confused??

Question

I have asked this question before but I am seriously confused. A lot of you have been saying that if you're called in for duty you'll get sent a letter in the mail, but if there's a natural disaster and they have to get there right away, isn't a letter in the mail a bit impractical? Just a thought. And I was just thinking about it, my characters are back from deployment and going home to see their families... I don't think that the army would bother calling them because they wouldn't be ready; they're not close to a base, it would take time to suit up, etc. That just screws the plot up, jeez! Every major city must have some sort of amry patrol unit with necessary weapons and vehicles, perhaps that would be where the army would post themselves? If that's not true, perhaps I'll have to create a few new things that may not be accurate, so if I did, say put a base in this city, how unrealistic would that be in the eyes of military personelle? They would call them in that case, right?

Answer 1

Not sure for the Army but the Navy recalls by phone. You have 2-3 hours to get there or you're UA... and they don't care if you're further than that, you know before you go. The only exception is if you've got leave papers, then, maybe you get 24 hours to get back.

Answer 2

When my national guard unit was activated we got a phone call telling us when and where to report, a very brief description of the activation and a point of contact. That's basically all you need to know when your activated. You will get more details when you get to your duty station, but as a security precaution details are left out of the initional phone call.

Most places have a national guard armory, or some location where military can operate out of in an emergency. The place I live has an armory located about 3 miles from my house, which is great for drill weekends, but at the same time when something needs to be done guess who gets called first, everyone that lives really close.

Answer 3

If you are a member of the Guard or active duty military, you have standing orders about how and when and where to deal with a recall. You either have to contact your command regularly or have an easy to reach contact phone number. Either way, it's the responsibility of the service member to keep in touch and know what's going on. If there is some kind of major catastrophe then there are standing orders of where to go to meet up with your unit.

The only time someone is going to get a letter in the mail is if they are inactive reserve. That is part of the contract. You server active duty, then you have a period of inactive duty if you decide not to reenlist. Typically a 4 year active, 4 year inactive commitment, or a total of 8 years for the initial contract. If you serve 5 years active, then there is only 3 years inactive reserve. Etc.

Answer 4

You are not a little confused, but majorly confused. You have a lot of things mixed up in your head there due to being seriously misinformed. OK, time to get you unwrapped from around the axle.

First up....'getting called in for duty' by mail....this is only done to soldiers in the IRR, or Individual Ready Reserve. These type of personnel are still on the rolls but have not yet met thier minimum obligation of 8 years, but have been discharged from 'active' service. Think of it as a type of reserve force. Natural diasters are mainly responded to by the National Guard. These guys are not 'called-in' by a letter, they are mobilizied by thier chain of command by using what's called an 'alert roster'.

Every major city might not have a Active Duty post or unit nearby, but they usually have a Guard or Reserve unit present of some kind. In lieu of not having a major army post or armory nearby, all lot of units use airports or Air Force bases as thier HQ. A lot of Guard or Reserve don't go onto Active Duty posts until they have to mobilize and train to deploy somewhere.....

Answer 5

every state has a national gaurd, that is who is responsible for national and local emergencies. and as far as letter go, that is only for activating IAR inactive reserves, people who join the military usually have a period of time after their active duty status in which they can be called up to serve again, yes it is a joke for the most part because most people dont give a current address when they move, but it is only a way of trying to keep track of the inactive reserve people.

Answer 6

most towns have some type of military thing..an armory or something like that...i am not sure what it is for.