War Vet, 50, Stunned By New Deployment
Former Soldier Last Served During 1st Gulf War
Reported by Jeremy Finley


MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- A veteran who has been out of the military for 15 years and recently received his AARP card was stunned when he received notice he will be deployed to Iraq.

The last time Paul Bandel, 50, saw combat was in the early 1990s during the Gulf War.

"(I was) kind of shocked, not understanding what I was getting into," said Bandel.


Rest of Article here:

http://www.wsmv.com/news/18391549/detail.html#-


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Next they'll be redeploying those that have lost limbs.

Hey, I've got an idea, lets bring in violent criminals and foriegners into our Military... oh, my fault, they already do that too.

ever consider that it might help if people were more willing to join to serve our country...rather than sit around and bash everything our country does? You do not have to agree with politicians or politics the point is to have respect for the country you live in and right or wrong you defend both our country and our country's values

And yet, I served. Army. 13 Foxtrot.

Yeppers, I posted this yesterday too.

Soldiers are being redeployed even when found physically, emotionally or mentally unfit. They are serving tour after tour. Additionally the service is admitting individuals it previously would not have included due to age, physical or mental fitness and even previous criminal convictions.

It's a subject for another thread but an even more disturbing subject is what happens to returning service people when the military does not honor their commitment to care for those that served and require promised VA services. They are being cut loose, denied services and left alone to deal with the devastating affects of mental, emotional and physical injuries.

Now the question is, Which one of us is the fall down drunk?


Personally I can't see what good calling up a person who's been out of the military for 15 years is. Then again, having a mature man, who has been living a real life going back inside might not be all bad.

I do feel bad for this guy, one letter and life's upside down.

But that happens to a good many people...

I understand redeployment, I understand the stoploss, even if I don't entirely agree with it.

This I don't understand. It makes no sense, other than it reeks of desperation.

THAT'S IT!!! You just made me realize what I've been feeling about this. Desperation!!! Yesterday when this was brought up, I thought, what's next? Mandatory enlistment? Why do this to an older fellow who thought he was done with it all, regarless of any paperwork fine print? Is it that our military and government are trying to NOT enforce mandatory enlistment? And if so, WHY? Is this public relations due to the anti-war sect? What's really going on with this maneuver by our government???

I would say, if you're gonna do this, you might as well reenact the draft.

didn't the draft set age limits?

I served in the army what branch were you in

By federal law (10 U.S.C., 505), the minimum age for enlistment in the United States Military is 17 (with parental consent) and the maximum age is 35 (Note: Congress changed this to age 42 in 2006). However, DOD policy allows the individual services to specify the maximum age of enlistment based upon their own unique requirements. The individual services have set the following maximum ages for non-prior service enlistment:


Active Army - 42
Army Reserves (Including National Guard) - 42
Active Air Force - 27
Air Force Reserve (inlcuding National Guard) - 34
Active Navy - 34
Naval Reserves - 39
Active Marines - 28
Marine Corps Reserve - 29
Active Duty Coast Guard - Age 27. Note: up to age 32 for those selected to attend A-school directly upon enlistment (this is mostly for prior service).
Coast Guard Reserves - Age 39.


I'm not entirely sure about the Vietnam era draft, but I'll see what I can find.

Is it not interesting, that a man age 43 cannot enlist, but there's nothing stopping them from forcing a former serviceman back into his uniform at 50?

never, my stance is twofold minus the fact they told me I could not enlist without a family care plan..(some one to take my children while in basic and possible deployments)...I also do not think women should be soldiers..not because they can't do it, but because they are a hindrance by the sheer nature of physiological makeup....I was married to it though

thats what I thought, prerequisite age requirements for a draft would have made him ineligible, so why bring him back now? They need to find a new way to get more people to enlist even if they play on the poor economy

**** Cheneye and Rush Lymbaugh also had some excuses as to why they could not serve. Perhapse if they had served they wouldnt have been so eager to start a war. The military is an interesting experience one that can only be understood if you participate. Funny thing is I do not see verry many vets on this forum or anywere else cheerleading for war. I know that when your IN and on active duty your perspective changes, they prime you to be a gung ho GI. Its only after you are away from it that you ask yourself what the hell was I thinking when I signed that paper.

Thanx for dissing your sisters in the military.Personally I could never serve...I hate guns,but to have a 50 yr old man come out of a 15 yr hiatus to go to war is asisinine.He did his time.

We are and have been asking our military and their families to make tremendous sacrifices during the last few years.

We hear way too little about that subject too.

By the way criticizing the administrations actions in Iraq does not equal "bash everything our country does"

You want to "defend both our country and our country's values"?

Guess what this is a diverse nation full of people who can and will disagree. It is not just our right but our duty to examine and question the actions of our government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thomas Paine:

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
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I don't know, places like Russia and Isreal don't seem to have too much trouble with women in their military.

I do not promote war but how can we as a country support anything, if we cannot support our own values and lifestyles it does not make war right, it does not excuse any questionable actions or motives..I do not want anyone to be in a war zone..whatever reason they are in one, but everything comes at a cost...and motives will rarely be known to the full extent or understood