Army to Call Up Retired, Discharged Troops!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - The Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq (news - web sites) or Afghanistan (news - web sites), Army officials said Tuesday.

It marks the first time the Army has called on the Individual Ready Reserve, as this category of reservists is known, in substantial numbers since the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites). Several hundred of them have volunteered for active-duty service since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Those who are part of the involuntary call up are likely to be assigned to National Guard or Reserve units that have been mobilized for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to Army officials who discussed some details Tuesday on condition they not be identified because a public announcement was planned for Wednesday.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20040629/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_reserve_callup

[Skarbrowe]

1. oh god

Glad I got out over twenty years ago.



Skarbrowe

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Welcome to DU *wave*

[Skarbrowe]

25. Thanks!

I'm becoming a postin' fool.

Skarbrowe

[MetaTrope]

10. Ditto!

I even managed to miss the first Bush War...

[Skarbrowe]

27. Iran

I was a few months short when the hostages were taken in Iran. I was terrified we were going to go after Iraq and they would keep me in. Was stationed in Germany at the time and although it was an absolutely dream assignment, I was ready to come home.

Plus, it's kinda of disgustig for women to be sent to the middle east knowing how they are thought of by the people we are fighting for over there. If I had still been in during Gulf War 1, I most likely would have ended up in BIG TROUBLE. Female American soldiers in Saudi Arabia were treated like crap. Had to roll down their shirt sleeves in the heat, couldn't go into any town without a MALE escort, and I heard they were not supposed to look a Saudi Arabian male in the eye while off base. Even if only part of this is true, like I said, I would have ended up in BIG TROUBLE.

Skarbrowe

[Loonman]

3. Step One

Step Two: draft the kids.

[Killarney]

4. people with honorable discharges might be called back up!

this is an abuse of our troops

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I hope they realize it and vote for Kerry instead of *

[Poiuyt]

30. What if they call up Kerry to serve again?

:)

[MercutioATC]

36. I think you've been misinformed...

Only troops with Honorable discharges that did NOT complete their full term are to be called up.

I agree it stinks, but it's a contractual thing. Those people knew what they were committing to when they enlisted.

[PaDUer]

37. Bunnypants did NOT fulfill

his duty...let him go and take his gang with him!

[MercutioATC]

38. I agree, but what's actually going on isn't a bad as it was made to sound

[Zynx]

6. Interestingly, this undercuts the stink about NG dragooning

Remember when everyone said that NG and AR recruiters telling IRR troops they better enlist on their own terms was a scare tactic?

[Zorra]

7. Paying private mercenaries must be hammering corporate profits n/t

[porphyrian]

8. I hope they call the asshole who kept yelling "support our troops!..."

"...freedom is not free!" when we were trying to influence local government to do something to prevent this stupid war in the first fucking place. Great way to support our troops, Hoss. Hope you like the desert.

[vetwife]

17. First time I ever heard of drafting veterans !

We must be in deep stuff !

[JHB]

9. Bush is destroying our military

Jeez. How's this for a turnabout meme? After 30 years of being accused of "hating" the military and being "weak on defense", now LIBERALS find themselves being the clear advocates of a strong defense.

The Guard mobilizations and the Individual Ready Reserve are things that should only be called up as part of a general mobilization for a national crisis where the entire country makes sacrifices -- something on par with WW2, not this half-assed neoconservative joyride in Iraq.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. "half-assed neoconservative joyride in Iraq." I love it! *lol*

[HootieMcBoob]

11. That's a little misleading

If they're in the IRR they haven't been "discharged" yet. You're not discharged until you recieve your discharge papers after your IRR time is up. And they're certainly not retired. You don't "retire" until you're discharged after twenty years of service.

[shoelace414]

13. IRR

Any former enlisted soldier who did not serve at least eight years on active duty is in the Individual Ready Reserve pool, as are all officers who have not resigned their commission

[HootieMcBoob]

18. Right

for example, when you enlist these days it's an eight year commitment. You generally only serve for six of those years and the final two are in the individual ready reserves. You don't get you're discharge papers until after your full eight years are up. Once you're discharge you can not be reactivated.

[JPZenger]

31. How Many Enlistees Know They are Signing Up for 8 Years?

Do the recruiters make it clear that someone could be called back to war 8 YEARS after they enlisted! Talk about fine print.
----
(My sister was a Navy Nurse who learned the hard way that you should never trust anything a recruiter promises you. She also learned that you should never trust anything you are promised when you re-enlist. Even if you get a commitment in writing, they always have the right to break any commitment.

For example, she was promised that if she re-enlisted and suffered through 3 years on the isolated island of Okinawa, she could then be assigned anywhere she wanted. Yea, right.)

[JPZenger]

32. Is It Really a Volunteer Army???

The phrase that gets the most cynical laugh out of the military today is "one weekend a month and two weeks a year."

Federal law requires that a company keep a job open for a reservist who is called to active duty. This is very difficult for small companies with skilled employees - especially if a person is called up for 18 months or longer. Then the dates of active duty keep getting extended from the dates that were promised to them. Eventually, companies are going to avoid hiring reservists in the first place.

