The Price. And The New Draft.

A lot has been written on the plight of returning veterans. In fact, just this week we saw the revelation that up to 25% of the homeless are veterans. The failures of Walter Reed have been documented. And they are likely representitive of the systemic problems. After all, if the flagship hospital can be rife with problems, what does that say for the potential shortfalls of the outlying areas? But the burden seems to have fallen, to a disturbing degree, on

one sector of the military in particular. The reservists. The National Guard and
reservists have been carrying much of the burden of this war and it appears the numbers are reflecting that. The reasons for this are many. Going away---and coming back, far from the same support stucture that exists in he Regular Army is one reason. It leads to a disconnect from those who havn't been and a small peer structure. This war has been fought on the backs of the Reserves and Guard and given little back in support. Officially, there is no draft. Unofficially there is. And the Reserves are it. In WW2 and Korea the Reserves, of course, were the first called up. In Viet Nam they became the place to avoid the draft. Now they are it. Numbers below.

The War's Mental Toll on Reservists - TIME