IA

[Gunner Carvo]

Well, looking out over the water of The Gulf apparently wasn't enough for me. I volunteered for an IA in Iraq. I leave in August for training. I should be back in just shy of a year.

For those of you who don't know what an IA is, this is what Wikipedia says about it:

An Individual Augmentee is a United States military member assigned to a unit for the purpose of filling in for, or augmenting, members of that unit. Individual Augmentees or IAs are differentiated from existing members of that unit by the fact that they are assigned individually rather than as part of a traditional military organization (such as a brigade, battalion or company). Individual Augmentees can be used to fill shortages or can be used when an individual with specialized knowledge or skill sets is required. As a result, Individual Augmentees can include members from an entirely different branch of service. The system has been used extensively in the current Iraq War, though with some criticism. Currently, there are approximately 12,000 Navy and Air Force personnel filling Army jobs in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and the Horn of Africa at any one time.

Individual_augmentee_policy
I would gladly volunteer over someone who didn't want to go being told to go. With the training and experience I have I could make the right decision where someone else could make the wrong one and not make it back. That's why I volunteered.

I hope to have internet access while I'm over there so that I can read these forums while I'm gone. It's a great reminder that there are people in this country that support us! Thank you!