Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
November 8, 2007 By Louis Hansen
CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT--The long Army work day ended at 8 p.m. and Maj. Joe DiNonno peeled down to his sand-colored T-shirt and slipped off his boots.
He propped up on a tattered recliner in his spartan trailer and thumbed through the pages of a 4-inch binder filled with legal cases and opinions.
DiNonno is playing catch-up. He had joined the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney 's office and worked just 10 months as a prosecutor. Then his National Guard unit was called to federal service.
"I don't get any exposure to anything over here," said DiNonno, who oversees operations for the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry, based in Hampton Roads. "What I do has nothing to do with the law."
DiNonno, 36, is like many part-time warriors who are concerned about the careers they left behind after deploying overseas for a nine-month tour.
Although federal law protects guardsmen from losing their jobs, it does not ensure they'll be viewed the same way when they return.
Many are worried about keeping their rung on the career ladder.
They fear that other employees working full-time have a leg up on promotions, raises and other benefits that come with being a dependable and present worker.
The military's dependence on the National Guard and reserves has grown because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 72,000 National Guardsmen are in active service, according to the Department of Defense.
Nearly 2,400 Virginal National Guard troops, roughly one-third of the state's force, are deployed on missions to the Middle East and Kosovo. It's the largest number of Virginia Guardsmen sent overseas since World War II.
A report on the National Guard and reserves by the Washington, D.C.- based Center for Strategic and International Studies found that unpredictable deployments "can have very negative impacts on both morale and retention, and also undermines employer support."
The report recommended that the military limit federal service to one year, including training and deployment, and communicate better with employers about mobilization and training schedules.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates established a year long mobilization as the maximum term for most Guard units.
Soldiers from the 183rd Cavalry were called to federal service in June and are stationed at Camp Buehring, a desert outpost less than 20 miles from the Iraq border.
Capt. Dave Wheeler, a human resources officer for the unit, said the soldiers know the career hazards when they sign up.
Virginia Guardsmen with secure government jobs - as teachers, police officers, firefighters - tend to fare best during deployments, he said.
Still, what awaits after deployment can weigh even on full-time guardsmen.
"There are concerns and there are risks," Wheeler said. "Essentially, you're out of the net."
First Sgt. Jeffrey Peacock, 37, a unit medic, has been a firefighter and paramedic for 15 years, most recently with the Suffolk Department of Fire & Rescue. In January, he and his wife, Jill, decided to renovate and expand the family's farm stand in Holland, Farmer Frank's Farm Market.
He has been in the National Guard for 10 years and knows that deployment "is always a possibility." The couple planned to complete the project this year. Instead, much of the burden has fallen on his wife and her family.
The deployment slowed but did not stop their plans. Peacock still has time to e-mail several times a day to keep up with his family and the business.
Spc. Jeremy Mills is a television reporter in Lynchburg who said he covered so many National Guard deployments and training exercises that he enlisted. Within a year, the Army tapped him for full-time service.
Now, he works as a public affairs officer in Baghdad's Green Zone and wonders whether viewers back home will remember his face when he returns.
Pfc. Harry McCoy, 33, was an assistant in a small Virginia Beach accounting firm for three months before he went on active Guard duty. He believes his job will be waiting for him.
McCoy was considering returning to school for an accounting degree but, he said, "I haven't really had the time to get into it." That will have to wait while he rides along as a medic on security patrols into southern Iraq.
Since 2002, DiNonno has spent much of his life as a soldier. He has been through several training exercises and was deployed to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
He worked as a Virginia Beach police officer for several years and then attended Regent Law School. He joined the commonwealth's attorney's office in Dec ember 2005.
About five nights a week, he reads case law from a training manual to stay current for his civilian profession.
DiNonno e-mails his colleagues and supervisors every few weeks - just to make sure no one has forgotten about him.
November 8, 2007 By Louis Hansen
CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT--The long Army work day ended at 8 p.m. and Maj. Joe DiNonno peeled down to his sand-colored T-shirt and slipped off his boots.
He propped up on a tattered recliner in his spartan trailer and thumbed through the pages of a 4-inch binder filled with legal cases and opinions.
DiNonno is playing catch-up. He had joined the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney 's office and worked just 10 months as a prosecutor. Then his National Guard unit was called to federal service.
"I don't get any exposure to anything over here," said DiNonno, who oversees operations for the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry, based in Hampton Roads. "What I do has nothing to do with the law."
DiNonno, 36, is like many part-time warriors who are concerned about the careers they left behind after deploying overseas for a nine-month tour.
Although federal law protects guardsmen from losing their jobs, it does not ensure they'll be viewed the same way when they return.
Many are worried about keeping their rung on the career ladder.
They fear that other employees working full-time have a leg up on promotions, raises and other benefits that come with being a dependable and present worker.
The military's dependence on the National Guard and reserves has grown because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 72,000 National Guardsmen are in active service, according to the Department of Defense.
Nearly 2,400 Virginal National Guard troops, roughly one-third of the state's force, are deployed on missions to the Middle East and Kosovo. It's the largest number of Virginia Guardsmen sent overseas since World War II.
A report on the National Guard and reserves by the Washington, D.C.- based Center for Strategic and International Studies found that unpredictable deployments "can have very negative impacts on both morale and retention, and also undermines employer support."
The report recommended that the military limit federal service to one year, including training and deployment, and communicate better with employers about mobilization and training schedules.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates established a year long mobilization as the maximum term for most Guard units.
Soldiers from the 183rd Cavalry were called to federal service in June and are stationed at Camp Buehring, a desert outpost less than 20 miles from the Iraq border.
Capt. Dave Wheeler, a human resources officer for the unit, said the soldiers know the career hazards when they sign up.
Virginia Guardsmen with secure government jobs - as teachers, police officers, firefighters - tend to fare best during deployments, he said.
Still, what awaits after deployment can weigh even on full-time guardsmen.
"There are concerns and there are risks," Wheeler said. "Essentially, you're out of the net."
First Sgt. Jeffrey Peacock, 37, a unit medic, has been a firefighter and paramedic for 15 years, most recently with the Suffolk Department of Fire & Rescue. In January, he and his wife, Jill, decided to renovate and expand the family's farm stand in Holland, Farmer Frank's Farm Market.
He has been in the National Guard for 10 years and knows that deployment "is always a possibility." The couple planned to complete the project this year. Instead, much of the burden has fallen on his wife and her family.
The deployment slowed but did not stop their plans. Peacock still has time to e-mail several times a day to keep up with his family and the business.
Spc. Jeremy Mills is a television reporter in Lynchburg who said he covered so many National Guard deployments and training exercises that he enlisted. Within a year, the Army tapped him for full-time service.
Now, he works as a public affairs officer in Baghdad's Green Zone and wonders whether viewers back home will remember his face when he returns.
Pfc. Harry McCoy, 33, was an assistant in a small Virginia Beach accounting firm for three months before he went on active Guard duty. He believes his job will be waiting for him.
McCoy was considering returning to school for an accounting degree but, he said, "I haven't really had the time to get into it." That will have to wait while he rides along as a medic on security patrols into southern Iraq.
Since 2002, DiNonno has spent much of his life as a soldier. He has been through several training exercises and was deployed to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
He worked as a Virginia Beach police officer for several years and then attended Regent Law School. He joined the commonwealth's attorney's office in Dec ember 2005.
About five nights a week, he reads case law from a training manual to stay current for his civilian profession.
DiNonno e-mails his colleagues and supervisors every few weeks - just to make sure no one has forgotten about him.