2 hours Ago
What do Lindsey Graham, George W. Bush and the late Barry Goldwater have in common with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz? They all served in the reserve components of our nation’s armed forces, each of them with the knowledge that most Americans had little or no understanding of what it means to be a “citizen soldier.” This ignorance isn’t surprising.
After all, fewer than 1 million Americans now serve voluntarily in some capacity in our nation’s military reserves. That’s less than half of 1 percent of our nation’s population. James Harnar served seven years on active duty in the U.
S. Navy followed by 18 years in the Navy Reserve, retiring in 2003 at the rank of captain. In his civilian career, he was a nonprofit health care executive in Maine for 30 years before retiring to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2016.
Gov. Walz spent 24 years in the National Guard, one of the military’s seven reserve components. That’s notable because most members of the reserves will be in uniform for far less than the 20 years required to earn retirement benefits.
This is due to a range of factors, including the stress and strain that results from substantial time away from family and civilian jobs – and, in some cases, the trauma resulting from time in combat. Like every volunteer member of the reserves, the governor could have retired after 20 years in uniform, qualifying for a pension and benefits when reaching age 60. But he didn’t.
Instead, he chose to continue his service and sacrifice for just under four more years, even as he and his wife welcomed the arrival of their first child in 2001, knowing that he and his unit could have been called to active duty at any time after the 9/11 attacks. After all that time in uniform – and a long period struggling to have children – it shouldn’t be a surprise if Gov. Walz and his wife, Gwen, decided he had more than earned the right to be at home as their first born arrived and the prospect of a second child was on the horizon.
Although we don’t know all of the specifics of Gov. Walz’s service, here’s what a 24-year commitment in the Guard or reserves most probably looked like: • Twelve weekends per year on duty in uniform when he could have been home recharging his batteries following a demanding week as a public school teacher and coach. That’s 288 weekends that could have been spent with family, hunting, fishing or pursuing other interests or hobbies in his spare time.
• Two weeks of required active duty each year equals 48 weeks away from family over his 24 years of service. For many members of the Reserve, that means substantial time away from their civilian jobs. • As a reservist achieves more senior rank and greater leadership responsibilities, their military time commitments grow as well.
That usually means fitting in Reserve-related tasks during the civilian work week and time at home with family to handle personnel and logistics issues that can’t wait until weekend duty. • Reserve duty comes with costs other than those associated with lost time with family and work. Uniforms need to be purchased and maintained.
There’s wear and tear on vehicles as one drives to and from duty, often over long distances. There’s money out of pocket for gas, meals and other out-of-pocket expenses that may not be reimbursed for many weeks, or not reimbursed at all. • On top of all this, a reservist can be called to duty with very little notice.
In the case of the National Guard, that can mean days or weeks of duty in support of natural disaster relief efforts, sometimes in dangerous and physically demanding situations. Too often this service – and sacrifice – places substantial stress on marriages and other relationships, leading to conflict and even divorces that result from reservists’ repeated and sometimes unexpected obligations that take them away from home and family. Because most Americans don’t know what it means to be a reservist, too many of us continue to call reservists “weekend warriors,” a disparaging moniker that needs to be permanently deleted from our vocabulary.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the purpose of the reserves, codified in law, is to “provide trained units and qualified persons available for active duty in the Armed Forces, in time of war or national emergency...
” Why do Americans choose to serve in the reserves rather than enlist in the active duty military? Each individual makes that decision based on their own unique interests, ambitions, dreams and obligations. But they all believe in “a call to duty” to our country. Like those on active duty, each reservist has pledged a solemn oath to “support and defend the Constitution .
.. against all enemies, foreign and domestic .
..” A large percentage of them transition into the reserves after serving on active duty, wanting to continue to answer the “call to duty” while pursuing a civilian career.
Many individuals deeply committed to serving our nation make this decision because they wish to spend more time with family and remain living in a community they love rather than being transferred to a new duty station every two or three years. Many reservists choose the National Guard because it does not require an initial commitment of a certain number of years of active duty, which in most cases requires service far away from home. Others join the National Guard because it allows them to remain within their home state for service except when deployed.
This differs from other Reserve component duty, which customarily requires moving throughout the states with unit assignments. Reserve duty certainly doesn’t shield a member from combat. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, numerous Reserve units and individuals were called to active duty, sometimes for multiple deployments in war zones.
Some made the ultimate sacrifice while many others were wounded or injured. As the saying goes, “All gave some. And some gave all.
” As for why Gov. Walz chose to retire after 24 years of service, that’s for him to further explain. But nearly two and half decades of service should not be diminished, even if he never directly served in combat.
All the national attention surrounding the governor’s Reserve experience should be a “teachable moment” for America. It’s an opportunity for all of us to better understand this often overlooked and underappreciated element of our armed forces and salute all our reservists for all they’ve done – and what they do every day in service to our nation. Years ago, a close friend of mine was seated on a plane next to a reservist in uniform traveling to or from duty.
My friend asked his seatmate this: Why do you serve in the Guard when you could be home right now with your family? His response was short and to the point: “I serve so you don’t have to.” We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website.
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