National Guardsmen abuse
Spc Franco Aguilar has been a proud serviceman of the National Guard for nine years since 1998. He joined he was 17.
Today Franco doesn’t have a battalion, a job, or a means to support his family. Months back he attempted to re-enlist to serve his country. Then he was told that he would be deployed to Iraq per to “stop-loss” method of retaining Guardsmen. He was to serve an additional involuntary thirteen months.
It never happened.
What instead happened was a nightmarish series of confusion among his numerous higher ranking officials, a myriad of changed work orders and
reassignments, and a lack of answer to the most basic question Franco had
asked: “Would he or would he not be serving in Iraq?”
He has yet to receive a clear answer. He has yet to receive clear orders
from his command. He has yet to secure a stable means to feed his family.
He is in limbo. This limbo caused, and is continuing to be perpetrated, by
the high-ranking officials at the National Guard as well as our own
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Proud to be in service Franco had fulfilled his contracted time with the
National Guard on March 29th, 2007. He then decided to re-enlist, wanting
to help in battle in Iraq. What ensued was something akin to a nightmare.
SGT Marsh, who takes care of Unit Retention, makes sure soldiers are
retained and not separated from the military. Franco was told to go to
drill at Camp Roberts where his unit was informed about the deployment to
Iraq. Nothing else was told to him directly regarding his re-enlistment
even though he and his wife Julie made several attempts to contact the
personnel necessary to start the procedures necessary.
Once Franco returned from drill he contacted his employers and told them
about his impending deployment .He asked for personal time off to prepare
his home and get things in order before leaving. This personal time was
taken ONLY to get things in order prior to his deployment. His employers
allowed him to take personal leave from April 4th to his estimated
deployment date of April 30th.
From that point forward, Franco would contact his commanding officers over
40 times by phone due to the fact that they’d changed his deployment dates
and after having prepped him for deployment,told him that he was no longer
in the National Guard.
On May 9th, Sgt. Marsh’s boss – 1st Sgt Nunez who is responsible for all
of the recruiters in his area - called him. She then apologized to him and
admitted that what was happening to him was wrong. She told and him that
it was retention’s responsibility for re-enlisting him. At that point she
offered him his full lump sum bonus to re-enlist under his same unit as
well as offered to back date the bonus to make it appear as though he had
never gotten out of the National Guard.
1st SGT Nunez also expressed to him that because of the flagrant display
of improper troop care extended to him that quote: “heads were rolling”
and “asses were being chewed”.
Franco explained to 1st SGT Nunez) that he felt betrayed by his unit
leaders as well as retention after repeatedly getting the run around and
would much rather prefer to re-enlist with an recruiter that had been of
assistance, SSG Cottingham. 1st SGT Nunez at that point apologized to him
and said that if she could be of any further assistance to contact her.
Nothing happened.
Tuesday morning, May 22nd Franco called 1st SGT Solice. He asked the 1st
SGT what was going on and that if he wasn’t being deployed he needed to
have release papers printed so that he could return back to work without
being penalized or possibly losing his job. 1st SGT Solice said that the
entire situation was Franco’s fault and that his unit orders were a lie.
Franco asked the 1st SGT why he’d received all the letters and paperwork
in the mail as well as his orders. He asked why was he led to believe that
he would be deployed to Iraq?
1st SGT Solice told him he shouldn’t have stopped working because his
orders were a lie and began arguing with him as to the validity of the
documents. 1st SGT Solice then stated to Franco that: “I’m going to call
SFC Lane and tell him not to print any release forms or any papers for
you”. Franco then asked “Why was I being led on?” to which the 1st. SGT
Solice responded “It’s not my problem”. That was where the phone call
ended.
Julie, Franco’s wife, called the Governors office repeatedly, finally
being told that Franco could apply in writing for the Governor’s office to
assist in resolving this matter with the National Guard. That the process
would take 30 to 45 days. The representative at the Governors office
refused to allow Julie to talk to anyone else in that department.
Franco then called the I.G. “Investigating General” and left a message.
There was no response.
Frustrated and upset he felt that not only had he been misled by 1St SGT
Solice, SFC Lane, and CPT Lendewig but is being held back from returning
to work due to 1st SGT Solice’s request to SFC Lane to NOT print any
release paperwork for him. To make matters worse – He was told that he
would not be paid for the drill he attended in April.
It appeared to Franco that those in charge at the National Guard – Alpha
Battery 1-143-feel that they can destroy the lives of those soldiers
willing to risk themselves and their livelihoods for the freedom of our
country. Apparently, it seems, they can get away with it at will.
Should anyone reading this that would like to provide assistance with
Mr.Aguilars matter please contact him at: franco.aguilar@clearwire.net At
present he has no job, is not being paid by the National Guard, yet is
unable to be released from the National Guard in order to obtain suitable
employment. To date no response has been received from the Governors
office.
He is upset because he is neither enlisted in the National Guard (and is therefore not being paid) nor is he released from duty (and is therefore unable to get a civilian job)?
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"Money" has no value - people do.
If this individual wants to go to Iraq so badly, why doesn’t he just say he DOESN’T want to go?
Then he'll be shipped off immediately.
qrswave
1. Note the number of years he's been in the Guard.
2. That he'd fulfilled his term and was asked to re-enlist. He did (and as it states-has the ALL of the paperwork to prove it)and was sent to Camp Roberts.
3. Was then told there had been a paperwork error and he wasn't enlisted.
4. Was THEN told he was enlisted and it would be straightened out.
5. Now he is considered enlisted but is not able to work neither at his place of business(Because as it says IN the article-he has been stop-lossed for the next 13 months to serve in Iraq) or in the Guard because his paperwork is still messed up.
As for the SOLUTION. He's been to Iraq twice. This would have been his third tour of duty. If you'd wanted to know that you could've emailed him.
No it's not JUST about money but when you have a family to feed you have a family to feed. How is this confusing?
I didn't mean to minimize the money issue (you might have gotten that impression from the slogan below all my comments "'money' has no value - people do.")
I just wanted to be sure that I understood you correctly.
Of course, people need money to survive. And it's bullshit that they're keeping him in limbo. I wish there was some way that I could help.
My only advice is that you should not rest on your rights - in other words, keep pursuing a remedy through official channels (and non official channels, i.e., the media) until someone takes action to rectify the problem.
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"Money" has no value - people do.