Marines pull reservists for active duty (Individual Ready Reserve)

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

Marines pull reservists for active duty By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
24 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps is recalling 1,800 reservists to active duty, citing a shortage of volunteers to fill some jobs in Iraq.

Members of the branch's Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) will get letters this week notifying them of plans to mobilize them involuntarily for a year, said Lt. Col. Jeff Riehl of Marine manpower and reserve affairs.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week approved the action, under which reservists would report for duty in October and deploy to Iraq early next year, Riehl said.

From the 1,800 called, officials hope to get 1,200 Marines for aviation maintenance, logistics support, combat arms and several other skills needed for the early 2008 rotation into Iraq.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/marine_call_up

[gratuitous]

1. "A shortage of volunteers"?

Are these "volunteers" being drawn from the IRR pool, or from some other place? And if nobody's "volunteering," does that mean they're being drafted into service?

Something to contemplate the next time you hear some numbnuts opine that the troops have no reason to complain, because after all they volunteered to serve, didn't they?

[BOSSHOG]

2. Incredibly Sad News

Its like maxing out on your credit card and solving the problem by getting another credit card. bush's brilliant leadership on display for all to see.

[Ilsa]

3. The pool:

"There are about 60,000 Marines in the IRR, but the Corps has decided to exempt from call-up those who are either in their first year or last year of reserve status. As a result, the pool of available Marines is about 25,000, said Maj. Steven O'Connor, a Marine Corps spokesman."

[pfitz59]

4. IRR is a DRAFT!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Ready_Reserve

"An individual assigned to the IRR receives no pay or benefits and is not obligated to drill, conduct annual training, or participate in any military activities until activated by Presidential Reserve Callup Authority."

"Presidential Reserve Callup Authority" (PRCA) is a Provision of a public law (US Code, Title 10 (DOD), section 12304) that provides the President a means to activate, without a declaration of national emergency, not more than 200,000 members of the Selected Reserve and the Individual Ready Reserve (of whom not more than 30,000 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve), for not more than 270 days to meet the support requirements of any operational mission."

Anyone suppose Bush* has violtaed this law as well?