viper771 said:
hey im a reservist

Haven't gone to iraq yet though. But it is true a lot of the active ppl look down on us

and i think its kind of unfair. The reserves are the reserves for a reason
Viper I do not include you in what I am about to say because I have never met you before. I was a guardsman for 2 1/2 years then active duty 10 1/2 years. The reason why active members do that to you is because of the fellow guardsmen and reservist before you.
I was deployed on 4 seperate occasions with a total number of about 120 guard or reserve. That's the total count for all 4 times added up. Out of all of them there was only about 5 we could count on.
Many attached with us often hid, and I don't mean out of fear for their lives. I mean hid to try to get out of work or worry of getting stuck on detail (odd job for those not military). Lots would tell us they didn't mind hiding and would flat out say they would run off if the bullets flew. Well as Aviation we didn't get directly attacked and we didn't have reservists or guardsmen on our flights. So I guess I will never know if they would have run or not. Gotta admit the bullets smacking the aircraft certainly scared me, but out of fear of my life I pulled the trigger and laid down as many rounds down range at the enemy as I could.
Anyways, all you can do is keep plugging away and do the best you can. It's a shame that you are being descriminated against because of what peps before you acted like. But I do believe that once the active duty you are with see that you are a good worker and can be counted on they will give you full respect. And when you leave you will leave as a brother to them and not a bother as many of the others did.
That is the same advice I gave 2 of the 5 great ones I saw. Those 2 were assigned to me in my squad. Awesome peps. And they left heads held high. We missed them when they left because they were hard working dependable great soldiers.
The others were too much of a pain. It was harder trying to hunt them down to do something than just getting it done. And unfortunately the climate at the time afforded protection to the additional troops that did not allow us UCMJ action against them for disobeying an order. They did just enough to stay out of trouble, but otherwise was never to be found.
Just keep plugging away. They will respect you when they see that you are a hard worker. The same is true when a new active duty troop comes out of basic / Advanced training. They have to work hard to get respect. I imagine the same is true of most civilian jobs as well.
Anyways, all you can do is your best. IF you are doing your best then hold your head high. For no matter what the service the uniform comes from as long as you do it proud then you are truly a hero as those before you proudly fit the uniform.
Good luck, most of all if you are or will be deployed forward, stay sharp and come back to us safe.
I salute you !!!
SFC Turner U.S. ARMY AVIATION