The New York Guard Experience: Two Veterans Share Their Story Transcript. Episode 11:
Jean Marciniak (00:00):
Welcome everyone to Commander’s Briefing this, we have a special episode today. We have two former New York Guard Soldier and officer on the show that are going to talk about their history with the New York Guard and the current transitions to New York Guard is kind of going undergoing. First we have Captain Mark Getman, and then we also have on the Show Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike. So I know both of you have welcome to the show. First. I know both of you have been in the New York art quite a while. I’ve personally known you and I know you guys get the job done all the time and you relied on by many of your soldiers and the people that you have had under your command. So I just want to say welcome to the show and thank you for coming on.
Captain Mark Getman (00:50):
Oh, pleasure. My pleasure. Yep,
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (00:53):
My pleasure too. Thank you.
Jean Marciniak (00:55):
Before we dive in, tell me a little bit about your history. I know both of you served in the New York art a long time, but before we dive into how long, what inspired you to join the New York Art originally?
Captain Mark Getman (01:10):
I’ll let Sergeant Mike go first.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (01:13):
I’ll keep it very simple. It was nine 11. I was on nine 11 itself. I was supposed to call the fire Department Bureau of EMS to find out if I had passed to further my application process into the borough of EMS on nine 11, and of course it was nine 11, and long story short, I wind up enlisting December of 2001.
Jean Marciniak (01:42):
Oh wow. Okay. So literally right after nine 11 happened?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (01:47):
Yes.
Jean Marciniak (01:48):
Yeah, I can imagine it was a surge of recruits joining New York Art at that time.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (01:53):
We actually, 2002, we had one of the biggest classes for IET at that point.
Jean Marciniak (01:58):
Wow. How big was it?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (02:02):
Captain Getman was a classmate. I want to say we had a little over 50 of us.
Jean Marciniak (02:07):
Oh wow.
Captain Mark Getman (02:10):
Yeah, that’s where I met Sergeant Mike. That’s, I’ve known him since then. I actually joined around 2002. Funny enough, I was in the Civil Air Patrol at the time when all that happened and the Civil Air Patrol actually sent up an airplane to do some aerials, and I had to do a story about that at that time. But then I was looking to go to National Guard. They had right around nine 11, they changed stuff and there was a new command and just poor timing. I was public affairs with them as well, and I looked at the National Guard. I was still married to my first wife at the time, and she said, well, if you go to the National Guard, don’t bother seeing me when you come back. So I didn’t pursue that, but I did go to the New York Guard. I don’t know how I found out about them. And yeah, I did the IET class that summer, I think 2002 with Sergeant Mike. I came in as an E four. What’d you come in as?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (03:14):
E two sir?
Captain Mark Getman (03:15):
E two. Okay. So I think I came in as an E four and you see we both came up in the ranks, but different ways.
Jean Marciniak (03:24):
Yeah. I know you guys have very different moss. I know Captain, you focused heavily into public affairs and currently doing that now. And I know Sergeant Mike from our personal interactions over the years. I know you were a drill sergeant in a New York Art IET, but I know you were relied on for a lot of other missions and a lot of other trainings. Am I correct in that?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (03:50):
Just basically IET? I did eventually go into PLC. You and I met right around the time the 88 brigade was doing the SP mission, and that’s when I remember meeting you. And we did have some fun with that, including going to Fort Indian Town Gap in Pennsylvania.
Jean Marciniak (04:09):
If our viewers are not familiar, the New York Guard assisted well augmenting the New York National Guard Surf P Team. It’s a chemical biological decontamination force, and it’s been a while. It’s been over 20 years. So it brings back some memories. So we kind of dived in into a little bit of your history. How long have you both served in New York Guard? I know it’s decades, but do you have a precise number?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (04:39):
For me? December was 22 years, and as of my discharge last month, 22 years, two months.
Captain Mark Getman (04:47):
And for me it was from 2002 to 2006 round one. And then I left to go to the National Guard, left the National Guard in 2014, and then came back to the New York Guard for more fun. And that was 2014 till just about recently, 2024. So it would’ve been 10 full years back in the New York yard this second round. So it was a little shy of 10 years in the New York yard this time around.
