From my brother, and I agree so heartily, I'm sharing this.
When you open programs up to everyone (without restrictions) rather than the group they were intended for, you destroy the program. The "one size fits all" idea is okay if you meet criteria, but there have to be restrictions. The National Guard and Reserves all have their benefit programs that active duty members do not receive. The Guard and Reserve are required to serve overseas only in the time of war; active duty are required to fill those positions during times of peace, and war continuously.
What unlimited access does to the benefit programs designed for active duty members is erode and ultimately destroy them... in the act of being fair! We saw this with the GI Bill, now we want to give College away to who ever wants it, even illegals without any pay back. Perhaps we need to rethink the Guard and Reserve components, but that would rub the State Governors the wrong way, because these Guard units augment state police and emergency responders in times of emergencies.
I am not saying that Guard and Reserve members don't deserve recognition and perks for their duty served, but they need to serve. I will also acknowledge that many thousands of Guard and Reserve members have sacrificed all in the duty of this country... But there have to be restrictions; otherwise, we only need an active duty military. The reserve members would be the people registered in the selective service program, that is the pool you would draw from. Make everyone pull their own weight, or our military will end up like our immigration system... wide open for fraud!
Remember when the Iraq war started and they called up Marine Reserve Units, one woman in the Marine Reserve refused to go to war because the only reason she joined the Marine Reserve was to have it on her resume and collect education benefits... Right up there with "Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time"!
