Anyone in the military who can help me with this problem??

[giggle3474]

Hi,

 

Here is our situation. My boyfriend served as an active Marine for 4 years. He is 3 months away from completing the inactive portion of his contract.

 

About a week and a half ago, they notified him that they were doing a Military recall and they needed him to report to one of the local bases. Since he found out, he has been petitioning it. He went to check in yesterday and they told him they had expected him to have reported last Thurs. and because he didn't, they consider him a flight risk and they want to keep him on watch beginning tomorrow until Tuesday of next week.

 

He is trying everything he knows to get out of staying there this weekend and ultimatley having to resume active duty. He is all for supporting this country but he does not want to go back. He has just completed his AA degree and is enrolled in a university for the fall semester as pre-med. He would lose a lot if he was forced to go back.

 

Does anyone know what he can do to get out of this? Has anyone else been successful in getting out of a recall. He feels like he's tried almost everything.

 

Please help....

[RayKay]

Yikes, well I guess given the US is having trouble getting new recruits, it is not surprising that they are recalling former active duty members.

 

Unfortunately, if he was still on their list to be recalled, I am not sure there is terribly much he dan do. I know up here when I left military I had choice to be on list or not, I chose not to be. Is it mandatory to be on it there?

 

I think he can try and petition as he is doing and give them reason why he should not be recalled (i.e. med school and etcetera) but ultimately the decision will be theirs to make, and if he avoids it he can be charged in military court, however in the past they have allowed people to "get out of" service if they could show valid reason not to be in (ie school) or value to at home. He may want to look at talking to a lawyer who has experience in this area as soon as is possible. He may not have much choice in remaining on watch though over the weekend...

 

Wow, this really sucks sweetie, wish I could be of more help but I do empathize with you both

[peaceloveunderstanding]

its probably going to be next to impossible to avoid going overseas, especially in a wartime situation. it would be very, very difficult to attempt to convince the military that you recently completed college and enrolled in a premed program and would "lose a lot if forced to go back." they dont see it that way because honestly the military doesnt care about situations like that. i know the situation sucks over there, and its hard to get optimistic about going over, but hes gotta realize that he signed up to serve this country and thats what he should do. thats the way the military is going to see it, that its his responsibility not only to his country, and to his fellow men.

 

but for the love of god, dont let him go awol to avoid the whole scene. i was involved with a guy who was in the service about a year ago. he was my whole world and i loved him fiercely, so when he told me he was getting out for terminal leave because of his mothers cancer, i had no choice but to believe him. we left his base to go back to our homestate. well, i found out several months later that his unit was actually activated and sent overseas, and rather than going with them, he chose to become a military deserter. between his military status and a whole bunch of other issues, things didnt work out between the two of us but through endless efforts, i was able to assist the marine corp headquarters out of washington dc in getting my ex apprehended for being a deserter. i didnt do it out of spite, i did it because i felt like i was helping to harbor a criminal when i knew the truth about who he was, where he was, and what he was doing and not saying anything. nobody else in his whole life knew about him running away from the military. i was the only one, so i knew it was up to me to do something about it. when they finally arrested him, he had been awol for nearly six months. he was in the brig for about five months for his actions. as far as i know now, hes been completley stripped of rank, is ineligible for any sort of benefits or pay, and when he leaves his current assignment he was placed in after getting out of the brig, he will receive either a bad conduct or a dishonorable discharge. either way, its a huge black mark on his life from this point forward. he will never be able to get a decent job, he will never be able to amount to much of anything. its very sad to me to see what hes became; hes also became hooked on meth, figuring its easier to do drugs and attempt to kill himself that way than to put a gun to his head. for a long time, i felt very responsible for his falling apart. now, i dont. hes made his own decisions, even though, hes pieces of the person i loved so much.

 

the point is your boyfriend needs to do his duty, do it well, and come home safely. he will get so much life experience through being in the service. he can pick up his schooling when he gets back. he can do that anytime. be responsible. the consequences of not being responsible in a situation like this could cost him so much more than just doing what he should do.

[DN]

Are you sure that he cannot get a deferment because of his enrollment in pre-med? I think he should check that out some more. During the Vietnam War, there were deferments for such things, but it may have changed, or, because he was already in the service, it may be a different situation.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

i wasnt speaking for all people that are military deserters, just this guy in particular when i said that he would never amount to anything. he didnt just go awol. he lied about a lot of things to a lot of different people, including lying about his own idenity. he altered his social security number to get a job that was really crappy; basically he worked for a company that he knew wouldnt look too deeply into ones background for employment purposes. so hes in a lot of trouble for commiting idenity theft as well. hes made a lot of bad decisons that will affect his life for years to come.

 

sorry about not being specific.

[SouthernSon]

I love this country moreso than most and am certainly not ignorant on many political issues our nation faces these days, which include this war that's being fought in Iraq for entirely the wrong reasons. The public opinion of it dwindles more every day. We certainly don't need another Vietnam but that's what it's looking like...I can understand why he doesn't want to go back.

 

Now, I didn't mean to try and turn this into a political debate, however if they call him back, his chances of getting out of it are nil. He agreed to serve, he signed on the dotted line and agreed to the contract laid out before him - he has to own up to his part of the agreement. He can petition for a court to intervene, but how long would it take the local JAG officer to respond? A month? On top of that, what would they really be able to even do? The court is not there to lend a sympathetic ear.

 

I know it's hard, but the options for him to get out of this are very slim.