"You're in the Army Now..."

Today was my Army Day which in my case is not The Army but instead the State Military Reserve, the less strenuous version of the National Guard. I do this once a month unless there is something else going on such as being activated for fire duty or the like which results in extended active duty time. As the weekend approaches I start to get a feeling of 'not this again' and 'I want my weekend'. Then the night before when my wife and youngest son are enjoying staying up and watching a movie and I have to go to bed so I can be up at 0500 to drive an hour and a half to Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, well I really start to feel sorry for myself.

Then it is Saturday at the traditional O-dark 30 get up time.

"Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning,

Oh! How I'd love to remain in bed

For the hardest blow of all is to hear the bugler call: 'You've got to get up, you've got to get up, You've got to get up this morning!'"

Someday I'm going to murder the bugler

Someday they're going to find him dead

I'll amputate his reveille and stomp upon it heavily

And spend the rest of my life in bed!

A bugler in the army is the luckiest of men

He wakes the boys at five and then goes back to bed again

He doesn't have to blow again until the afternoon If ev'rything goes well with me I'll be a bugler soon!

"Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning, Oh! How I'd love to remain in bed

For the hardest blow of all is to hear the bugler call: 'You've got to get up, you've got to get up, You've got to get up this morning!'"

Oh, boy! The minute the battle is over

Oh, boy! The minute the foe is dead

I'll put my uniform away and move to Philadelphia And spend the rest of my life in bed!"

Irving Berlin 1918

On go the ACUs. Around my neck my dog tags, the same pair that I've had for about 30 years. On go the boots, shove the beret in the pocket, grab the day's paperwork, orders, regs, forms, and minutia, all jammed into my nifty ACU National Guard back back. Off I go for the 65 miles to Los Al.

As I approach the front gate I start to feel a shift in attitude from 'poor me' to, dare I say, some anticipation? The soldiers at the front gate waving the vehicles through are from my unit and they look STRAC today. A cheerful "Morning Sir" and a snappy salute from the gate NCO and a sketchy return salute from me and I'm in.

Once I'm in the building, greeted by numerous soldiers and NCOs and ready to start the day's tasks I realize that I like this. I really like it. I feel needed, respected, and part of something that is important. I listen to the questions, provide answers, offer advice, plan, coordinate, direct, order, command. I listen to the war stories of the other old war-horses in the unit. I make a quick run to the PX to buy stuff for SGT Kurt. I see the young troops, some looking like they just got out of high school and wonder if I was ever so young.

The good feeling lasts all day and when it is time to turn out the lights, close the door, thank the troops for a 'good drill' and wish everyone a good month until next drill I feel a bit reluctant to leave. I'll be back, next month....