>>> ((Psssttt it was quite fashionable for well connected young men to find a safe slot in a Reserve or National Guard outfit - See Bush, George W.)
pssst. Pilots died flying the F102, which was integral to the continental air defense system. As far as I know, nobody ever died collecting for Toys for Tots.
GWB served honorably in the ANG, and this Blumenthal idjit served honorably in the USMCR. Blumenthal only becomes an idjit when he tries to pawn off his USMCR time as being “in Vietnam”.
Otherwise, and that’s one huge otherwise, I see scant difference. I knew a kid who got killed changing a truck tire in the peacetime reserves...does that mean wrench turners should be revered more than longshoremen or cooks?
It was a stupid system that let the NG and Reserves become a haven from the draft and deployment. Everybody who did time as a Guardsman or Reservist back then has to answer to their own conscience according to their own motivations for joining.
There are currently a lot of Marine reservists doing Toys for Tots in between deployments, and more than a few former toy collectors who have given their all.
I’ll admit it rankles to see the Toys for Tots thing used as a pejorative, but I get your drift. That Blumenthal character is an idjit, alright.