Army retiree wants back in

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — A man who turned 60 and was forced to leave the Army because of a retirement policy said he wants the military to take him back for another tour in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Austin Asher, a former master sergeant, retired in 2007 after serving 31 years in the Army, National Guard and Army Reserves, including two tours of Iraq.

He’s applied for active duty under the Army’s Retiree Recall Program and wants to go back to the Middle East to reassume his second-deployment role as a mess sergeant who ran chow halls serving up to 3,500 meals daily.

Asher, who lives in suburban Cleveland, gets pensions from the military and from his 30 years working for Ford Motor Co. but said he’d be willing to take a demotion and corresponding pay cut to get back in.

“The Army can take the pension back. Money is not an issue with me,” he said. “Just give me soldiers. Give me some food and let me feed them.”

Asher’s application is being reviewed by the Army’s Human Resources Command in St. Louis, said Master Sgt. Keith O’Donnell. More than 2,900 former soldiers — about a third over age 60 — have volunteered for the Retiree Recall Program, and about 585 are back on duty, he said.

The Army accepts all applications but recalls only those whose skills needed for current operations, O’Donnell said. Recalls commonly involve medical professionals and people with skills in civil affairs and operations.

Asher said his desire to return to duty may be a lingering legacy of his late brother, Carl, an Army soldier who served in Vietnam who had a bad case of post-traumatic stress disorder that persisted until his death in 1994.

“It’s like he got killed in Vietnam but died in Cleveland,” Asher said.

Asher served stateside after being drafted in 1967. “I always felt like I wasn’t doing my share. I always told Carl I’d make him proud,” he said.

When Asher’s wife of 30 years, Jane, was asked how she felt about his possible return to duty, she replied, “Actually I don’t know, because I really don’t think it’ll happen. I guess I’m kind of in denial.”

Their nine children — four serving in the military — don’t believe it either, she said. “Most of them feel he’s already done his duty and shouldn’t have to do it again.”

But Asher’s heart beats eight hours ahead, on Iraqi time.

“In my mind’s eye, I still see those kids,” he said. “I see the desert. I see the sweat. I see the tears and fears. I got thousands of sons and daughters out there.”