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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Amanda Bellew

Aired September 27, 2003 - 09:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: The Pentagon is activating another 10,000 National Guard troops for duty in Iraq. And it put another 5,000 on alert for likely callup. Earlier this week, in Washington, the U.S. central commander in Iraq, General John Abizaid, told a Senate hearing that he could not rule out calling up additional troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: One thing I'd like for you to clarify. It suggests in those headlines that we're going to be having an increased number of American troops in Iraq, and those would be Guard and reservists. As I understand it, it's saying in the future, to replace existing troops, we may need to call up more Guard and reservists. Can you clarify that?

LT. GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CENTRAL COMMANDER IN IRAQ: Sure. In order to rotate the troops that are there, we will call up additional Guard and reserves. It will not increase the overall number of troops.

SESSIONS: So this is -- the headline that suggests we're calling up more Guard and reservists because we're having a terrible time in Iraq, and we've got to increase our troop strength, is not accurate?

That is not accurate. But as you know, senator, we cannot do the job without the Guard and the reserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: The total number of reserve and National Guard troops on active duty right now, 170,465.

The lengthy deployment of military reservists in Iraq is hitting hard on the homefront, as you may imagine.

Joining now on the phone from Wakaroosa (ph), Kansas is Amanda Bellew, wife of an Army reservist and the creator of the Web site 129bringthemhome.com.

Amanda, thanks very much for joining us. And firstly, I hope I got the name of the town right, is that correct?

AMANDA BELLEW, 129BRINGTHEMHOME.COM (on phone): Yes, but I didn't create it.

CALLEBS: OK. Let's, let's just first talk about how it got the name. Your husband serves in the 129th, correct?

BELLEW: Yes, he does.

CALLEBS: And interesting story about you. You had been scheduled to get married this month, but moved that ahead several months, because you knew he was going to be sent overseas.

BELLEW: Right, right. He was sent to Fort Riley here in Kansas in January. And finally, the last week of February, we just said, Let's do it. And so we planned our wedding in eight days.

CALLEBS: Wow.

BELLEW: And we were married March 1. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

CALLEBS: OK.

BELLEW: It turned out wonderful. And we're happy and in love, so...

CALLEBS: And you'd just like to see him again, right?

BELLEW: Oh, yes, definitely.

CALLEBS: He's with the 129th Transportation Company. As I understand it, he drives one of those big rigs that hauls tanks and other heavy-duty hardware.

BELLEW: Right, yes. It's called heavy equipment transportation. It's very large.

CALLEBS: All right. Now, initially, you had hoped to see him by January of 2004. How is that looking?

BELLEW: Not good right now. With this new extension, it affects our troops because -- and many others. They were at Fort Riley away from home for three months, and now that's pretty much not going to count for anything, because the new policy is boots on ground. And so that would be April of '04 at the earliest now.

CALLEBS: Now, tell me what you think about the way events have unfolded in the last several months in Iraq. Do you see what is going on now as perhaps a failed effort by the Bush administration, simply underestimating the amount of work, the amount of manpower it would take to stable Iraq in a postwar environment? And do you blame the administration for the fact your husband is going to be over there so long?

BELLEW: No, no. I'm not in the pointing-fingers or the blame game. I think that we did need to do this. I agree with the Bush administration. I think that the Hussein regime did need to be brought down. I just -- I disagree with the way that National Guard and reservists are being treated at this time. They're not being treated -- they are active duty right now, and they're not being treated like active duty.

CALLEBS: Explain.

BELLEW: Active duty soldiers can ETS with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the time of service, they can get out. When their time of service is up, they can get out. If they were supposed to retire, they can get out. When their date comes, they can leave.

Our husbands, National Guard and reserve, have stop-locks (ph) on right now. My husband's day out is December 19. When that date comes and passes, he can't leave. He's still stuck there. We have other soldiers who their date has already passed, and they're still there because of stop-lock.

CALLEBS: They're still there. Now, I know you get a lot of e- mails on the Web site. And I know that you have spoken with a lot of other women around the country who are in a similar position as you.

BELLEW: Right.

CALLEBS: To any degree, have you heard, This is sour grapes on your part? You knew what life was going to be like when your husband enlisted, and the...

BELLEW: Oh, of course.

CALLEBS: ... and the fact that, you know, you got the paycheck, and he served one weekend a month, what do you say to all that?

BELLEW: Of course, yes. You know, we have gotten, "Oh, they signed up for this," and, you know, whatnot. They did not sign up as reserves, for -- To clarify, my husband did not sign up for government aid in any sort. He did not sign up for college money. He signed up because he wanted to serve his country. His father was in the Air Force, and retired out of the Air Force.

And he signed because he wanted to serve his country. But what people need to understand is, being reservists, yes, you should expect this. But not for up to a two-year period. Part of being a reservist is that you still have a civilian life. You have a family, you have friends.

CALLEBS: Right.

BELLEW: And you have a job. You know, these people -- these employers need to be thought about, because the employers have to keep a reservist's job for however long he is gone. And then, you know, this is putting the employers in a tight spot, because they're having to hire temp or they're not hiring people.

Or there are soldiers who have their own business who are not making it.

CALLEBS: OK... BELLEW: And then the whole other aspect of that is, many of these soldiers make a lot more money with their civilian job. And so families are in a little bit of crisis...

CALLEBS: Right.

BELLEW: ... sometimes with this new pay.

CALLEBS: Amanda Bellew, you make a very compelling case. I would hate to be the officer on the other end whose ear you bend on occasion, I'm sure. Your husband, Specialist Jason Bellew, we hope you see him soon. And best of luck to you.