Jean Marciniak (05:25):
Okay. Wow. So I knew you guys were long timers from before we even started the interview. And you guys, I know you guys have significant impact in the organization and I’ve heard nothing but great things about the both of you during the 20 years I’ve known. So I guess before we move on to basically what the main portion of this podcast is about, I wanted to get a sense from you. You guys were part of so many, many trainings, so many basically memorable moments throughout New York art history in the last 20 years. What was the most memorable mission for each of you?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (06:11):
For me, I want to say my most cherished memories. One would have to definitely be going to Fort Indiantown gap in 2008 because it was the first time the New York Guard had deployed outside of New York state since World War I, if I remember New York Guard history correctly, I could be wrong. And then some other memorable missions. I was with Captain Gitman on a couple of occasions for Operation Turkey drop under Mario Cuomo, where we helped prepare, I want to say roughly a thousand Thanksgiving meals a couple of years in a row prior to the pandemic. And of course for me, from 2005 to roughly 2015 being an IET drill instructor,
Jean Marciniak (07:04):
Head captain,
Captain Mark Getman (07:06):
I would say the most memorable was first time being activated for SAD, paid SAD would’ve been. I went up to, where was that? Lake Ontario, I think it was with the flooding the year that I went there. It was also the same time that Covid had just started. So I was sent up. So that was a short three day, two day. It wasn’t really impactful. It was one of the first paid, but I’ve worked on other paid missions since then. Actually, COVID for six months, that was the longest. I was on the covid mission with Joint Task Force Covid at the Javit Center for six months, and that gave me a chance to go around the Long Island, New York City area. That would’ve been the most memorable because I really got to integrate with a lot of National Guard, army air militia people that I still see to this day.
(08:10)
Some of them even in my regular work as a Garrison public Affairs officer for Fort Hamilton, and then also the missions, the Turkey drop, knowing that we’re called up to make a difference and we’re helping out those in need. So there’s a lot of different times, but I would say most of them, we weren’t paid, but just being part of being called to do for the state and represent the National Guard, or actually Randall’s Island, I would say last year when they set up the asylum tents, I was sent out there for two days and I was there New York Guard, but I was there as the PAO representative for the National Guard. They didn’t have. Oh, wow. And dealing with the media and interacting with media who wanted interviews and stuff and seeing, it was just knowing that, okay, I thought it was going to be a short term, but it turned out it’s still going. I would say overall every mission was.
Jean Marciniak (09:23):
Yeah. I know you guys were heavily relied on, and I know you guys have a lot of missions under your belts. I know every time I see New York Guard basic training troops, I always see a picture of you, Sergeant Mike, and then with Covid, I always see the byline photograph by Captain Mike, mark Atman. So your name always kind of ringed, even though I haven’t seen you guys in quite a while. I’ve seen you guys digitally through the internet, which brings us to what we’re doing a podcast. You guys have been with New York Art for quite a while. You have just a massive amount of knowledge, not only about the New York art, but how it functions the best, how the training is supposed to go, what its capabilities are the soldiers, what the soldiers are capable of. I mean, I can go on and on, but I do know that there was some transitions over the years and I would probably start saying they probably started happening 10, maybe 15 years ago when the New York Guard started shutting down specific units like the engineering unit. New York Guard originally had a search and rescue units and a few other units, I believe also a medical unit that was shut down. Can you guys explain what the transition was happening in the New York Garden the last 10, 15 years? Why these units were going from an active status, engineering units, medical units, search and rescue units, units that every other state defense force currently has and currently employs? Let the New York guards deactivate it.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (11:11):
I’ll let you take that one. Captain. You had more knowledge than I did.
Captain Mark Getman (11:16):
Sure, no problem. So I think a lot of the, it is just change in mission, change what the, I guess tag directives of what they wanted the New York Guard to focus on illegal teams were disbanded. That goes higher than above my pay grade. So I couldn’t tell you the exact reasons, but search and rescue, it’s a lot of politics from above that drive what they want the guard doing. Some of them are truth is liability. I’ve heard the word liability a lot. Oh, it’s a liability. Oh, it’s a liability. It’s a liability. In order not to have that liability close up this unit, close up that unit and just needs and just resources. I guess you would say that when we had a bigger force, I guess 2002, three after nine 11, they wanted us doing everything because National Guard was not here. But as deployments got less and less and less, they’re like, okay, we need the new guard to do this instead of that. So that’s why a lot of these units or missions were, it was a restructure or re-designation of what their metals are, a mission essential task listing.
