There’s A LOT going on with this story. In short: it highlights how NO ONE understands the Guard and sets the stage for troops constantly getting screwed on pay/benefits. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/19/national-guard-coronavirus-267514

First, this shouldn’t impact the GI Bill as much as suggested. Yes, soldiers need 90 days, but even with the shortest basic trainings (Infantry, Cav) they’re usually covered, according to VA and my personal experience.

Second this story says there is a hard time to terminate Guard corona deployments on June 24. At least federally. That’s cheaping out and I promise you’ll have AWOLs if units go back to SAD orders.

SAD basically pays soldiers minimum wage and doesn’t offer any healthcare or other benefits. Most troops make more money in their civilian jobs.

Thirdly, there’s reporting I’m trying to confirm troops have to quarantine two weeks before returning to civilian life. This raises one million questions.

There are a good number of units already quarantined. Because soldiers are getting sick and they all work and live in close quarters. Does this mean they will turn around and go into ANOTHER quarantine? One month of pay for soldiers to play Xbox and drink in a hotel? Cool

Last year Gen Dawne Deskins, Director of manpower for the Guard - in a congressional hearing - literally told lawmakers she didn’t understand what benefits soldiers deployed to the border are entitled to.

Early in this corona response there was a lot of confusions (still is) of what SAD orders and are Title 32 502f is and who gets paid how. The confusion goes from the private all the way to top brass.

Early on, NGB was begging for Title 32. The White House directed questions on that to the DoD and it was largely crickets from the DoD.

And Trump falsely claimed to federalize the Guard early on - setting confusion on the ranks. When in reality a few random stages were federalized. Confusing the troops.

Congress, at least pockets of the House VA committee, have been flirting with the concept of the “Guard/Active Pay Gap,” I wonder if this corona deployment will charge that issue at all.