| Did
You Know
..
Approximately 50 percent of
military forces are now in the
National Guard or Reserves.
There are more women in the
Reserves than in the active
service;
20 percent of Reservists called
up to active duty are women.
There are more married couples
who are simultaneously in the
Reserves than dual career
military couples.
30-45 percent of selected
Reserves are self employed or
work for small companies.
In the 1980s, the Reserve
component was called up about 1
million days a year. That has
steadily increased over the
years to about 12 million duty
days per year.
If Desert Storm is a good
predictor, there will be a 400
percent increase in deployment
days if we go to war with Iraq.
35,000 Guard and Reserve
members are on active duty on
any given day
in 77 countries.
Close to 112,000 are currently
deployed.
The majority of Reservists,
when they are called up, get
paid at their rank regardless of
what their civilian salary is.
This can cause tremendous
hardship on some families,
especially if they get deployed
for six months or more.
Unlike career military
families, Reserve component
families are not familiar with
the military culture and jargon
and not accustomed to
separations and long
deployments.
The American Red Cross is the
link between a family and the
service member during times of
crisis; we help the family and
the individual service member
cope with problems created by
separation.
Those most in need of AFES Red
Cross services are from the
lowest ranking segment of the
military population (E1-E4).
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