Jean Marciniak (12:51):
Okay. So generally these units were deactivated due to the troop strength being lowered, is that what I’m kind of getting?
Captain Mark Getman (12:59):
Yeah, yeah. And also from what’s the directives coming from upstate, what they want them to do, liability and concerns, but also majority of truth. Strength. Do we have enough people to support that? Do we have the adequate training or is this really their job? Should we leave this? So for example, the lawyers. The lawyers had a good team. They were a good number of lawyers, but powers that be decided, Hey, you know what, there’s a liability. I don’t know what the liability is if these are board certified lawyers, but that’s not my call, but the word liability would always come up from higher, let’s put it that way.
Jean Marciniak (13:49):
Okay. So I guess this kind of leads me to my next question. Why did you both leave the New York Guard? I know they were under different circumstances. If you guys can dive in a little to that.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (14:02):
It was due to my poor attendance for approximately a year.
Jean Marciniak (14:07):
So for with one year attendance not reaching that level that New York Guard requires, which I believe you mentioned was about around 70% approximately. Do they allow you like a waiver or give you another year to, I guess is it just one year if you have low attendance, they automatically dismiss you or do they give you two or three years? Do they allow you to waiver because of a certain family situation, medical situation, things like that?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (14:42):
Truth be told, waiver was never discussed. I was literally grilled on my drill attendants. I literally want to say from end of 2021 through 2023, and I did attend at in 22 and 23, but I did miss drills prior and after AT in both years, but it was basically work related issues. 2023, we did get paid for at the first time ever.
Jean Marciniak (15:13):
Oh wow. Captain Getman. So you left New York Art I believe was 2023, right? I believe there was some changes, transitions that happened that resulted in that.
Captain Mark Getman (15:27):
No, no. I was still there in 2023 during the summer. I just couldn’t take off the time for AT being worked, my full-time federal job. I explained to them, Hey, I’m the only PAO at Fort Hamilton. It’s a federal position and I just couldn’t make it. I’ve made all the past at drills and I just couldn’t make. At last year, 2023, they did reorganize. I was moved out of public affairs, moved into a command support detachment and still helping doing photos and stuff for new IT book and doing, and then it came up of, well then also my additional obligations as a rabbi, as a congregational rabbi, taking on more weekends or Saturdays because the rabbi that I officiate with, he took an unexpected leave of absence, so it was making it a lot harder, and I asked for a religious exemption and I said, look, I’m willing to do the work outside, do it some other time.
(16:39)
And that went all the way up. I put in a request and supposedly it was reviewed by higher ups and they said, Nope, nope. You got to make it 75% attendance and sorry, we suggest it’s best that we put you on the state reserve list due to lack of attendance because I haven’t wasn’t able to go to a drill since May. And then the summer, June, July, and then August, and next thing I know they said, okay, well you’re on the state reserve list. And I just wanted to add to what Sergeant Mike said, the policy that came out was not supposed to look at past. It wasn’t supposed to look at past attendance. It was if you didn’t make 75 attendance or more as of October, 2023, the new fiscal year or September, 2023, then you’re out and it’s going across the board. It’s going to everybody.
(17:40)
I mean, you have people who live in Florida and they’re not going to make 75% attendance from Florida unless you’re paying them their tickets. So they’re doing it to everybody and anybody, and they just want to slim down the force. It’s a way to slim down the force. By the time you look, you’re not going to have a force left. So yeah, I mean in active duty or National Guard, if I had to miss a weekend drill, I would explain it and say, Hey, can I make this up some other time? Sure, come in a weekday or National Guard has that, but here, okay, they could have said, Hey, you guys missed, okay, you got family issues. Okay, do this X, Y, and Z project and log the hours for us. So there’s no if, ands or buts and it’s just you’re losing a lot of institutional knowledge. I have that Sergeant first class Mike has and it’s a shame.