[HootieMcBoob]

35. Everybody pretty much knows about the IRR

It's usually just the last two years of your committment. It's not that they're called up 8 years after they've enlisted, it's that usually these days you enlist for 8 years. Usually only 4 to 6 of those years are active. The remaining years of the 8 year committment are spent in an IRR unit. That usually means that you're pretty much out of the Army. You don't have to go to drills, you don't have to cut your hair, you don't have to do anything. They keep you updated on info through the mail and the unit you're assigned to is located somewhere in St. Louis but you never have to go there. You're told that you won't be called up during that time unless there is some kind of national emergency. I think the national emergency in this case is that we have a bunch of freakin' idiots running the country.

[HootieMcBoob]

19. Right

for example, when you enlist these days it's an eight year commitment. You generally only serve for six of those years and the final two are in the individual ready reserves. You don't get you're discharge papers until after your full eight years are up. Once you're discharge you can not be reactivated.

[VolcanoJen]

22. Actually, it's "Inactive Ready Reserves."

Just sayin'. :D

[HootieMcBoob]

24. the term is "Individual Ready Reserves"

They are inactive yes but it's called individual ready reserves. Believe me I used to be one. I was honorably discharged in '99. Luckily the bulk of my time was served during the Clinton administration. I'm not saying it's a good thing or anything. I'm just trying to clarify. If they are calling up members of the IRR they are not calling up retired or discharged soldiers. If they are calling up retired or discharged soldiers then the shit will hit the fan.

[VolcanoJen]

28. In the Guard, they still use the "Inactive" term.

I do think you're right though... both terms are used. I think that "Inactive" was the more common term, years ago.

Sorry I didn't realize that when posting before. :D

[Spinzonner]

26. I think you are either incorrect or oversimplifying

I was a Vietnam Era Veteran with a 6-year obligation to the Air Force. I was in the IRR for two years after the end of 4 years of active duty. I now have no further connection or commitment.

I don't know where the 8 year figure comes form unless it's a new part of the law.

Once total obligation - including any reserve time - is served, enlisted personnel have no further obligation unless they are under the Standby or Retired Reserve, either by choice or status.

See:

http://www.defenselink.mil/ra/secondary/componentsfaq.html#individual

[VolcanoJen]

16. Wow. So, when was the last time anyone was activated from IRR?

It's definitely IRR, but it's still pretty mind-blowing.

[HootieMcBoob]

21. during the '91 gulf war i think n/t

[tom_paine]

23. I was on IRR during Gulf War I and didn't get called up

I did get called for an Evaluation Physical where they told me that if the war went on a couple motnhs longer that I should pack a bag and get ready to be at the base in 48hrs.

(it was awhile ago, so the details might be fuzzy, but generally that's what happened)

Maybe some IRR got called up, but not me nor anyone I knew who was IRR.

[AntiCoup2K4]

12. involuntary call up? stop loss? Just call it what it is. a DRAFT.

A volunteer military no longer exists when those volunteers have served the time they committed to, and the government forces them to do more. And involuntary is involuntary, whether it's 18 year olds off the street, retired & discharged soldiers, or those who have just completed the duty they signed up for. Use the "D" word.

[ihaveaquestion]

15. My brother just retired from the Army Reserve last year.

I asked him about this then and he didn't think it would happen. I'll have to call him and see if he's been contacted!

[spinbaby]

20. It's been coming...

A friend of mine has a son who's been out of the army three years. He had sniper training and desert training. He went in for his physical six months ago and is now waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[JPZenger]

29. Go to WWII Memorial for the Greatest Generation

Field Marshall Von Rumsfeld should race down to the World War II Memorial in D.C. and find some WWII veterans on a bus trip. He can call them back to active duty, load their bus right onto a transport plane, and they'll have the problems solved in Iraq in a week.

[opihimoimoi]

33. When will our people understand this is not about WMD nor Freedom/Democrac

y but Spice..

Its all about the OIL, Control, Domination, and Greed.

America got HAD and the Sheep don't even know it.

[TexasSissy]

34. I saw this news story. Isn't this called a "draft"?

The article said it was also done during the Gulf War.

I guess they figured they'd better do it now, rather than wait closer to the election.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. Hell, I'm ready. Bring 'em on! Gung-Ho!

Can't wait for them to recall me. Burn down villages, shoot up the countryside, torture prisoners!! Hoo-ya!!

God, I miss the Marine Crotch. Just about as much as I miss hemmorhoids.

[doni_georgia]

40. This will get several of my family members

This is bullshit - they served their country. You know, if we don't have enough people in the military to pursue the foreign policy objectives of this damnable administration, then they need to reconsider their imperialistic goals or fight their own damn wars!

[kiahzero]

41. Yahoo hints at but leaves out critical information:

In January, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld authorized the Army to activate as many as 6,500 people from the Individual Ready Reserve, drawing on presidential authority granted in 2001.

Under what authorization?