BELLEW: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 27, 2003 - 09:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: The Pentagon is activating another 10,000 National Guard troops for duty in Iraq. And it put another 5,000 on alert for likely callup. Earlier this week, in Washington, the U.S. central commander in Iraq, General John Abizaid, told a Senate hearing that he could not rule out calling up additional troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: One thing I'd like for you to clarify. It suggests in those headlines that we're going to be having an increased number of American troops in Iraq, and those would be Guard and reservists. As I understand it, it's saying in the future, to replace existing troops, we may need to call up more Guard and reservists. Can you clarify that?

LT. GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CENTRAL COMMANDER IN IRAQ: Sure. In order to rotate the troops that are there, we will call up additional Guard and reserves. It will not increase the overall number of troops.

SESSIONS: So this is -- the headline that suggests we're calling up more Guard and reservists because we're having a terrible time in Iraq, and we've got to increase our troop strength, is not accurate?

That is not accurate. But as you know, senator, we cannot do the job without the Guard and the reserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: The total number of reserve and National Guard troops on active duty right now, 170,465.

The lengthy deployment of military reservists in Iraq is hitting hard on the homefront, as you may imagine.

Joining now on the phone from Wakaroosa (ph), Kansas is Amanda Bellew, wife of an Army reservist and the creator of the Web site 129bringthemhome.com.

Amanda, thanks very much for joining us. And firstly, I hope I got the name of the town right, is that correct?

AMANDA BELLEW, 129BRINGTHEMHOME.COM (on phone): Yes, but I didn't create it.

CALLEBS: OK. Let's, let's just first talk about how it got the name. Your husband serves in the 129th, correct?

BELLEW: Yes, he does.

CALLEBS: And interesting story about you. You had been scheduled to get married this month, but moved that ahead several months, because you knew he was going to be sent overseas.

BELLEW: Right, right. He was sent to Fort Riley here in Kansas in January. And finally, the last week of February, we just said, Let's do it. And so we planned our wedding in eight days.

CALLEBS: Wow.

BELLEW: And we were married March 1. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

CALLEBS: OK.

BELLEW: It turned out wonderful. And we're happy and in love, so...

CALLEBS: And you'd just like to see him again, right?

BELLEW: Oh, yes, definitely.

CALLEBS: He's with the 129th Transportation Company. As I understand it, he drives one of those big rigs that hauls tanks and other heavy-duty hardware.

BELLEW: Right, yes. It's called heavy equipment transportation. It's very large.

CALLEBS: All right. Now, initially, you had hoped to see him by January of 2004. How is that looking?

BELLEW: Not good right now. With this new extension, it affects our troops because -- and many others. They were at Fort Riley away from home for three months, and now that's pretty much not going to count for anything, because the new policy is boots on ground. And so that would be April of '04 at the earliest now.

CALLEBS: Now, tell me what you think about the way events have unfolded in the last several months in Iraq. Do you see what is going on now as perhaps a failed effort by the Bush administration, simply underestimating the amount of work, the amount of manpower it would take to stable Iraq in a postwar environment? And do you blame the administration for the fact your husband is going to be over there so long?

BELLEW: No, no. I'm not in the pointing-fingers or the blame game. I think that we did need to do this. I agree with the Bush administration. I think that the Hussein regime did need to be brought down. I just -- I disagree with the way that National Guard and reservists are being treated at this time. They're not being treated -- they are active duty right now, and they're not being treated like active duty.

CALLEBS: Explain.

BELLEW: Active duty soldiers can ETS with (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the time of service, they can get out. When their time of service is up, they can get out. If they were supposed to retire, they can get out. When their date comes, they can leave.

Our husbands, National Guard and reserve, have stop-locks (ph) on right now. My husband's day out is December 19. When that date comes and passes, he can't leave. He's still stuck there. We have other soldiers who their date has already passed, and they're still there because of stop-lock.

CALLEBS: They're still there. Now, I know you get a lot of e- mails on the Web site. And I know that you have spoken with a lot of other women around the country who are in a similar position as you.

BELLEW: Right.

CALLEBS: To any degree, have you heard, This is sour grapes on your part? You knew what life was going to be like when your husband enlisted, and the...

BELLEW: Oh, of course.

CALLEBS: ... and the fact that, you know, you got the paycheck, and he served one weekend a month, what do you say to all that?

BELLEW: Of course, yes. You know, we have gotten, "Oh, they signed up for this," and, you know, whatnot. They did not sign up as reserves, for -- To clarify, my husband did not sign up for government aid in any sort. He did not sign up for college money. He signed up because he wanted to serve his country. His father was in the Air Force, and retired out of the Air Force.

And he signed because he wanted to serve his country. But what people need to understand is, being reservists, yes, you should expect this. But not for up to a two-year period. Part of being a reservist is that you still have a civilian life. You have a family, you have friends.

CALLEBS: Right.

BELLEW: And you have a job. You know, these people -- these employers need to be thought about, because the employers have to keep a reservist's job for however long he is gone. And then, you know, this is putting the employers in a tight spot, because they're having to hire temp or they're not hiring people.

Or there are soldiers who have their own business who are not making it.

CALLEBS: OK... BELLEW: And then the whole other aspect of that is, many of these soldiers make a lot more money with their civilian job. And so families are in a little bit of crisis...

CALLEBS: Right.

BELLEW: ... sometimes with this new pay.

CALLEBS: Amanda Bellew, you make a very compelling case. I would hate to be the officer on the other end whose ear you bend on occasion, I'm sure. Your husband, Specialist Jason Bellew, we hope you see him soon. And best of luck to you.

BELLEW: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com