Jean Marciniak (18:41):
Yeah, I completely agree with you. Many state defense forces that I’m aware of, they do have a similar policy to the National Guard where for maybe family, medical, job related reasons, if you can’t make drill, you can make it up on this day or you can do X, Y, or Z like you were mentioning. It’s kind of curious that New York Guard is a bit more strict in that capacity. That’s a bit odd. So I wanted to ask you both since you enlisted in the early two thousands, the New York Guard changed quite a bit. We’ve seen the New York Guard kind of revived taking more active roles prior after the start of the War on Terror, New York Guard augmenting the National Guard Surf P team was a big mission. But if you kind of compare New York Guard from the two thousands to 2010s to now the 2020s, wow, I feel old. If you kind of compare it that way, do you feel, is it more of an upswing that the missions are getting better, that there are more joint task force missions with the National Guard and that the forces getting stronger?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (19:57):
So I’ll take it from the enlisted side. I saw the changes where we were basically just showing up on a Tuesday night and then one Saturday or one Sunday a month depending on your, what was then brigade now area command where your metal was either search and rescue, I don’t know. You should remember Marc sinc how we used to call ourselves mps or force protection, and we’ve augmented ourselves and realigned ourselves along with the task forces within the state. So along with Surf P has Captain Getman mentioned Lake Ontario, then Covid, I’ve seen us change to where we were utilized. We were utilized heavily during Sandy and Hurricane Irene. So we have changed for the positive. I just think, and it’s just my personal opinion where now that we are looking at being paid, I think it’s more of what’s the finances going to be for the state If they’re paying the New York Guard where, and again, it’s just me, we forgetting that we are the militia of old, where we weren’t paid to be in the uniform. We purchased our own stuff without support from the state or whoever, but I’ve seen the changes for the positive. I really have.
Jean Marciniak (21:36):
Okay, so you see the New York Guard currently now better than it was even post nine 11?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (21:43):
Yes.
Captain Mark Getman (21:43):
Sorry.
Jean Marciniak (21:45):
And Captain Getman, your take.
Captain Mark Getman (21:48):
I agree with what Sergeant first class. Mike said that it’s changed that when we were both in 2002 and I was in the first time around, you’d go to a drill on a weekend or you go to a drill on a Tuesday night and you do DNC drill ceremony and you do some other training and you felt like, okay, what am I doing this for? I think Sandy changed that a lot and you saw New York Guard being utilized a lot and especially, so that kind of started the momentum of, okay, these guys are useful and we could use them for a lot of different things, forklift and this and that. I actually kind of pushed and it was very uncommon to get New York Art PAOs called there. There was one New York art PA O who was activated during Sandy too. But for all of these smaller missions, I got paid for hurricane and some other stuff here and there.
(22:53)
When they started paying them for, I think they finally got them paid for the Turkey drop. There were years and years that we did it and it was not for pay. And then finally they said, okay, let’s pay these guys. We will put ’em on orders for the day. And it’s great. You get paid for one or two days for the lower enlisted. It is really like, wow, I’m getting paid to do this. And I’m like, you know what? I’ve been doing this for so many years without the pay. It’s not that I wasn’t doing it, the pay was a bonus, but they were the New York art, especially Covid, you saw. We were used all over the place. I mean all the vaccination sites and all over. So I do see the change.
(23:43)
I do see it’s, it’s getting better, getting paid more often, but also we’re old schoolers like you said, and we didn’t join for the pay. If we wanted to join for the pay, I would’ve stayed in the National Guard. So now you get this next generation who are going to serve for 20 years. Okay, they’re on asylum mission. They’re going to get paid When that asylum mission goes away, what’s next? What are you going to get paid for? Okay, you get paid for drill, but who knows what’s going to be the next. So are you doing it for the pay or are you doing it because you have desire to volunteer to serve your country, serve your state. So you’re going to have a shift in the ideology of what the person’s main intention is to serve. Are you serving because you’re really getting paid or are you serving because you just want to serve? And we wanted to give back. Like we said, we’re different generations. So it’s interesting to see how you’re going to recruit people. Maybe you’ll get the people who couldn’t make the National Guard and they’ll say, well, we will pay you and look. Oh, okay. So they’re going to be competing against the National Guard if they’re going to go that route.
