If America needs you again, would you be willing to return to active duty one grade lower?

My Oath does not expire until I do.

Absolutely, I can just imagine morning PT formation. Us old guys, no coffee yet, and the overwhelming smell of Ben Gay in the air.

I will always be willing to serve my Country. The rest is intended as humor

The interesting thing would be just how low the threshold for BS might go if a bunch of cranky already retired guys came back in? Common phrases might include: Let me tell you another thing...WTH were you thinking when you....Whose brilliant idea was this.....Say (blank) one more time....

The good news is that when the fights broke out in the bars, the MPs/SFS/MAs could very like catch everybody.

And I am not even retired yet......bwahahaha

Yeah that could happen, but I believe there would be a lot of fireworks to overcome due to the clash of military era cultures. Not too sure that old Viet vets would integrate real well with the new kinder, gentler, PC military. Might have to build a few more brigs ....or grow some old corps balls.

No problemo. If they want this lard-ass it would be an even trade off. Besides, I loved being a CPT!

America does need us again. We should all be serving right now, without rank or pay. Sadly, most aren't.

We should be voting. At the heart of most of the growing political rancor lies the fact that politicians are flying blind. They don't really know what We the People want. We don't bother to tell them. They only know what They Who Contribute The Most want.

We should be forming ourselves into community-based emergency response teams. If the government doesn't have the good sense to reestablish Civil Defense as a viable agency, we should take it upon ourselves. Why should people sit helplessly on their roofs waiting for rescue or be herded into a stadium or FEMA camps while the military goes door-to-door illegally confiscating guns as they did following a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. In addition to natural disasters, we now have the threat of terrorism to contend with. We need Civil Defense, not more expensive, ineffective government agencies like Homeland Defense which is doing little good and leaching away our rights.

We, especially we veterans, should be helping our communities organize and train militias to combat terrorism. Our military is very effective fighting terrorists at a distance, but how effective will they be if terrorism seeps into our communities?

We veterans should be helping veterans just as we helped one another on the battlefield. The Veterans Administration is broken and, just like all government agencies, it is politically resistant to repair. It may never be truly effective, efficient, or economical. Join the American Legion or the VFW or both and help.

SGM (Join to see)

Absolutely... And, to be honest, I had a better time as a LTC than I did as a COL. Don't get me wrong, being a brigade commander and MACOM provost marshal were great, but being a battalion commander was better (from a being closer to the troops perspective). Hey, I'd rather go back in as a 2LT/1LT and be a platoon leader all over again (as long as I got the age reduction along with the rank reduction)... :-) :-)

I have a uniform set up and ready in my closet, just in case they call (although I'd probably have to have it let out a little). My dad kept a uniform hanging in his closet until the day he died at 88 years old. We both knew we would never again wear the uniform (at least, not on active duty), but it gave us pride to know it was there, as we were, just in case.

I think that any of us that were serious about our service would gladly and with no doubts or regrets return to active duty if our country needed us. When I raised my hand and pledged my service and dedication to our country my oath did not have an expiration date. As long as I breath and can move about I am willing to support and defend in whatever capacity I am needed.

I spent so much time as a SFC maybe I should have gone back down to SSG and tried to flank DA from another direction. I would go back in tomorrow as a no TIS/TIG SGT if they would let me! In no time I would be stuck right back at the SFC level.

If America needed me again it would be a sorry state of affairs! To quote a song:

"I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."

That said, sure. On 9/11 all I could think of is "I wonder if I could be a reservist and fly in flight refueling missions for the Air Force" (I don't think my back would take sleeping on a cot in a GP Medium anymore).