40 percent of Army reservists fail to report to Fort Jackson
Associated Press
COLUMBIA--Only about 60 percent of reservists ordered to report to Fort Jackson have reported so far, Army officials said.

As of Tuesday, 186 of the 309 members of the Individual Ready Reserve ordered to report to the Columbia base had arrived, said Lt. Col. Burton L. Masters, spokesman for the Army's Human Resources Command.

"We're not surprised by those numbers at all," Masters said.

Most of those who have not reported are seeking exemptions from active duty or delays in reporting, he said.

Those who have not reported or applied for a delay or exemption will be considered deserters if they do not show up within seven days of the date they were told to report for duty, Masters said.

"We are going to go the extra mile to work with people," he said. "But if they don't report, the Army will track them down."

Troops subject to the recall have been on active duty but have not completed their eight-year obligation to the Army.

The Army said 5,600 individual reservists were being recalled to active duty; 4,500 were to report to Fort Jackson. However, orders have been cut for only 3,667 of the soldiers to return to active duty, Masters said.

If only I were younger

"I joined the Reserves to get the educational benefits... I didn't think we'd have a war!"



Dumb-asses sign the contract knowing what might happen, then still whine when they get called up!

They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans".

NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war.

Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war.

You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

That's totally different.

Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

Relax, these soldiers volunteered. The draft is a whole different ballgame.

Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

Apples & oranges.... what does living up to the obligations of a contract that they freely signed, and
have obtained the benefits of, have to do with an imaginary (as of yet) draft?

Quoted: If only I were younger

I hear ya, bro...ah, to be 19 and single again...

Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

apples and oranges

They're not "reservists", it's the Individual Ready Reserve.
These are people who've gotten out and have had no contact with the military.
Some are very difficult to find.
This story is defeatist and misleading.

Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November.

Michael Moore, is that you?

While I know that those in the IRR who failed to report are in the wrong, I can understand their situation.    
They aren't active reservists, and are probably in full "civilian" mode.  The havoc that these massive reserve/IRR call-ups are wreaking will have long term consequences for the military.  

Who in their right mind would sign up knowing that they are putting their and their families financial security in jeopardy?  Most reservists make significantly less than they did in the civilian world.  My best friend was in the guard.  He was activated twice, for a year each time, with three months in between.  He was newly married and had just bought a house.  His marriage and finances are only beginning to recover.

Either enlarge the military (politically unpopular), or just admit that the reserves are no longer a emergency force, but rather a lower cost active component (only pay the troops when you need them).

Semper Fi

TOO BAD THE MOTHERFUCKING LIBERAL MEDIA LIES!!!



September 20, 2004

1 in 3 IRR soldiers fail to report for mobilization
Many troops claim ‘family situations’

By Jane McHugh
Times staff writer

About 30 percent of the 3,664 Individual Ready Reserve soldiers who have been called to active duty failed to report for mobilization, an Army Reserve official said.
The soldiers submitted papers for a “delay and exemption” process, claiming personal and professional matters that prevent them from showing up.

“Mainly it’s family situations, such as someone’s a sole parent or is taking care of someone in the family with a severe medical condition, or even they themselves have a serious illness,” said Lt. Col. Burt Masters, a spokesman for the Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis.

The IRR members were supposed to report at staggered times from late August through late October to five mobilization stations nationwide, he said. The stations are Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Knox, Ky., and Fort Benning, Ga.

A total of 1,085 IRR members submitted “delay and exemption” packets containing written documentation verifying their situation, Masters said. Written records from courts, physicians, businesses and government agencies are included in these packets, which are reviewed by a special board comprised of officers. Final approval comes from Col. Debra A. Cook, who heads the Human Resources Command in St. Louis, Masters said.

IRR soldiers who disagree with Cook’s findings can appeal to the adjutant general of the Army, he said.

Several reasons cited

According to Masters, the leading reasons that IRR soldiers request delays and exemptions are: medical causes or disabilities; administrative mix-ups; financial hardship; being the sole caretakers for children or elderly parents, and completing higher education.

the Army announced June 30 that it would activate up to 5,600 civilians on the IRR list between July 6 and early 2005 for the global war on terrorism. Whether there will be more call-ups is anyone’s guess.

“We have not been told by the Department of the Army to cut more orders,” Masters said.

