SwiftVets.com

[Tall Texan]

Michael Savage gets truth right most of the time, the other day he put on a letter by a person who said they reserched Murtha's record.

yes 37 years in Marines but, 35 were in Reserve, only two active duty,
one year during the Korean conflict, served stateside, one year during the vietnam conflict (?) served as an intell officer in Sigh-goon, most likely under air conditioning.

in addition the guy said there were some awards and citations


has any one here done any reserch on this?
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A good beed counts for something

[Anker-Klanker]

I'm unfamiliar with Murtha's service resume, but I think I can shed some light on the 35 years he was a reservist, or at least that part that he served in Congress.

Back in the early to mid-70's I was stationed at one of the Washington area Navy Labs. I worked with a guy who was a GS-14, and was a Naval Reserve CDR. Nothing special about him - not a pilot, not in intel, not a submariner - just an ordinary Surface Navy officer Reservist. He had never been aboard a USN ship, and was thrilled when I arranged a visit and tour of a couple of ships in Norfolk. These guys would attend regular drills with a group of similar GS/Reservists (so who knows what they actually did), and when it came time for their annual 2-weeks of "active duty" training, they were merely required to shed their civies and wear their uniforms to work, the theory being that since they worked at a Navy Lab, that was equivalent to any real exposure to the Navy.

Now here comes the punch line... My associate was really torqued about their "hardships" in light of what their compatriot Reservists in Congress were required to do. At that time Naval Reservists in Congress - and there were a lot of them at the time - had managed to exempt themselves from any requirement to attend drills or to participate in the annual 2-week "active" training. In other words, according to my associate, Congressional Reservists received their Reserve pay, perks and benefits, and accumulated their retirement pension for doing absolutely nothing!

I've never attempted to confirm this information, and changes in rules (and exemptions) may have changed. Nor can I state that I know that it was the same for Army or Marine Reservists (though I fully expect that it was). It would be worthwhile to check into this, since, if true, it amounts to another scam foisted on the taxpayers. (And you can certainly understand why, if true, it's not well known.)

But if there's even a shred of truth to this story, it means that Murtha's time in the Reserves while he was simulataneously in Congress is totally meaningless (or should I say "useless"?).

[dusty]

I don't know if this 'perk' is for real either A.K. but it sure wouldn't surpirse me. Our civil servant 'representatives' have for sure written themselves some major benifits. Like their retirement program which irks me no end.

Dusty
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Left and Wrong are the opposite of Right!

[kate]