IP: If you rush to your country's defense, will the country rush back?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> [Note:  This item comes from reader Janos Gereben.  DLH]
>
> At 16:03 -0800 12/10/01, Janos G. wrote:
> > From: "Janos G." <janos451 () earthlink net>
> > Subject: If you rush to your country's defense, will the country rush back?
> > Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 16:03:37 -0800
> > MIME-Version: 1.0
> >
> > When JFK sent me "Greetings!" (on a postcard yet), I had *one week* to
> > report to Fort Dix for jungle warfare training in the -20F New Jersey
> > winter. Now that I need proof of that unpleasant but supposedly necessary
> > episode in my life, the Army says it's glad to comply in a mere *seven and a
> > half months.*
> >
> > Now that a few years went by and I wanted to claim some VA benefits,
> > discharge certificates turned out to be insufficient, honorable as that
> > discharge was, I also have to produce DD-214, a piece of paper I managed to
> > misplace.
> >
> > No matter: the DoD has a records center, so I wrote to them in October,
> > providing all kinds of numbers and pertinent data. Two months later, having
> > heard squat, I found an e-mail address and inquiried, politely. A reply
> > arrived today:
> >
> > <<Your request was received at this Center on Oct. 11, 2001.  Current
> > turn-around-time is running approximately 30 weeks. Thank you for
> > contracting the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis.
> > center () stlouis nara gov>>
> >
> > Next time the call comes, I'll just visit Canada, where winters are kinder
> > than in New Jersey, and government organizations - except the post office -
> > act more speedily.
> >
> > PS: Here's a classic government screwup - in order to send that reply by
> > e-mail, a clerk had to look up my letter to provide the date of receipt.
> > With the letter in hand, it would have taken a couple of minutes to pull the
> > service record, about the same amount of time it took to let me know about
> > the 30-week wait.

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