Those who have not filed for exemptions, and who don’t show up within seven days of their reporting date will be considered AWOL, and possibly will be charged as deserters. So far, 14 IRR people have been confirmed AWOL, Masters said.

14 FUCKING PEOPLE!!

As inactive reservists, IRR members don’t drill, and are not assigned to a unit. Those who recently reported for duty are in-processing, playing catch-up with common task training and going through refresher courses.

“We all do PT at our own pace,” said Spc. Shavonda Bivens, 27, an Army transportation management coordinator who recently arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. A guard at her local jail in Tifton, Ga., Bivens is a single mother who left the Army in May 2002 and didn’t give a thought to the IRR until the end of July.

“I got orders saying I was being activated back into the Army,” Bivens said. “I never thought they’d call the IRR.”

Bivens’ 3-year-old son is being cared for by her sister and her mother.

In the beginning, the IRR adventure is quite different from the Regular Army, Bivens said. “You’re not with a unit. You meet a lot of new people. And you have command sergeants major and colonels living in the same building,” Bevins said.

Another Fort Jackson IRR soldier, Master Sgt. Lisa Turner, 45, is a former Marine and Army Reservist. Her family, including parents, husband and two oldest daughters, is in the military.

Turner and her husband, a retired Marine, have three children living at home. But no one in the family minded the IRR call-up notice, she said, even though her husband had to quit his state government job in Maine as a wildlife biologist because it was too far from their home.

Earlier, Turner was called up by the Marine Corps Reserve for the first Persian Gulf War.

“That time, I had five days to get ready and four children under 12. This time I had 30 days,” she said.

IRR soldiers are given 30 days of advance notice to report to their mobilization station.

Mailgrams returned

But some — aside from those who have applied for delays and exemptions — haven’t shown up because the mailgrams ordering them to report for duty were returned to the Army because they had outdated addresses, Masters said.

Of the 3,664 call-ups, 464 mailgrams were returned, but 367 of those were “resolved,” Masters said, and the proper addresses were determined. The Army is in the process of tracking down the remaining 97, he said.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-364206.php

Well, it's been three years since the reserves began calling up reservists for extended periods.
Soon, everyone who serves will have join DURING this period.
No more "I didn't think it would happen..." or "I joined for college tuition..." bullshit.

When I enlisted in 1986, I remember thinking that IF the US Government wanted me to guard a rock on the North Pole for 8 years.... they could so order it.  My signing the papers made this so.
I knew it then, I know it now.
Where do they find these idiots?

Please read the article everyone! These people are READY RESERVE which means they have already served and have retired or were discharged and are now being called back.

Personally I don't think it is fair as most of these people have already made a sacrifice for this country. I believe it is time for the draft to resume if we are going to stay committed to Iraq.

This story is just icing on the Cake.

Get Pregnant, Or Get Sent To Iraq

By Leonora LaPeter

GULFPORT -- Cristie Oliver sat down heavily at the kitchen table as she read the Western Union mailgram.

"Oh, no," she said, the color draining from her face.

Her mother, Cheryl Sendio, figured Cristie must have just opened a whopper of a bill.

"They're going to make me leave my baby," Cristie whimpered.

The mailgram was from the Army; Cristie was being called back to active duty. The Army wanted as many as 545 days, starting Sept. 5.

It had been more than two years since Cristie had put on a military uniform at Fort Riley, Kan. It was not a place where she had fit in. Twice she had had to repeat basic training, and she had left early after giving birth to her daughter, Asia.

That night, their pastor, the Rev. Dr. Angel R. Toro, sat next to a despondent Cristie on the couch in her mother's living room. He told her he would start the church prayer line, a group of 15 people who would pray for her each night.

"Sometimes," the reverend said, "God has a way of surprising us."

The next day, members of the Chapel on the Hill United Church of Christ of Seminole gathered outside a courtroom to support two of their own, a pair of gay dads trying to adopt foster children. Among the group were Cristie and her mother.

Toro silenced the group, announced that Cristie had been called to Iraq and asked the members to pray for her. They held hands and bowed their heads. They converged on Cristie, hugging and kissing her. One woman told Cristie that she had a son in the Navy, and she offered advice:

"You should get pregnant."

On July 6, the Army began sending out 5,674 Western Union mailgrams to former soldiers in the Individual Ready Reserve. These are inactive reservists who completed their active duty time but are available to fill vacancies in emergencies. Some people call this the back-door draft.

