't really want to give up two weeks per year, but we get a lot in return. We keep all our military benefits for these years when he is in the Reserves. Also, for the first two years he is in the Reserves, he is absolutely non-deployable. If he signs more, he will be deployable, but this job never deploys. He probably won't sign more, but like with everything else, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. During the two weeks of the year that he is away training soldiers, he will be paid the same amount he is paid now, which is more than he will be making at his civilian job, so it is good for us financially. More than that, when he turns 60, he will receive a very nice pension, and we will get our full benefits back, just as if he had served 20 years Active Duty. It is two years now, to secure our future later, and it is a wise choice. While we'd rather just be free of it all, I'm glad he's doing this for us.

I will say, though, that certain people need to shut up. Why do people always feel the need to greet halfway decent news with an attempt to scare you or make you regret ever choosing what you chose? That's so mean. I get it. Some Reserve and NG units do a lot of crazy stuff, tons of training, and all sorts of other stuff. That is not the type of unit Thak has joined, so no, telling me he's going to be gone all the time is not correct, and yes, it is just plain rude. We wouldn't have ever taken this on without first talking with people who are with that unit, in that very job, and really getting the dirt on it. Yes, it is a little kushier than a lot of Reserve jobs, and to that, I will simply say, rank has its privileges. This job is only open to those who are ready to make Sergeant First Class, or who are already. Thak's busted his ass since he was 17 years old (so literally, over half his life) to get to that point, and we're totally NOT sorry that he has landed a very good Reserve job. Even if it was the worst Reserve job in the world, it's only for two years until he can retire. You don't have to be happy for us, but you also don't have to be mean.

So while I was very surprised by that reaction, I am trying to brush it off and just be ok with what we just did. It could certainly be a lot worse.

What should I wear to his retirement ceremony? We've only got two years. ;-)