In the past year thousands of Reservists and National Guardsmen have been mobilized as a result of the September 11th attacks 1 year ago. As a Reservist I was activated twice in a 10 month period, spending 2 months in New York and 6 months in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. First and foremost I would like to say that I am glad to have done my part, but I do expect to receive the financial compensation that is owed to me.

The issue that reservists and national guardsmen are experiencing now is a breakdown in the administrative chain of command. In simple terms, reserve soldiers and sailors are not being paid correctly or in a timely manner. I am just one victim of this problem that is plaguing the reserves now. Unfortunately, there are many others just within my unit that have experienced this problem.

During my 8 months on active duty I had to use a government credit card, which reflects on my credit report, to pay for various travel expenses. The policy is you pay expenses with this card, fill out the paperwork to be reimbursed, and finally with that money you pay the credit card company. Well, this might be how it should work but with all the reservists recalled the active duty component that processes the paperwork cannot do this properly.

I am proof of this because I am 4 months overdue to be reimbursed, a significant amount, and have yet to receive the money to pay the credit card company. I have the creditors call at least twice a week and I have to tell them the same thing every time, “When I get paid I will pay you.” The big problem is I am the one that is punished because this will ruin my credit rating and I still have a contract with the Reserves so I can’t just quit.

I am not trying to tell people not to join the reserves or National Guard, but rather to be aware that the service is not always compensated right away. You might sacrifice more than safety, you might sacrifice financial stability. The good news is that the government is aware of the problems within the administrative chain and they are taking actions to improve the efficiency, but that is stuck in the bureaucracy for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will receive a check and will be able to pay my credit card, but I am not holding my breath.