Rarely are these soldiers called back; most assume that when they're done with active duty, they're done. That's why the mailgram that arrived July 15 threw Cristie for such a loop.

She had enlisted during her senior year at Pinellas Park High School. A recruiter approached her several times. She didn't really want to go, but she didn't know what else to do.

Her mother thought it was a good idea. Cristie was shy and quiet, with an innocence that Sendio thought needed to be tempered with confidence. A dose of the Army might do her good.

Cristie smoked and didn't exercise much before she reported for boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Push-ups, sit-ups, running - she always lagged behind.

"I'm a really sensitive person, and they're all yelling at me, and I'd just go back and cry," she remembered. "I was trying to fail so they'd send me home."

That didn't happen. She completed boot camp and trained to be a chemical operations specialist.

Michael Oliver, who also was in chemical operations, remembers the day he and his buddies were replacing the wheel on a small tank. Cristie and three other fresh-faced female recruits walked up.

Michael took one look at Cristie and called dibs on her - something about her model-like walk. She gave up her boyfriend back in St. Petersburg. Michael sent her a different-colored rose 12 days in a row, and he sent love notes:

Lifetime is all I have for you

Oliver, that's my last name

LOL.

Vase that sits on a table that have priceless memories

Everyday that I see those pretty brown dreamin eyes

Cristie got pregnant in September 2001, and they married a few months later. She and a half-dozen other pregnant recruits were assigned administrative tasks at post headquarters.

She wanted to name the baby Africa. Michael didn't. They compromised on Asia.

Cristie left the Army the day after Asia was born, a few months shy of her two-year obligation. Michael got out a month later. They did not look back.

After leaving the Army, they struggled financially.

In the past year, they finally found good jobs. Cristie, 22 now, does office work at the attorney general's office in St. Petersburg, and on weekends she works at a movie theater. Michael works in customer service at PODS, the portable on demand storage company in Clearwater.

Their 1995 Ford Contour broke down and needed $800 in repairs. Michael took the bus to work; Cristie's mom drove her. Cristie's stepfather picked up Asia from day care.

They talked about having another child, but Cristie wanted their finances in order first. Michael kept pressing, and she finally relented. But they were always so tired at night. Sex came last.

Then the mailgram came and everything changed: Get pregnant, get out of going to Iraq.

A friend of the family gave her an ovulation cycle wheel. She put in the date of her last period and saw a tiny window of time the last week of July.

She and Michael would have just one shot.

Cristie awoke at 3 a.m. Michael lay asleep beside her, the TV still on.

She padded into the bathroom, opened her home pregnancy test, urinated on the strip. And waited.

Minutes ticked by. She thought about Asia without her. And Iraq. And the beheadings on TV. What if she went there and never came back? What would become of Asia? Cristie was just so scared.

The little line signifying that she was pregnant did not appear on the strip. She sat on the toilet and cried.

A week later, Cristie felt cramping in her stomach.

Her report date was three weeks away, and she and Michael had made no preparations. She hadn't even looked at her military gear, stowed in a box in the back of her closet.

Cristie decided she would try another pregnancy test, after Michael got home.

That night, 2-year-old Asia lined up birthday candles on the coffee table. "Dats bootiful," she said.

Cristie ran around the kitchen barefoot, in a long, blue, flowery dress like something out of a painting by Monet. She fixed Asia a waffle. Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella played on TV.

The doorbell rang. In came Cristie's neighbor, 21-year-old Shanetra Wells, holding her 3-year-old's hand and heaving a car seat with her 2-month-old in it. Shanetra's 15-year-old brother, Norman "Trey" Wells III, strolled in behind, chewing on a Coke-can-sized pork rind.

"Did they tell you about my orders to go back in the military?" Cristie asked.

"You going back?" Shanetra said.

"I don't know yet."

Wells picked up her baby and handed him to Cristie, who gently smoothed his soft, curly hair.

"I like this," Cristie said.

"If you have to go back to the Army, it's the wrong time to go," Shanetra said.

"Five hundred forty-five days. It's almost two years."

"Oooooh, you're their property now."

"Would you like to stick around and see if I'm pregnant?"

"Sure, why not?"

Cristie emerged from the bathroom with a white stick in hand. She left it on the kitchen counter and paced back and forth, hands flat on her face.

