Rare Reserve Call Up

[spotbird]

The U.S. Armed Forces are calling to active duty the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). These are soldiers in the reserve who are not assigned to a unit (and are thus not paid), but are still serving out there remaining time (that they signed up for) in the reserves or active duty. Until their time is expired, they are liable to call up. Some are going to be called up. This is rarely done.

more

http://www.strategypage.com//fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=HTPARA.HTM

[Doosh]

1. who's next? The Boy Scouts?

[NNN0LHI]

2. The draft is next n/t

[UpInArms]

6. I agree, Don - it is getting downright

chilly -

I do feel a draft coming on.

[Warpy]

9. Relax

They'll call up active Reserves, inactive Reserves, anybody who has ever been through basic training, just to avoid a draft before the election.

If Idiot cheats his way back in, expect a draft. It is inevitable. He has dreams of Empire, and needs more working class bodies to put into harms way to accomplish it.

[DarkPhenyx]

7. And right after that...

...the Senior class of the acadamies and possibly the ROTC Bns

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Hmm this is the Draft

Most of those troops don't want back in.

By definition this is already a draft

[truthseeker1]

18. I'd think the military would be better off with 18-year olds

than 35-year olds who got out for a reason and DEFINITELY don't want to go back!!

Canada is about to get a whole lotta new visitors....

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. They are doing all they can

to avoid a general draft before the election

My feeling is, they will have no choice but to get one BEFORE November, and it has to do with the casualties and troop needs

Our "strategic geniouses" at DoD, yep the civilian leadership, have taken away all strategic depth from our military...

Yep I am a cynic

[JoFerret]

23. Never good to have 18 year olds.

Too young. Too immature to make judgment calls (Yeah yeah, I know, plenty of exceptions.) Too likely to get creative when poorly led.

[truthseeker1]

26. I'm not saying it's a good thing FOR them, but as far as the military is

concerned, better to have young, fresh, shapeable minds than older ones that are already set in their ways and have their own way of doing things and won't take orders as well as the younger ones.

[Nlighten1]

13. I was part of the last IRR callup back in 91

The funny thing is when all the talk of war started I told all my friends that they would call up the Boy Scouts before they called up the IRR.

[bluestateguy]

3. They are doing everything they can to avoid a draft before the election

Calling up reserves, stop-losses, poaching troops from Korea, using the IRS to track down reservists, National Guard.

Give the Baby Bush 4 more years he and his neocon crowd will interpret that as a mandate for the whole PNAC blueprint, which will require a draft.

[crossroads]

31. They are waiting to impliment a draft next June!

I read somewhere recently that 15 million is being used to put the forces in place to make a dreaft next June. It is not in their interest to push it thru now because of the election.
:kick:

[Zhade]

34. I believe the number is $26 million.

Check out www.bushdraft.com for more info on a draft.

Can anyone explain to me exactly how the IRR works? How long must one have served and been out to be recalled? How long does the 'on-call' status last? I have friends and family who may or may not be affected, and would like to know more. Does anyone have any info?

[steely]

38. Layers upon layers

If I recall, and I'll try to use an Army example to address your question as to how it works... If you signed up for (enlisted) 3 years, you used to automatically carry a 6 year committment. You'd finish you initial obligation (3) as RA (Regular Army), and then you'd return to civilian life, I think, as IR - Inactive Reserve. There were no duty requirements, no pay, etc, but your name was retained.

If however, you preferred Reserves, and you had to specifically address this when you signed, you'd carry the same 6 yr ("universal" committment - I think they called it), and a portion or probably all of it had to be satisfied at a local reserve unit a wknd/mo with 2 weeks in the summer.

Regular army types usually consider themselves a cut above reservists, and do not generally "take" to reservist type duties because they are not as interesting, active, or disciplined enough. I think therefore they may not be prone to being on IRR status.

Beyond RA, USAR, and IR is IRR or inidividual ready reserves - these are people who for the most part have fulfilled all of their obligations (the whole 6 or how ever many years the universal committment is), and may request transfer to the IRR (mostly thru reserves to begin with). The good part about the IRR is that is a self disciplined type of track, the soldier/officer keeps in touch with no units, but does however maintain correspondance with a personnel officer in St. Louis.

The requirement here is that the soldier must request 2 weeks of (Federal) training (summer camp). These "camps" provide updates and training in the soldiers area of specialty (not always). The Big upside here is that the soldier continues to earn the minimum for a full qualifying retirement years worth of "points". The 2 weeks is not enough however, and he or she may request additional temporary training (more blobs of weeks with pay)... training here may actually be an assignment. Further, to earn a decent years worth of points, the soldier may (should) elect correspondance training, and for that they may get a point for every so-many hours of course work.
This point alone helps people who are very close to meeting their full retirment status if for some reason they were not able to complete the 20 or now, 30? years it takes to be qualified for pension upon reaching 60 something. And you have to be a little vigilant if you want to keep in shape. People with their 20 yr letter may correct my explanation. I apologize if I mangled this.