Jean Marciniak (24:59):
I guess piggybacking off that, what are the challenges facing New York art today? What are the big obstacles that is in front of New York art that they have to overcome? Is it that volunteerism spirit? Are there not enough recruits coming in? Is it legal boundaries?
Captain Mark Getman (25:22):
Since I’m not here in anymore, I can’t say I wasn’t in recruiting, but I’m going to use a general observation that’s also the military in a whole, I’m not saying just the New York Guard. I’m going to say the military in a whole in general, active duty, national Guard, New York National Guard did well. They actually were one of the top recruiters. But overall countrywide, you’re seeing less people being as patriotic as we were when we joined. And that’s what I’m going to say. It doesn’t affect them because they were younger. They don’t know what nine 11 was for them, it’s okay. We learned about it in history. It doesn’t affect them personally. I’m saying this as a general note from also what I’m getting in active duty as well as National Guard across the nation. It’s just change in attitudes, change in physical fitness overall, physical fitness generation that’s coming up are not as physically fit and the military as a whole all state defense forces as a whole. Or they’re looking into what can we do to draw in people and what do we have to offer? And that would, I say, is the biggest of anybody or any organization, what do you have to offer and what are you offering me? Let’s put it that way.
Jean Marciniak (27:07):
So kind of bouncing off that, I wanted to kind of get your viewpoints on the last few years that you worked. I know you both worked during Covid and then during Sandy back in the two one 2010s. How has the New York National Guard, your brothers and sisters in New York National Guard view, the New York Guard now? I know 20 years ago there was a big push to have Joint Task Force missions. Surf P was one of those big ones. Do you see that? Do you see more of that, those joint task force missions, more of a positive relationship between the New York National Guard and the New York State Guard?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (27:46):
So I’ve seen where we are appreciated from the National Guard side and not as appreciated. It all depends on where you were. So I know there are soldiers with units like the three 69th out of Harlem and Camp Smith and the 69th out of Lexington and also Camp Smith where they’ve appreciated us. Where I know when I came into first and the ninth during 2002, before I went over to the 14th when they were going to Iraq originally in 2004, 2005, don’t exactly quote me on the years because it’s all gray, but I do know we were asked by their senior non-commissioned officers, if we could help augment force protection for the Armory, they would have to do funerals. And they were very grateful. I mean, they couldn’t pay us, but they gave us lunch and next to a paycheck. Food is the second most important thing for a soldier.
(28:58)
They were appreciative. I know from a soldier in the three 69th who is a 68 whiskey and also the offspring of somebody in the New York Guard, he’s very appreciative of what we bring because we bring to the table not so much the military experience, but the life experience from our civilian sides that can help augment mission such as Covid and also the asylum seeker. And he’s one of a lot of enlisted side soldiers that have appreciated us. And I know at least from the 69th when I’ve done things like force protection, just holding the door down at the armory, hearing these gentlemen being able to thank us because we are there so they can go take care of laying a fallen soldier to rest. That was thanks enough for me.
Jean Marciniak (29:58):
Wow. Now I kind of want to dive in a little bit more. I know you were basically, you ran in essence initial entry training. You were the basically senior NCO. I’ve seen you on all the photos, all the recruits that graduate. I always hear your name and always in great terms. So you have a lot of experience being the drill sergeant for the New York Guard initial entry training program, the basic training of the New York Guard has the New York Guard initial entry training program. Do you see recruits coming in with that patriotic spirit to serve the New York National Guard? Are you still seeing that pride that they have wearing the uniform compared to when you first came in?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (30:51):
I would just say the mentality shifting because the needs of the state has shifted.
Jean Marciniak (31:01):
Oh, okay. And so do you feel like the New York Guard new recruits coming in forward are more looking for a state active duty mission where it’s paid rather than being a force multiplier and providing a volunteer service to the New York National Guard?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (31:21):
I won’t go that far, but I will say I will definitely stick with the needs are changing. It’s hard to say whether or not a person coming in is really just doing it for the paycheck per se. IE, if I am a civil servant law enforcement city or other state employee where a military service, I can be given up to 60 days paid leave to serve. If you’re catching my drift where I know Captain Gaman and I, when we enlisted, it was definitely because we wanted to be in the uniform.
