Quote:
Originally Posted by Olefin
I could see the disorganized units that arrived that had broke up even before they got to the evac point not being much use when they got back - but a bunch of them arrived intact, under orders and still disciplined - sorry but those units dont just fall apart upon arrival if they held together thru four years of hell in Europe - not when the US still has foreign invaders on its soil and has huge areas with no security at all
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I've said it before, but the above is where I think you are failing to factor in the human element of combat fatigue and homesickness. You're looking at this more than like an accountant, and less like a psychologist/sociologist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
Civil War vets didn't have to fight- away from home- for four or more years. Neither did WWII vets. Even in our longest wars, Vietnam and The War on Terror, the majority of vets didn't have to be away from home continuously for more than 12 or 13 months at a stretch. To expect nearly every returning soldier to stay in uniform, follow orders, and not go home (i.e. desert) at the first or second opportunity, is almost as unrealistic as the disappearance of so much returning NorthAg and CentAg strength.
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As I've already mentioned elsewhere, desertion was a big issue for the U.S. military in the ETO during WWII, despite cultural barriers and no realistic way of getting back to the States (don't believe me, check out Charles Glass'
The Deserters). It was an even bigger problem during the American Civil War when both sides fought much closer to home. If you haven't already watched it, you should check out the movie,
Free State of Jones.
Come on, now. If you hadn't seen your family in [up to] four years, and hadn't heard from them in nearly as long, you would stay in camp and prepare to redeploy to God-knows-where simply because your unit "arrived intact, under orders and still disciplined" and your CO ordered you to? Well, you might answer yes to that question, but I think a lot of people would answer, "Heck no. I've given my country x years of my young adulthood, risked my life, killed, and seen my buddies blown away. The least they can do is let me go see if my family is OK. If they don't, well then, screw 'em. Let somebody else take a turn at the front line. I'm leaving. Let them try to stop me."
Again, I think if MilGov did try to stop large number of returning soldiers from going home, they'd have a large-scale mutiny on their hands. Or some units might declare for CivGov. Their best option is a furlough program. This would avoid a mutiny and increase the odds of retaining troops over the long-run. However, I think a significant percentage of furloughed soldiers would take advantage and not return.