HAH! Only WISH I coulda had this Joe's problems when I was 'dismissed' from service in 1995. But, as long as our Government remembers this man when he rotates Stateside, acknowledges his service for our nation, and follows through on promises of health care and scholarship aid upon his return, he'll do alright. From what I've seen our current Commander-in-Chief is keeping his end of the bargain, unlike the last one, to whom this soldier would have made a great photo op.

Thanks, Sgt. Zemcik.

Thank you Sgt. for being a true American patriot.
On the other hand, when you enlist into this "voluntary" military service, it is a contract like all others. You don't arbitrarily change the term to suit you. Study law, this becomes no different than what President Lincoln ended- slavery! I know from first hand experience that "recruiters" will lie and decieve to get you to sign on the bottom line. Your rights do NOT end because you volunteer to serve your country, the military just acts like they do!

This is a great story about a great American guy. This is the type of good story that the CNNs of the world will not carry.

Sgt. Zemcik,

I wish I could trade places with you I love the military. I was involuntarily mobilized back in 2003, volunteered to stay on active duty for next four years until I became eligible for retirement which I requested and was accepted. In the meantime, I was trying to go to Afghanistan but instead was sent on short assignment to Pakistan. When I got the opportunity to go to Afghanistan my retirement orders came in. I offered to extend in order to deploy but my request was denied. Go figure that one out!

Reinstate the DRAFT. This will put fingers on the triggers. As a side benefit, it will help Canada to expand their population, when the Rich Kid Slackers run North, as they did during Nam.

Bottom line is military can do whatever they want. They own you! When you sign that contract you've thrown away all your rights in exchange to serve and protect those of the American people. It's the most honorable and selfless acts in my eyes. I thank every service man and woman out there for their sacrifice. I feel Sgt Zemcik's pain. My husband was recalled May 2008 after two years of reserves. He showed up and is currently serving his time, but our recall experience was not as nicely put as was in this article. We went through hell. The military has lost its interest in taking care of IRR’s and their families. They're just short timers anyways right? I never received a phone call not even an email about my husband’s status or information regarding family support. They changed his orders last minute from Iraq to Afghanistan; and never notified us where he was stationed. Not to mention they were rude and disrespectful when I called for information. Things need to change for the guys like Sgt Zemcik and my husband. They give up one of the greatest gifts (Freedom) to ensure others rights. They deserve much better treatment and respect. The military is the most unorganized operations I've ever encountered; unfortunately, the guys like Sgt Zemcik and their families are the ones that suffer most because of it. The higher ups need to do more than pencil pushing and barking orders from their offices. Maybe a little more compassion and common sense would help.