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Mr. Luddite[_4_]

On 2/26/2018 5:27 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/25/2018 9:44 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 25 Feb 2018 23:02:13 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

I wonder how many service members are discharged before turning 21
anyway, but I understand your point.Â* Military service matures most.

Very few, I'd reckon.

Kiddy cruise.Â*Â* Join the navy reserves while in high school.Â*Â* When you
graduated, went to basic and 2 years duty.Â*Â* Then discharged.Â* At least
when I was in high school.

That was pretty much everyone who was drafted when that was a thing
and the 4 years after your 2 "in" was inactive reserve.
Unfortunately they "extended" a lot of those guys in the late 60s,
exploiting that inactive reserve clause. The guys in the grass were
usually 2 and out if they didn't re up but there were a lot of support
USAF and maybe even navy guys with critical skills who had to do the
whole 6 year nut.
I was in a 1 year reserve program that got extended by a month (13
months active duty), putting me pretty much in the same VA category as
a 2 year guy. I never used any of it.

I did just short of 9 years active and was supposed to be discharged in
April.Â* Started my short-timer's calendar and also sending out resumes
for jobs.Â* Then, a few weeks before D-day, I was informed that my
enlistment had been extended for an additional 2 months.Â* I went a
little bonkers because my understanding had been that after 8 years of
active duty, your required eligibility for military service was
complete.Â* Anyway, I lost the argument but the CO of the command (this
was in Annapolis, MD) who was also a short-timer told me I could go home
for the last few weeks and just call in every morning for muster.Â* I was
processed for discharge and my discharge papers would be mailed to me.
He also said he'd try to find out what the extension was all about
because itÂ* wasn't like I held a critical billet at the command and they
didn't need my replacement.Â* The Navy was beginning to decommission the
commandÂ* and were already mothballing equipment.

The CO found out that (unknown to me) I had been selected to attend a 5
week prep schoolÂ* called "Officer Development School (ODS)" which would
then lead to a direct commission to Warrant as an LDO (limited duty
officer).Â* LDO's are not flag officers and can never be a CO of a ship
or anything.Â* They usually serve in at commands that require their
educational and technical specialties.

Anyway, I didn't opt for it.Â* The extension was to allow time for the
orders and the school schedule.Â* Only problem was they neglected to tell
me about it in the paperwork shuffle.Â* My only guess is that the Navy
had invested a lot of schools in me during my enlistment plus I had been
taking courses at local colleges and on-line and was not that far from
meeting a degree requirement.

My DD-214 includes the following statement:Â* "Member's service extended
by two months.Â* Extension was at the request and for the convenience of
the government".

I should correct something. I didn't do "on-line" courses. I did
traditional correspondents courses on the ships when we were deployed.
On-line courses didn't exist back then. :-)

Also, (and unknown to me at the time) I had been advanced in rank to
E-6 however the advancement notices had not been published. E-6 and
above was a per-requisite for the LDO program and the 2 month extension
allowed it to become official. I wouldn't have done it anyway. Why
would a more senior enlisted want to start all over again as a very
junior officer? No thanks. Besides, I had pretty much had enough of
the Navy by that time.

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