Post 9/11 is a New World for Military Reserves

When Brendan Hamm joined the Marine reserves in January 2000, it was a different world.

Hamm joined the reserves after his freshman year at Northeastern University. At that time, the Marines were understaffed and some of those joining were doing so as an alternative to jail time. But that all changed on Sept. 11, 2001.

“In terms of the attitude most of the guys I went overseas with joined to go fight because of 9/11," Hamm said. "It was a complete change.”

For many reserves, though they take great pride in their service, they've provided far more to the military than they expected, Hamm said.

"Reserves are getting burnt out, the older guys weren’t planning on deploying so much," he said. "Reserves don’t plan on going every two years, it reaked havok on my normal life, work and everything."

Hamm, a Medford resident, spent seven months in Iraq in 2006, serving as a platoon seargant in the Marines. It was his second tour, having previously gone to Okinawa. Before U.S. troops became involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, his platoon was a cold weather unit. It hadn't been deployed in ten years.

His unit recently left for Afghanistan, but he stayed home with an arthritic knee, and he's now left to decide whether to continue with the reserves. He works as a manager at Ratheon, where he helps develop some of the military devices he has used overseas. And he got married earlier this year.

"I figured now wasn’t the time to deploy again," he said. "So I’m skipping this one and need to figure oiut what I’m going to do."