Vox Veterana : IRR Here I Come

Next month I will attend my final Reserve drill weekend and I am having mixed emotions about it. On the one hand I am excited about ending the military chapter in my life and moving on to full time civilian life. I am ready to see what life is like free of restraints and commitments that will land me in jail if I don’t fulfill them.

On the other hand I am somewhat sad about finishing up with what has been the best period of my life. I have been thinking lately what my life would be like right now if I had never joined the military. Frankly it scares me to think that way. I am not sure how I would have turned out if I hadn’t had the experiences I did up until this point.

I also don’t want to think about having to watch the world change with me on the sidelines. I feel like as long as I am still in the military I am giving myself the option to hop into the arena of world events should I get the feeling to, or rather, more appropriately considering my history, should Uncle Sam get the feeling for me. Finishing up my commitment to the military doesn’t mean just freedom, it means consigning myself to making a difference in this world in some other fashion.

I have several ideas about what my future might be like, but what I have realized lately is that they are all shaped in one way or another on who I have become as a result of my military service. Now that I am relegating that service to my past in what way can I have an immediate impact for good in this world? I know some people will say things like being a teacher has a great impact upon the future leaders of our country, or that I should try mentoring others or something equally as passé but I already understand that and am choosing to aim higher.

My saving grace in all of this is the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR). When soldiers sign up for service most contracts contain two years in the IRR after their initial enlistment time is up (for me that initial time was six years). In the IRR I am still on the books for the military but I have no real responsibilities besides having to make myself available should world war three happen (or world war five if you are a fan of Podhoretz). However, in the IRR I allow myself the choice of continued training and the possibility of more deployments should I choose to volunteer. Some soldiers even make a career out of the IRR which for me is a tempting thought.

As long as I am in the IRR I feel like I have the potential to affect change in this world. Whether I actually do is up to me. Maybe this is just my way of clinging to something that I am just not ready to let go of yet. Maybe its just a way that I continue to fool myself that I am something more than just a pawn in this world. Who knows? But what I do know is that I have two more years in the IRR in order to figure things out before I have to make my final decision.

11 Comments:

SigSpace said...

I think you should go vigilante on us. Fight evil on the domestic front!

I signed up 8-and-0, meaning that I have 8 years on active Guard status, and 0 in the IRR, assuming that I don`t re-up. That 8 year mark will arrive in April of 2011; according to preliminary guesstimates, I`ll be in Afghanistan or Iraq during that period. I`m not sure what I`ll do, but I`ve got a few years to figure it out.

Sig

7:58 PM

Annoying Mike said...

Congratulations and good luck-and thanks to you both for your service. My last UTA is April, then it`s the Retired Reserve for me after 30 years of active and USAR duty.

I`m having a tough time letting go-it`s worse now then when I left active duty. Guess I`ll have to get another "part-time" job and drink more beer......

8:25 AM

membrain said...

"Some soldiers even make a career out of the IRR which for me is a tempting thought."

As SSG David Bellavia said in his book, House to House:An Epic Memoir of War, "there is no good way to leave the Army." (Paraphrasing)SSG Bellavia loved being a leader in the Army. He was a natural. In the end he had to choose between his family and the Army and he chose family.

Obviously you have been wrestling with the same thoughts. It sounds like you made a very good choice.excellent

11:51 AM

Ky Woman said...

Sorta like "you can take the man out of soldiering, but you can`t take the soldier out of the man"

Thank you for being a soldier.

2:35 PM

Lou said...

I think it is great that you want to “add to the world”. Serving in the military is/was certainly adding to the world and being a part of something great. I know and extraordinary young man (USAF) who has done extraordinary things in his life. Yet, to me, he has missed out on some of the most important things in life by his determination to be where things are happening, have the most exciting life, add to the world, etc. Each to his own – it takes all kinds to make the world turn. In the long run, it is not what people say about you that make you successful. It is your own personal satisfaction with yourself. Sometimes it is as simple as being a great husband and father that changes the world. Just think, if people worked at being great parents, how that would change the world.

By the way, did you finish your college? What are you doing in your “non-military” life?

1:02 AM

TF said...

So what`s transition like? I`m actually a little concerned about this very issue since I get out in a year and change. Any big snags? Congrats man!

5:13 AM

LT Nixon said...

Whoops, sorry about that, brain dump. The above comment is mine, not yours.

5:14 AM

TF Boggs said...

Thanks for the encouragment everyone. Like I said in the post I still have a couple years before I am officially out of the military so I`ll put off my decision for a while longer.

As far as what I am up to now Lou I graduated with a B.A. last summer and am currently working at the family business. I have designs on a career in business doing this or that but right now I am enjoying what I am doing so I`ll keep at it. I also haven`t ruled out more schooling in the future.

Lt Nixon-the transition isn`t that hard so far. You do have to fill out some paperwork but it is mostly just the proper counseling forms and one or two standard issue things. It has gone smoothly up until this point as the UA at my unit has handled everything with the head office types. I`ll let you know next month how things turn out.

7:16 AM

SigSpace said...

We`ve all missed a lot of extraordinary moments in our lives. Of the 7 1/2 years I`ve been married, just a little over 2 of those have been spent apart either in training or in Afghanistan.

They call it "service" for a reason. Choosing to do ANYTHING necessarily means choosing not to do something else. I was smart enough to make this particular choice with the advice and consent of my beloved, so there is not much second-guessing going on in the Sig household. Not about that, anyway.

Sig

6:35 AM

Bob -ret LTC said...

Hey congrats on your service and look forward not backward as you move on to a new and exciting way to serve. You will find that there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to give back to the community that you probably never thought of or thought you`d never have time to do. The Stand Down is great, the Vet Halls always need a volunteer and the VFW/Cal Vets etc are all there waiting to welcome you aboard.

God bless you for your service and good luck!!

1:30 PM

Rill said...

I finished my 6 year contract and was hoping to go into the IRR. My unit is not being very cooperative and was unwilling to put my packet in for me. There now telling me that I must continue to drill until all paperwork is complete or face a General discharge. I signed a 6 X 2. Is there anyway I can fight this?

any advise would be appreciated at Djrill@gmail.com

11:54 AM