Army Screens Reservists for Activation

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - The Army has begun screening about 17,000 reservists to determine which would be available to be called to active duty if needed, a spokesman said Wednesday.



The soldiers are members of the Individual Ready Reserve — those reservists who are not formally attached to any specific reserve unit.


No Individual Ready Reserve soldiers have been called up involuntarily so far, said Lt. Col. Burt Masters, a spokesman for the Army's Human Resources Command in St. Louis.


Some IRR members could be called up once the screening is finished, Masters said.


The IRR reservists are usually soldiers who have left active-duty or active reserve service but still have time left on their obligation to serve. They agree to keep themselves ready to be called up in an emergency but are not required to do the periodic training other reservists must perform
~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=693&e=8&u=/ap/20040512/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/army_reserves

[UpInArms]

1. now isn't that special?

guess those are going to be some really happy reservists (NOT!)

[Az_lefty]

2. Their running out of people to call up.

BTW, I'm in the Army Guard and I can tell you the IRR system is broken. Most of the contact information for these soldiers is way out of date. Good luck finding anyone.

[tabasco]

3. It was supposed to be WWIII before they called up the IRR.

Dammit! I'm in the IRR because I took a buyout when I left active duty. We're talking some seriously pissed off folks if they start activating IRR. But deep down inside, after Bush launched his wrongful and stupid Iraq war, I figured it was inevitable. The IRR is the last bit of cannon fodder before the draft starts. Those who argue that there will be no draft need to rethink it after the IRR gets activated.
If our government maintains that we will stay in Iraq "for years", the draft is INEVITABLE. Thanks Bush, you fucking moron.

[LizW]

6. How long after getting out can IRRs be called back?

And has this ever happened before?

Is this saying that people who thought they were finished with their service and have had no training or military contact for what? Months? Years? can be called away from their jobs and families and sent to Iraq?

[Walt Starr]

7. Generally, it's 2 years after a 6 year hitch, and the IRR was activated

for Korea.

Stop Loss has changed everything. IRR obligations have been extended under stop loss, especially for those whose MOS is rare.

[tabasco]

9. It depends.

- I "gave up" my career as an officer (which I was ready to do anyhow), in exchange for an annuity for 20 years. I have to stay in the IRR for the whole time I take money, or else resign my commission. If there's no call up, all I have to do is take a physical every five years. If they activate me, I'll go, but I won't be happy about it.
- AFAIK, it's like the other poster said, for two years after leaving active duty, you can be called up for an emergency. Little did we know that an "emergency" would be asshole bush's crazy war.

[Walt Starr]

4. Oops, looks like that bottom of the barrel is being SCRAPED!

They may not make it to November before they have to activate a draft.

[ithacan]

5. there was an army reserve recruiter at the mall here

this past weekend and he was not being mobbed by people. One freeper-like clerk asked him how things were going, he said real slow, the freeper made remarks disparaging the patriotism of people in this area (but of course he himself did not sign up...)

This whole thing has been a disaster. Bush and company have f***ed up big time. I cannot believe anyone would see them as strong on defense and security after these screwups!

[Redleg]

8. Thank God I left the IRR in 1999!

Whoo! I was afraid it would come to this. Bush is so damned afraid to talk about reinstating the draft.

[Hand]

13. He's already done it...

Selectively, of course, but hauling basically civilian National Guard and Reservists into indefinite overseas combat deployment without adequate training or equipment... that's a draft, as Mark Shields observed. It's also a recipe for failure.

[Redleg]

14. I agree. It's politically expedient for Bush to do so.

What a sorry prick he is.

[Hand]

16. I agree, too...

He's a sorry prick indeed... maybe that's why he finds it so hard to say "I'm sorry."

"evilgrin:

[AlCzervik]

10. Maybe the should have screened

their policies a little better. I wished they screened better when Boykin enlisted.

[Earth_First]

11. Active Duty -> Reserve/National Guard -> IRR -> ?

Something is up when they are screening IRR soldiers, of which I happen to be...

[Redleg]

15. I agree- something big must be coming up.

Good luck to you.

[alfredo]

12. I wonder about people with critical MOS's I was told I could be called

back in during a national emergency. It has been decades, but people in my MOS are being recruited by certain government agencies.

I have a feeling some groups are going back to orphan technology because the last of the experts have forgotten the technology, and/or dying off. That could give them a temporary advantage.

I have no special knowledge of that, just a hunch.

[dusty64]

17. This is NOT good news,

but if they have secret plans for the draft (and I believe they do), this NEEDS to come out BEFORE the election.