[Zhade]

42. Thanks for the information!

So, if I'm understanding this right, it's unlikely my dad could get called up (did 24 years, has been out for maybe 8 years), but likely that my friends at work could be called up (one's been out for two years, maybe).

I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

[beyurslf]

4. Is it getting DRAFTy in here?

[truthseeker1]

5. HOLY crap - noooooooo!

Time to load up the car and head to Canada. I can't believe it's down to this.

[4_Legs_Good]

8. Will a new draft include women?

Just curious. It's never been done before, has it (since women have been allowed in the military)?

david

[Alerter_]

10. they might draft people with skills in health care and technology

Women will be eligible to be drafted under the "special skills" draft. They won't be putting 35 year old Special Skills draftees on the front line though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. I tell you this

if there is a draft I WILL INSIST that it includes women... end of discusion

Oh and yes been there done that, so don't even start.

If we need one, I want ALL to serve, the children of Senators and WOMMEN...

[JoFerret]

27. Any draft

should be class neutral, money neutral, influence neutral, sex neutral, sexual identity neutral. Filtered for psychopaths, serial killers, sexual perverts and sadists. And then let's see what happens.

[m-jean03]

30. You think I could get a DU admin to vouch for my

being a sexual pervert? :7

[jpgray]

35. Fuck that, let the perverts in. Magic Rat dies with the rest of us

:D

[Dogmudgeon]

11. Things must look grim for the DoD

I suspect they've been withholding a lot of bad news from us "in the interest of national defense" about the state of our active duty troops and the prospect of more conflict.

If they're facing rock-bottom morale, mental health problems relating to FUD (fear, uncertainty, and dread), petty insubordination, off-duty griping and grumbling, large numbers of minor infractions of the UCMJ (like "adultery" or military dress violations), and the prospect of a plummeting re-enlistment rate, the brass is probably going through Imodium like it was candy.

And yet the one unexpressable idea is that maybe the troops have not been treated well. The front-line soldiers in Iraq don't even have adequate armor for their vehicles; stories abounded late last year of food shortages for the grunts while the REMFs (Rear Echeleon Mother Fluffers) lived luxuriously in Saddam's old palaces; and they are all aware of the stories of wounded combat veterans who are maltreated at veterans' hospitals -- and then sent huge bills for services rendered.

It's entirely possible that our military is facing a period of unparallelled crisis. Doves and Hawks alike should be sounding the alarm.

And they probably are, but who is covering it?

--bkl

[nolabels]

21. Didn't you mean "in the interest of the Bush defense"

We don't even get to hear about the wounded. I keep on saying AWOL-Fraud is way worse then some want to understand



For the past twelve years, George W. Bush has had to endure charges that he didn't take the final two years of his Guard service as seriously as duty required. (For updated timeline, click here.) And the two witnesses who have come forward in support so far haven't exactly cleared things up. We at the Town Hall believe that with everything he has on his plate, Mr. Bush shouldn't have to contend with attacks on the National Guard, which is serving so bravely in Iraq. And we're willing to back up our support with cold, hard cash.
(snip)

http://doonesbury.msn.com/strip/bush_guard.html
http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/

[bedtimeforbonzo]

12. some IRR guys I know were called up 2 years ago

One marine & a couple of navy MAAs. I'm not sure how rare it is. MAAs in particular got sucked up.

[truthseeker1]

14. what's an MAA?

My husband is IRR but he's Air Force so we thought he would never get called back.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

15. Master At Arms

similarly, army MPs and whatever the airforce calls it's security troops got hit heavy a couple of years ago. IRR callups are for cherry-picking specialties, so non-critical jobs are pretty safe.

[Kimber Scott]

19. It's not time they've "signed up for."

When I left the Army the first time, after 4 years, I was assigned to an IRR unit in St. Louis - I live in Arizona. I was told I "owed" them a total of 6 years. I only signed up for 4. Anyway, I never had to do anything, or go anywhere, for that extra two year period - I actually joined the Army again, before two years had gone by, but even if I hadn't, I wouldn't have had to do anything unless they called me. The point I'm trying to make, though, is I never knew I would "owe" them two years after completing my enlistment. It was probably in the "fine print."

[Nlighten1]

22. I think it is...

When you enlist now you sign an 8 year contract. It is up to you how you spend those 8 years...your choices are

1. Active Duty
2. Reserves/National Guard
3. Inactive Reserves (after your other term is finished)

[truthseeker1]

24. My husband didn't know about it either until AFTER he got out

and HE was a recruiter for three years for crying out loud!!! They do NOT tell recruits this important information!

[atreides1]

28. It was In the fine print.

When I enlisted in 1978 there was a 6 year commitment, then it was changed to 8 years. Lucky for me I was grandfathered, but it didn't matter because I did a total of 13 years on active duty.