Jean Marciniak (31:57):
So I want to bounce forward a little bit before, earlier I mentioned that in the last 10, 15 years, the New York Yard deactivated engineering units that did a lot of great work. They had a search and rescue unit, and they had a medical unit that did, again, a lot of great work. In your own opinion, do you believe the New York Guard is going in that right direction with having kind of soldiers that are kind of jack of all trades? Or do you think they should bring back specialty units? Do you feel like they might’ve lost something?
Captain Mark Getman (32:32):
The only thing that I would say is you have to be a robust force. You still have to have those specialized units to augment certain areas. Everybody should be a generalist. Okay, great. Yes. But then you should also have your people who have your special skills. So lawyers, okay, always needed certain mission essential tasks should be looked into and brought back again. But yeah, I think, let’s put it this way, we were always the forefront and everybody looked up in New York and said, oh, look at all the great stuff that you’re doing. And then you’re like cutting, cutting, cutting, cutting and like, okay, what are you guys really doing? So besides, so I think you have to have that need for everybody should be a generalist. And then, Hey, by the way, do you know how to do a forklift? Okay, we need, so tap into each person’s individual skills, even though you may not have the specialized units, but you never know when they’re at a mission and say, Hey, we need somebody to help fix a wall. Or are you an engineer? Oh, okay. Look down their qualifications and say, Hey, we got this short-term tasking. But that’s how I would say, don’t disregard everybody’s talents, even though they’re all being trained as specialists, they may have a hidden talent that you’re not aware of, and it could be used in a situation that you never know when it could be used. Let’s put it that way.
Jean Marciniak (34:32):
I guess I only have a few questions left. One of the questions I wanted to ask both of you is what is the greatest strength of the New York art right now
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (34:41):
To be that force multiplier with the things going on globally, New York National Guard has been and will continue to be deployed globally, and we can backfill those slots in an administrative way.
Captain Mark Getman (35:02):
True. The best way to explain the National Guard, Northern New York Guard, when people would say, oh, you say State Defense Force, they’re like, what is the New York Guard? And best way to put it, as I said, we’re the auxiliary to the National Guard. So people like, oh, okay. So piggyback on what Sergeant Mike said, the biggest strength is that you have people willing to serve domestically in the state when the National Guard is called federally overseas. And the state has us as resources. So I would say the biggest benefit of having the New York Guard or any state defense force is you have people who are willing to be there and that they’ll be there when called The National Guard has to be called for federal missions at any given. Now you have a couple months notice. Sometimes you may not have notice, but emergencies come up, hurricane come up, okay, wait on National Guard, we don’t have, who can we call to help? We got National Guard Auxiliary, then New York Guard. So that’s the best way to put it is where the auxiliary to the National Guard, the same way the Civil air patrol is the auxiliary to the Air Force recognized as the official auxiliary to the United Air Force. We need to leverage that.
Jean Marciniak (36:32):
And I guess my last question for both of you is with this new 75%, 70 to 75% attendance policy that you have to meet or otherwise you’ll be discharged or put on the inactive reserve list. If that were to change, if there were waivers for family or medical or other types of circumstances where they allow you to make up the drill on a different day and they offered you a chance to come back, say, Hey, listen, we changed our policy. If you would like to come back, if you do have future situations where you do have to have a family emergency or work circumstance that came up, we’re a little bit more lenient, would you go back? Because I feel like losing just the two of you, that’s quite a great deal of skill and experience that’s been lost from the force just with just two. I can only imagine how many others.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (37:39):
I’m not going back simply because I’m not asking for a waiver. But if you had looked at the whole package, yes, between 2021 and 2023, my attendance was horrible and I will be the first to admit it. And I did admit it in front of a full bird colonel, a captain from our G one and our command sergeant major of the New York Guard, my attendance was horrible. But if you looked at my attendance from 2002 to 2020, it was near impeccable. So to fault me for a year, year and a half and forget the previous 21 years, I can’t go back.
