Comment on AN10-Proposed Rule-George Francis Minde

I have two comments. 1) regarding the section under definitions, where active duty is defined as: “Active duty means full-time duty in the regular components of the Armed Forces or under a call or order to active duty under 10 U.S.C. 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12302, or 12304. Active duty does not include-- … (3) Full-time National Guard Duty performed under 32 U.S.C. orders;” This exclusion discriminates against National Guard Soldiers and Airmen who were mobilized Post 9-11 under Title 32 specifically to avoid restrictions associated with service under Title 10, such as posse comitatus. Many of the Soldiers mobilized under Operation Noble Eagle immediately after 9-11 - such as for airport security duty - were specifically mobilized under Title 32 in order to avoid some of the restrictions associated with Title 10 service. Likewise the Soldiers mobilized for service along the Mexican Border over the last two years were mobilized under Title 32. They performed service just as any other Soldier did who was mobilized and served stateside (to include separation from friends and family); yet this service does not count as “creditable active duty service.” 2) similar to the above comment, where active duty is defined as: “Active duty means full-time duty in the regular components of the Armed Forces or under a call or order to active duty under 10 U.S.C. 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12302, or 12304.” This excludes the “shadow mobilizations” many units experience under Title 32 orders (for Guard units) or ADSW (for Reserve units) as various higher headquarters attempt end runs around the current 12-month mobilization policy. For example, before I rejoined the active Army, I was in a unit that was scheduled to be mobilized in February 2004. It was determined that the unit could not meet required readiness requirements before deploying; therefore the entire unit was placed on Title 32 U.S.C. orders for 45 days prior to being mobilized under 10 U.S.C. in order to ensure that all required training was completed prior to deployment. We trained at the same post, under the same trainers, eating the same food and enduring the same family separation on 2 January as we did 20 February; however due to this rule, the 45 days under Title 32 service would not count for purposes of this rule while the later service performed under identical conditions does. While this no longer affects me - I have been in the ‘regular’ Army for almost four years now - it does affect the hundreds of Soldiers I served with on that rotation. I believe that the situation may be worse with the current policy of 12-month mobilizations for Guard and Reserve units. Many units are being put on 32 U.S.C. or ADSW orders (for Reserve units) for weeks or months prior to being formally ‘mobilized’ under 10 U.S.C. in order to maximize their time “in the box” in Afghanistan or Iraq. Currently this “shadow mobilization” time does not count for purposes of this bill, penalizing our Guard and Reserve Soldiers. While it may be difficult to determine what ADSW or 32 U.S.C. orders should count, a simple rule of thumb could be orders lasting 30 days or more that cite use of OIF/OEF or ONE (Operation Noble Eagle) funds, as these mobilizations, being in support of GWOT, generally use contingency funds.