From Holden:

As his role model did before him, George Bush is counting on the aged to fight his endless war:

Guy Vafiadis has visions of humping it over an obstacle course with the help of a walker and a glass of Metamucil.

The 50-year-old Indiana National Guardsman recently learned his enlistment was unilaterally extended by the military until Dec. 24, 2031.

[snip]

“I was like, ‘Hold on, I’ll be 76 years old,’ ” he said.

Military officials insist Christmas Eve 2031 is an arbitrary de-commission date assigned to all soldiers involuntarily retained in advance of their units being activated.

[snip]

But Vafiadis, who had been planning to retire May 27 after his voluntary one-year extension lapsed, remains incredulous.

For him, the 27-year extension is simply the most absurd in a series of affronts that have shaken his faith in the National Guard.

“I don’t go along with this random number nonsense,” he said.

Vafiadis’ extension form indicates he refused to sign up for the additional time, so the unit’s brass sent the order on without his acquiescence.

Vafiadis insists nobody ever approached him about the “stop loss” order, which ended retirements from the battalion prior to the unit’s activation.

“If I hadn’t seen it in my file, I wouldn’t have known,” he said.

What’s worse, several full-time officers in the 113th apparently got tipped off that deployment was imminent. They retired just before the stop loss order took effect, according to Vafiadis.

“I was like, ‘What about Guy?’ ” he said. “I’ve put in my time, I’d like to retire, too.”

[snip]

“All my life I thought it was a privilege to serve, that there was honor in it,” he said.

“Now, I see all these guys getting their tours extended in Iraq, see how they’re changing the rules as they go, and it disgusts me. It makes me ashamed I ever put on a uniform.”