The first one was voluntary, the second wasn't. I got sent back with the 82nd ABN's 3rd Bde for TET68. 75-80% of us had already done a tour. I had 10mos. left to ETS. Stayed there the whole time. Well, they DID give me an 8day Early Out
. As things escalated and more units were sent over, a lot of guys found themselves in this situation.
A rule was put in place that if you DEROS'd with less than 6mos. left to ETS, you could get an Early Out. This worked out REAL nice for draftees. Alot of guys extended for 3-6mos. to put themselves stateside within this time frame. Some guys would extend for specific jobs [Andy]. I knew a guy in the 82nd who volunteered to go back because he hated stateside duty. If he'd waited, he would have got sent anyway. He was also in the 3rd Bde.