I have now been out of the service for 13 years, am 45 years old, and my last MOS, which was logistics, is now being done by KBR. So for me
at this point in time, I'm not even being considered for reactivation.
And I am now a member of my local draft board, and have been since February of this year.


My son is a convicted felon, so unless they do a drastic change of the rules he won't be going either, and neither of my daughters have
any special skill training to speak of, so at this point both of them are safe. But there may come a time when it won't matter.

[HootieMcBoob]

39. 6 years regular reserves

and 2 years IRR for your full 8 years. Those last two years you can still get called up. I remember reading about guys during gulf 1 who were called up from IRR - all out of shape and long haired :) I don't think any of them were sent overseas though. If what I remember is correct they were mostly activated for stateside duty. That might not be the case this time since they need so many people in Iraq.

I got my honorable discharge in '99. Thankfully most of my time was during the Clinton years.

[kainah]

25. This news was reported last week

and then, on Thursday, there was an article out of Oregon -- the website was headed "Oregon Live" -- don't know whether it was a TV station or what -- that said that this wasn't accurate. That, after about 1500 soldiers had signed up, thinking they were in imminent danger of being sent to Iraq, the military said, "Oh, we never said that."

So, is this a resurrection of the first story or another change of mind on their part???

[5thGenDemocrat]

41. Re: Oregon Live

That's the website for the Portland Oregonian -- one of the Newhouse papers (I was a drone for Booth/Newhouse while at the Bay City Times here in Michigan).
John
And, oh yeah -- I'm 47 and my Army job code (72E20, Communications Center Specialist) doesn't even exist anymore. I guess the boys are just going to have to have their current/next war without me.

[daleo]

29. Over 100 thousand fresh pawns for Bush to play with

From the article:

"There are 118,000 men and women in the IRR."

Another interesting bit in the source (sound much like mercenaries?):

"May 18, 2004: The U.S. Department of Defense is still looking for civilians with combat skills for work in Iraq and Afghanistan. A recent solicitation by Blackwater Security Consulting sought qualified candidates for “high risk environments.” The company is seeking people for hostage rescue, and providing security for senior people. In general, candidates are being sought who have special operations, intelligence, and law enforcement experience, with skills in the areas of Hostage Rescue, Close Quarter Battle, Structure Penetration, Intelligence Collection, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Forward Observer/Call-for-Fire, Reconnaissance and Surveillance, Sniper/Counter-Sniper Operations, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure Operations, Counter-narcotics/Counterterrorist Operations, Small Unit Tactics, Raid Conduct and Training, Medic, Communications.
...
These jobs pay over $100,000 a year, plus benefits, depending on skill and experience."

[Heddi]

32. Some things in this article bug me (nothing really important, tho)

Look at this sentence:

"These are soldiers in the reserve who are not assigned to a unit (and are thus not paid), but are still serving out there remaining time ..."

That should be THEIR remaining time...

---

"Until their time is expired, they are liable to call up. "

That should be "They are liable to BE CALLED UP"

---

Not that I don't trust this source, but there's nothing in the story that says where the writer got their information. No by-line, or credit to 'anonymous sources'.....

Both my husband and I worked in Journalism/Newspapers/etc. for many years, and I have just learned through experience that poorly written articles, articles that aren't thoroughly proofread, articles that have no sources listed---all things that stand out to me in this article---are a bit hard to swallow as truth.


Again, I'm not doubting the story at all. I'm sure that IRR forces are being called up. I just wish that the writer had used spell check or had someone do a spelling/grammar check for them before they submitted this article for publication. It looks like bad writing/journalism, which will turn many people off to the message.

[teryang]

33. most articles lately are bad journalism

...and are loaded with bias and unsupported allegations from unidentified sources. However, it is only common sense and logic which dictate that the manpower situation in the Armed Forces particularly concerning ground forces is desperate. They have been maintaining a charade with the majority of the force projection capability committed to one theater without an equivalent number of troops being trained stateside to replace deployed forces on a regular basis.

This problem was anticipated from before the outset of the conflict but is never discussed by the subservient press.

[nolabels]

36. I am only a truck mechanic and have no want or claim for any of ..........

this thing they call Journalism. I only am here because I see some major manipulations going on.I also did poorly during most of my schooling so this spell check / syntax / grammar stuff is difficult. I like to listen what people have to say though. I would say you have got to figure who they are giving these jobs to and what the editors expect or want.

For all we know some wing nut passed this story on to get people riled up. But then again we have empirical evidence from others things going on that there is a good chance this is true. Others ideas are also plentiful to be sure. Like testing the waters for one. Who knows what is true?

[Rex]

37. Thank Zod my time in the IRR was up last October.

I was wondering how long the BFEE would go before they taped the IRR pool.

[Columbia]

40. Not that rare

Happened back in '91 and again in '03.