Uncle Sam wants you, for the Narmy!

Uncle Sam wants you, for the Narmy!
by: LT Nixon
Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:14:38 AM EST

I frequently get asked "What the hell is a Navy guy doing in Baghdad", so please allow me to explain myself.

Vetvoice's own Irritated Vet had a pretty good post questioning how we are going to supply the warm bodies for all of our nation's current commitments in faraway lands. Well, I can tell you what the US Navy has been doing: it's called the Navy IA program (aka the Narmy). I understand that soldiers and marines harbor possible bitterness over the Navy shooting a bunch of Tomahawks, dropping some bombs here and there, and then heading to an Asian liberty port for some cheap drinks and lovely ladies. That was in 2003 during the initial invasion of Iraq, but I'm living proof that the Navy has been chippin' in as best as it can since around late 2004!

Generally, rotations in the Navy are about 3-4 years on a seagoing command, followed by 2 years at a shore-based command. The seagoing command means you are assigned to ship, boat, or squadron and you go out to sea or hang out in the shipyard (which is no picnic by the way). Then you follow with the mythical shore-based command (ROTC instructor, recruiter, teacher, basketball hand-out guy, etc.) where you sit around for a M-F/0700-1500 gig and watch your ass grow bigger. Well, since our military is stretched pretty thin, they've been putting people in a "lottery" where you got yanked from your shore command for a 6mo to 1yr stint as an "IA" or "Individual Augmentee". You can get sent to such lovely tourist destinations as Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar, Djibouti, or Gitmo. Of course you can volunteer for this type of assignment as well. I told my old XO that I "might be interested" in serving in this capacity, and a few months later, I had orders to Baghdad! Of course, it's not just hapless junior officers you'll see out in the Sandbox, 5 Admirals just got the call-up too. Generally, the bulk of who they used to only send were officers who got in trouble on their boats (DUIs), or officers / enlisted guys who lost "the lottery" on shore-command, but now they're sending more of the top brass. Ironically, when you look around at the Navy people in Iraq, not everyone is a "loser" of this lottery. Some of us just violated the time-honored Navy axiom (Never Again Volunteer Yourself).

The Navy (with the help of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Joe Campa, a good dude) has hooked up the enlisted guys pretty well who get IA'd, as they get promotion points and better evals, but they're still working out the bugs for officers (I don't really care personally since I'm getting out). But in all seriousness, this has been an interesting experience. I get to do a job I never thought I'd be doing, and I'm also privy to the inside scoop on the biggest political and most contentious issue of the new millennium: the Iraq war. So when I'm old and toothless, sucking on an oxygen tank, I'll be able too look back fondly on my time as a desk-jockey in this war with the spirit of "I begrudgingly did my job".


Rest of article at: http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=401



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