Government does not get that soldiers are on loan from families

It is not a 9-5 job. It is not a job where you get to decide where you are transferred to or when. It is not a job where you get to decide when you want vacation or even when you get to see your family. They belonged to their family first and then they loaned their son/daughter/husband/wife/Dad/Mom to the government for the safe keeping of the rest of us.  They don't get to go home for the birth of their children or for any happy occasions they want to be a part of.  These things do on without them.  When it comes to a crisis in the family, they are supposed to get them home. This point the government fails to remember on a constant basis.

John Lidster is one of example of this. He was serving in South Korea when his Mom was put on life support. The Red Cross managed to get him leave put now he owes the government for the cost of getting him home.

Soldier helped by Red Cross, indebt to government
by Brody O'Connell
TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Monday on 7/4 News, we told you about a U.S. soldier who rushed home on Christmas day to see his sick mother.

John Lidster is currently serving in South Korea. His mother is on life support at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. It cost Lidster $2,800 to get back to home to visit his mom.
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Soldier helped by Red Cross, indebt to governmen

As you can see here, he didn't make it all the way without the help of the State Troopers and the Patriot Guard Riders.

Soldier rushed home to see ill mother
by Brody O'Connell
TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- John Lidster is a soldier in the United States army. He is serving in South Korea.

Halfway around the world, his mother is on life support at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

On Christmas day, he was flown into Los Angeles, California from South Korea. He was going home to see his mother.

Lidster was supposed to catch a connector flight to Chicago, but after a mix-up in customs, he missed his flight. That’s when the Patriot Guard was contacted. They arranged for Lidster to get on a later flight to Chicago. He landed just before 9 p.m. Saturday night.

From Chicago, a Patriot Guard member drove him to the Indiana state line, where he was met by an Indiana State Trooper.

Lidster was then rushed to the Michigan state line and a Patriot Guard member drove him back to Traverse City.

John Lidster arrived at Munson Medical Center at 3:45 Sunday morning. There were 13 Patriot Guard members waiting for him in a sea of American flags.
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Soldier rushed home to see ill mother

The questions this report leaves could go on forever without answers and sadly without changes. Where was the military "family" the DOD has? Where were the National Guards? Where were all the service organizations that have been operating across the country for generations? Why did it take the Patriot Guard Riders and the State Troopers to step up and get this soldier home to see his dying Mom?

There are always stories about heroes and villains. Not hard to guess which is which in this story.