Aussie E
06-30-2004, 02:03 PM
from http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10007723%255E1702,00.html
US Army calls up reservists
By Robert Burns in Washington
July 01, 2004
FOR the first time in more than a decade, the US Army is forcing thousands of former soldiers back into uniform, a reflection of the strain on the service from long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army officials today announced that 5674 former soldiers - mostly people who recently left the service and have up-to-date skills in military policing, engineering, logistics, medicine or transportation - will be assigned to National Guard and Reserve units that are scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The first notifications are to be received on July 6.
They will be put on active duty for a minimum of 12 months and most likely for 18 months. The Pentagon's policy is not to keep troops in Iraq or Afghanistan for more than 12 months.
Robert Smiley, the Army secretary's principal aide on troop training and mobilisation, told a Pentagon news conference that more former soldiers, in addition to the 5674, are likely to get called up next year. He said he could not estimate the number but would not rule out that it would be thousands.
Colonel Debra A Cook, commander of the Army Human Resources Command, told reporters that although former soldiers in the reserve pool known as the Individual Ready Reserve are required to verify by mail every year that they are physically fit, many will be surprised to get called for Iraq duty.
"There's going to be soldiers who, yes, will be shocked," she said.
People in the Individual Ready Reserve are distinct from the National Guard and Reserve because they do not perform regularly scheduled training and are not paid as reservists, but they are eligible to be recalled in an emergency because their active duty hitches did not complete the service obligation in their enlistment contracts.
It is the first sizable activation of the Individual Ready Reserve since the 1991 Gulf War, though several hundred people have voluntarily returned to service since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The Army is targeting its recall on those who recently left the service and thus have fresher skills than retirees. Any time the military calls on its reservists for wartime duty, political implications arise because of the disruption to civilian lives and businesses. In this case, it may reinforce the perception among some that Iraq is stretching the Army too far.
Representative Rick Larsen, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday that dipping into the Individual Ready Reserve amounts to conscripting people to fight in Iraq.
"If there was any doubt that this administration was conducting a pseudo-draft, this call-up should dispel that doubt," Mr Larsen said.
The Army is so stretched for manpower that in April it broke a promise to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that they would not have to serve more than 12 months in Iraq. It also has extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.
US Army calls up reservists
By Robert Burns in Washington
July 01, 2004
FOR the first time in more than a decade, the US Army is forcing thousands of former soldiers back into uniform, a reflection of the strain on the service from long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army officials today announced that 5674 former soldiers - mostly people who recently left the service and have up-to-date skills in military policing, engineering, logistics, medicine or transportation - will be assigned to National Guard and Reserve units that are scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The first notifications are to be received on July 6.
They will be put on active duty for a minimum of 12 months and most likely for 18 months. The Pentagon's policy is not to keep troops in Iraq or Afghanistan for more than 12 months.
Robert Smiley, the Army secretary's principal aide on troop training and mobilisation, told a Pentagon news conference that more former soldiers, in addition to the 5674, are likely to get called up next year. He said he could not estimate the number but would not rule out that it would be thousands.
Colonel Debra A Cook, commander of the Army Human Resources Command, told reporters that although former soldiers in the reserve pool known as the Individual Ready Reserve are required to verify by mail every year that they are physically fit, many will be surprised to get called for Iraq duty.
"There's going to be soldiers who, yes, will be shocked," she said.
People in the Individual Ready Reserve are distinct from the National Guard and Reserve because they do not perform regularly scheduled training and are not paid as reservists, but they are eligible to be recalled in an emergency because their active duty hitches did not complete the service obligation in their enlistment contracts.
It is the first sizable activation of the Individual Ready Reserve since the 1991 Gulf War, though several hundred people have voluntarily returned to service since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The Army is targeting its recall on those who recently left the service and thus have fresher skills than retirees. Any time the military calls on its reservists for wartime duty, political implications arise because of the disruption to civilian lives and businesses. In this case, it may reinforce the perception among some that Iraq is stretching the Army too far.
Representative Rick Larsen, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday that dipping into the Individual Ready Reserve amounts to conscripting people to fight in Iraq.
"If there was any doubt that this administration was conducting a pseudo-draft, this call-up should dispel that doubt," Mr Larsen said.
The Army is so stretched for manpower that in April it broke a promise to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that they would not have to serve more than 12 months in Iraq. It also has extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.