"I'm not looking at it," she said, back to the counter. "I'm afraid."

She looked. If pregnant, the stick shows two lines. Only one showed.

Cristie drummed fingers on the counter, walked away, shook her hands, her amber eyes wide, panicked. And back again.

"There's a second line. It's really faint," she said. "I can see it, but it's not all the way there. I don't know. Look at it. I can see it, but it's not coming.

"Michael, come here. Do you see the second line?"

Michael studied the stick. There was a dark maroon line and sort of a shadow next to it.

"A little bit," he said. "Last time we saw no color."

"I think I'm excited now," Cristie said.

Again Cristie picked up the stick. The second line was a shade darker, but nowhere near as dark as the first.

"Oooh, it's darker. I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant."

Michael dialed his mother in Arkansas. "She's got to be the first one," he said.

"How you doing, Mom? You're going to be a grandma again."

Cristie called her mother.

Said Sendio: "I'll be convinced I'm a grandmother (again) when you go see a doctor."

On Cristie's lunch break the next day, she sat in an empty waiting room at Planned Parenthood under a sign that read: Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.

She hoped they wouldn't charge her for the visit; she had no money in her wallet. She wore boots, jeans with diagonal strips of brown corduroy, a tan halter top and a beige sweater. She had told co-workers that she was pregnant.

"Some people think it's a good idea. Some people think it's a horrible idea, that it's for not the right reasons."

She talked about recent news reports that the United States was bringing home tens of thousands of soldiers from Europe and Asia.

"What about the people in Iraq? What about the people dying over there? It doesn't make any sense to me."

She pulled her sweater tighter. "I hate waiting," she said, and frowned.

The clinic assistant tested her urine three times, with three brands of pregnancy tests. All were inconclusive. She told Cristie she would have to test her blood and left the room.

Cristie looked worried and confused.

The assistant came back. "I checked the test again," she said, her face dissolving into a smile, "and you're pregnant. Congratulations."

"I knew it, I knew it. That's awesome."

"Congratulations," the assistant said. "It looks like you're not going to Iraq."

Cristie called the Army the next day to report her news. They sent her a delay and exemption packet that she returned with proof she was pregnant.

She and Michael are relieved beyond words - for now. Cristie learned her pregnancy only delays her entry into the military until four months after the baby is born.

After that, she could be called up again.  Or get Pregnant again

if they don't report, the Army will track them down


sounds like the Army is taking care of it's own.
nothing more to say.

TROLL ALERT!!
TROLL ALERT!!

Do you know how an Enlistment contract works?
Until you do just keep your pie-hole closed.

Quoted: Please read the article everyone! These people are READY RESERVE which means they have already served and have retired or were discharged and are now being called back. Personally I don't think it is fair as most of these people have already made a sacrifice for this country. I believe it is time for the draft to resume if we are going to stay committed to Iraq.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November. Michael Moore, is that you?

I am not going to argue this subject again. We covered it quite well a few months ago. I think that the Iraq situation is not a national emergency such as to legally and/or morally allow the call-up of inactive reserves, and many members here believe that it is legally sufficent and/or exactly such an emergency.

PS: Not only am I not Moore, I am the County Sportsman for Bush Coordinator, I am on the GOP Executive Committee for the county, I am on the County GOP Candidate Funding Committee, and my wife ushered for Bush's last stop in our area. I do, however, disagree with the Iraq rules of engagement, troop manning levels (Iraq and overall, including men, ships, and a/c), and calling up inactive reserves.

Quoted: Please read the article everyone! These people are READY RESERVE which means they have already served and have retired or were discharged and are now being called back.

No it doesn't.
It means that they signed up for 8 years, and still owe time.
You enlist for 8.
4 active/4 reserve.  The IRR is no surprise.

Your get a "discharge", and your through.
None of these individuals have been discharged.  They will get that when their IRR commitment is over.

Personally I don't think it is fair as most of these people have already made a sacrifice for this country. I believe it is time for the draft to resume if we are going to stay committed to Iraq.

Nonsense.
Peopel should just read their contract.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They should be made to serve or jailed then pay pack the "loans". NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, we are at war. You keep that same attitude, sir, when the draft board is inducting your child right after November. Michael Moore, is that you? I am not going to argue this subject again. We covered it quite well a few months ago. I think that the Iraq situation is not a national emergency such as to legally and/or morally allow the call-up of inactive reserves, and many members here believe that it is legally sufficent and/or exactly such an emergency.

