Why are there people how have been in the military for more than 6 years that haven't been deployed once?

Question

I keep seeing these staff soldiers that have been in for over 10 years that havent had to go the middle east or Kosovo once. How do they pull this off? I am talking mainly about the Army National Guard,but I am sure that this happens in other branches of the services also. I have went to Iraq once and probably will have to go back again. Why have all these other people been able to avoid this?

Answer 1

What's the MOS of these people? If the military has no need for them to be deployed to a specific region then why would they send them?

Answer 2

Not all members of ALL branches get sent overseas or to a ship. Some just luck out.
As for me, in 20 years, 2 months, 1 day in the Navy, I was gone a total of 49 months. All but 12 of those months, I was married. (12 months Viet nam, 13 months Antarctica, 12 months middle east, 6 months Indian Ocean, 6 months Mediterranean.) For almost 6 of a 13 month duty I could receive no mail, and once a week, only a 100 word message. That doesn't count several 10 day at sea times, 2 6 week at sea times, and several TAD tours (7 - 15 days each).

Answer 3

It may not be the answer you wish to hear but this in not unique to Iraq, Afghanistan or Kosovo. There were 10,000's of service members that were never were deployed in WW ll, Korea or Vietnam....for various reasons. Some the MOS they carried were never required. My draft number during Vietnam was 14. A lot of the other guys in college that didn't want to chance it enlisted in the Army and selected the artillery missile (Pershing and Honest John and Lance) MOS which required a higher score to be selected. They knew missiles had a very low possibility of being used in Vietnam. Some of the guys I knew never were never deployed.

Answer 4

It probably depends on the MOS or the unit. I was active for 6 and going on my 4th in the guard and have only seen Bosnia. The guard unit I am in now has a primarily stateside mission. The other way around it is to reenlist for one year at a time. Since I am a federal technician anyways, I am not allowed to get a reenlistment bonus so why go for more than a year. That way, in the event of a deployment they won't take you because you are "technically" ETSing

Answer 5

I know what you mean. I was in the Army for 4 years from 1991-1995 and I went to So. Korea 2 times. I worked with SFC's and Master SGt's who had never been overseas and had been in the Army for 15+ years. Its just one of those things that doesn't make sense.

Hi Iraq51!

Answer 6

Thats what my brother says lol he says "I've got more combat hours than they've got hours in a T-shirt, the war has been going on for 5 years and they ahve been hiding doing things like recruiting so they dont have to go fight"

And he's right. Some people are pussys

Answer 7

It's who you know, some guys be in for 20 years and never been across the water. Some are just lazy and us the Army as a Welfare systems, and don't like to go anywhere else

Answer 8

it depends on job classification and what is needed in Iraq...i was in the Air Force for six years..and I did not go to Viet Nam...

just because you fall down the stairs
that does not mean you will break
your leg...sometimes you get lucky...

Answer 9

staff officers are little more than office clerks, you don't send the custodian of records at west point to war, he's a historian. or may be an office manager or base manager, isuppose they could send them to manage a depot in iraq er somethin

Answer 10

They want to use the part time military to be the Iraq police force.