I was just watching the six o'clock news on CBS here in LA. And they just got through showing a totally white haired sixty year old grandma who is a retired Air Force Major who has just been reactivated to Iraq. She said she was not free to give her mos. But that other grandparents had been called to go and she just "happened" to be noticed.
While I know this is true; it was liking looking in the mirror. As a retired nurse I have often considered going to see if they would take me but I have never been in the service at all. Although I was raised an army brat with both extensive travel and education and a the highest NRA rifle ranking in contests when young switch to target pistols at 40.
While there is a part of me that wanted to go from the beginning because I have found this war to have opened so many boxes I simply put away. in my 20s I worked for the VA at Letterman Hospital in Vietnam and at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio I dated young graduating doctors who were drafted specifically to serve as doctors and heard their rage. Unlike Cheney etc. they could get no deferments under any circumstances.
Picking up the pieces was very traumatizing when I was 26 and I just put it away and did not think about it. Now I find myself remembering and having nightmares over those who ultimately did not make it.
But realialistically, at this age I cannot stand in surgery for long hours like I did then. I cannot lift like I did then. I cannot move as fast and I doubt I could really adjust to the heat, the cold, and lack of water I am always hearing about.
So what does a sixty year old retired Air Force Major do in Iraq? Is she an asset or a liability? Are these questions even asked? Is this a plan or the last resort?