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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]“Light on the Right:” Ditch Deployment Dodgers

2014.

“Bro, is that an O6… with no combat patch???”

The question, asked by a good friend of mine who happens to be a former Ranger NCO, was whispered to me inside a fast-food restaurant just off post where we had stopped for lunch. I don’t think his tone could have been any more incredulous if he thought he had just seen Mat Best ride in on a purple unicorn while drinking a warm can of O’Doul’s.

The colonel in question was in ACUs, which, ironically, is the Army Combat Uniform, and was sporting a black colonel’s eagle in the center of his chest and a MEDDAC patch on his left sleeve. He wore no badges and no combat patch. It was stunning to an NCO like my friend, who had personally served multiple combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan very early on in his career, that such a senior person had apparently never earned a combat patch by deploying even once in the 13+ years our nation has been at war.

For the uninitiated, an Army combat patch, or “shoulder sleeve insignia for wartime service,” (SSIFWTS) designates service in a combat zone and is considered by many if not most of the men and women in the Army to be one of the ultimate credentials of our profession. This is as it should be; if the mission of the Army is to fight and win our nations’ wars, then the credibility of any senior leader should be directly tied to how well he or she performed in combat conditions. This is especially true in today’s Army, which has been at war for more than 13 straight years.

Only, there are still a lot of people out there who have never served in combat. I’m not talking about lieutenants fresh out of West Point or non-commissioned officers still on their first enlistment who never got a chance to deploy. I’m talking SENIOR people. Field grade officers. Chief Warrant Officers.  Senior NCOs. People who have been in 10, 15, or 20 years. Guys like the O6 my friend and I encountered.

Since that day at McDonald’s, I’ve noticed more and more senior people that are “light on the right” (not having a combat patch on their right sleeve). How the hell does something like this still go on, in 2014?

Had the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ended in 2004 or 2005, it would be understandable to see loads of field grade officers and senior NCOs without combat patches. The way our Army is set up, it can take a while for some people to get the opportunity to get into the fight. But the war has been going on for more than a dozen years and many Soldiers have multiple, lengthy tours in the two-way firing range.  The Army even had to ease recruiting standards, offer massive bonuses, and institute a de-facto draft in the form of “stoploss” in order to keep enough people in uniform to satisfy the requirements of the GWOT and OCO. Yet some people managed to dodge all of that?  Ten years ago being “light on the right” would have been OK for senior Army leaders. These days it’s not only unfathomable, it’s unconscionable.

https://havokjournal.com/culture/light-on-the-right-ditch-deployment-dodgers/

Agreed.[/quote]

MANY soldiers serve their entire careers without being sent to the front lines.  My dad served active duty enlisted in the Army, Air Defense Artillery for 21 years, honorable discharge as a Sergeant First Class.  He had several deployments to Europe.  Never served in combat.  And no, not "connections" or anything sketchy.  That's just how things often end up working out.

In fact it doesn't say much good about America if there's some expectation that every soldier gets sent into combat.  We shouldn't be waging endless wars.  [/quote]

Was your dad active duty during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars?[/quote]
DP.  I have a friend who served from 1985-2006 and was PCS multiple times and never in a combat zone. Never to Iraq or Afghanistan. Sometimes it happens and there is no rhyme or reason. Part of my friend's time was active duty and later a transition to a reserve unit retiring as a colonel. [/quote]

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