Jean Marciniak (38:34):
Kevin, Kevin
Captain Mark Getman (38:36):
And Sergeant Mike worked under me in public affairs and we were allowed at one point or another, if you couldn’t make a drill, you could do outside of our drills and do work and it would count. And if I did say a National Guard event or is on mission for National Guard, and I said, okay, well I’m going on a Sunday to a National Guard. I won’t be on Saturday. I can’t do Saturday. Okay, fine. That counts also. Same here. I mean even if they begged and pleaded and said, we’ll make you a major, I would say, sorry. No, you know what? It is just you’re disregarding the same thing. Disregarding the hours and hours and hours. We both put in outsider drill, not even to look at that. It’s just like, okay, you know what? Grandfather us in. Okay, people who are coming in this new rule applies to you.
(39:43)
Those of you who’ve had 10 plus years, okay, stellar years. Even in the National Guard, you miss one bad year. You have one bad year of points, but that’s not a reason to kick people out because you’ve had one bad year out of 20. So I mean, I was at every single at, even when at fell on Young Kipper on the Jewish holiday that I couldn’t attend my professional development class because they scheduled at Young Kipper. I still managed to come in three days or even just to come in three days out of five or whatever. But the first year in 10 years that I missed an at, sorry, I have a federal job, I couldn’t take that time off. I couldn’t afford to take that time off. I had nobody to cover for me. So yeah, I wouldn’t go back. And I don’t regret any time that I spent and the hours and hours away from my family and doing things and driving back and forth and everything else. But until they change things, yeah, I’d rather go to a different state defense force and you could, I don’t care if that’s out there.
Jean Marciniak (41:04):
Okay, that’s interesting. So basically from what I’m getting is the New York Guard is being even more restrictive, being more unflexible than even the New York National Guard with its soldiers. So going kind of based off that, and with the soldiers that have been serving for decades in New York Guard, how do you see the New York Guard five years from now? Do you feel like it’s going to get better, it’s going to get worse. The old are going to get frustrated with this system or they’re going to be dismissed because of slightly lower attendance and not being wavered or not being understood of certain circumstances. Do you feel like it’s going to go in a positive direction? Do you feel like it’s going to go into a negative direction? And that’ll be my last question.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (41:55):
I want, honestly in my heart to believe it’s going to be better. Regardless of what happened to me. I believe in the New York Guard, I wouldn’t have done it for 20 plus years if I thought it was going to tank. Being a drill instructor teaching the values of the acronym leadership, being loyal, the duty, the self as service, the honor, the integrity, I want to believe it will only get better, but it will only get better as we stand together as leaders, whether we are noncoms or commissioned, we have to stand better and it can only get better.
Captain Mark Getman (42:57):
Yeah, I mean, I’m hoping, I’ve spoken to some other more senior officers who’ve also left, and they’ve spent also 20 years. They said to me, it’s like a pendulum. It’ll swing one way for a while and then it’ll swing back. It’ll swing one way. And I’m just hoping that it’ll swing back to the large numbers that we had and with the more flexibility that there’ll be more understanding. And look, these leaders that are there, they can’t be there forever. They all have to age out after a certain time. So maybe the next turnaround, the next generation of senior leaders, we will see it differently. And I mean, I am going to say, if it wasn’t for the New York Guard and the opportunities that I was given, I wouldn’t be where I am now doing what I am for the Army full time. So it did give me a lot of great opportunities. I am very, very thankful for all the training, for the missions, for being able to represent the state. Everything. It’s just things happen. We have to adapt to it and understand it’s the military. Sometimes you like, you don’t. And hopefully it will change for the better and even get better for the next 20 years ahead or more.
Jean Marciniak (44:27):
Okay. Awesome. Well, that’s all the questions that I have. Is there anything that I missed that you guys want to cover or anything like that?
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (44:34):
No, I’m good. No, I’m good.
Jean Marciniak (44:37):
Okay. Alright, so I’ll leave it there. Thank you guys for coming on the show and we thank you, I think state defense force.com and I thank you for your service and honestly, personally, it was a pleasure and it was an honor. And knowing both of you serving alongside you, I’m sure it’s not going to be the last time I’m going to actually speak to you, but thanks for coming on the show and hopefully we’ll maybe talk again.
Sergeant First Class Tracy Mike (45:06):
You got it. Thank you.