Not so fast.
You suggest that "the draft board (will be) inducting your child right after November..."
That's quite an allegation.
That;'s a bit more than just thinking "that the Iraq situation is not a national emergency such as to legally and/or morally allow the call-up of inactive reserves".
That's the suggestion of a secret plan, or some other such nonsense that one reads on DU, and READS OFTEN.

Quoted: Not so fast. You suggest that "the draft board (will be) inducting your child right after November..." That's quite an allegation. That;'s a bit more than just thinking "that the Iraq situation is not a national emergency such as to legally and/or morally allow the call-up of inactive reserves". That's the suggestion of a secret plan, or some other such nonsense that one reads on DU, and READS OFTEN.

It's called an educated guess. Ask yourself why the draft boards are being brought up to full strength around the nation, though.

Quoted: What is the "Individual Ready Reserve"?

When you join the military it's a 3/8 contract

3 years active duty
8 years total commitment

If you do your 3 years active, and are honorably discharged, for the next 5 years you are suppossed to be ready to return to active duty if Uncle Sam needs you. You get no pay, benefits, or training during that 5 years.

For officers, if you resign your commision, you are place into the IRR, at the end of your IRR commitment, the individual officer is supposed to re-contact the military and resign thier IRR commision.

NG, AR, are the same, everyone signs up for 8 years total, regardless of the actual active part of their contract, 2, 3, 4, or 6 years.

Because they have been undermanned for the past 20 years or so and due to attritition of the SSS board members.

Quoted: It's called an educated guess. Ask yourself why the draft boards are being brought up to full strength around the nation, though.

This entire thread stinks of BS.

First off, whomever ranted about the draft is daft.  It's not going to happen so I'm not worried about my children being forced into compulsary service.

Secondly, EVERYONE who enlist signs an eight year contract with a certain number of years of mandatory active duty with the remaining being IRR.  It was never probable to be recalled but it is possible.  We knew it, we signed it.

Thirdly, situations do change that will preclude some individuals from being recalled and are just, IMHO.  Just the same as circumstances arise during active service that call for early seperation.  Those cases will be reviewed and handled.  

Just to not show up because you think you're done with it is, as I stated above, BS!

Semper Fi!

Just as lean, twice as mean and always a Marine!

Doc Holliday, "Nonsense, I'm in my prime" (@ 39)

Quoted: What is the "Individual Ready Reserve"?

Aimless,

This is a period of time after your active duty that your are subject to recall.  All first enlistments are 8 years.  No pay, training or reporting during this time unless recalled.  You are supposed to maintain all uniforms, and such, during that time.
It only applies to the first enlistment.  

Semper Fi!

IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned. ive got an active hitch and im now a drilling reservist so ill have no IRR commitment but you guys who immediately condemn the IRR no shows then ask what the IRR is need to STFU. im not defending them but you arent in a position to judge. we're talking single parents, people who will lose their homes, and small businesses etc if they get called to the IRR. its a tough spot. they need to lawyer up and handle it correctly. being a no-show is just making it harder.

Sorry to hear that Devil Dog.  It was explained to me from the get go.  Never met anyone in the Corps that didn't know but I'm sure it can happen.  And you're right, as I stated above, it can put some folks in a tight spot.  I'm sure each case will be handled on an individual basis.

Semper Fi!

Quoted: IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned. .

Yep the recruiters dont say alot of stuff, thats why I take forever to go over contracts now, good life lesson right there

I remember my recruiter saying dont worry the IRR is for if the chinese are invading the country, people never have gotten called up through it.

LOL good one!

I do feel bad for the IRR guys your out your not getting paid and they call you up again but hey thats the gig.

clinton should have never cut the military!!!!!!!

LOL I ETS in 1990. Started college in fall that year. I was IRR Army at the time. I was called back in Feb Of 1991 (what a pain in the ass). When you sign the contract its for 8 years!! Uncle suger has got your ass for that time. I still have that letter some where. Ill see if I can find it tonight.

Man Kids these days!!

You are not DISCHARGED until your obligated service is over, you are only separated from active servive. That means, if YOU SIGNED UP for a 4 year active duty/4 year IRR, you are still obligated to serve until DISCHARGED at 8 years. Read the contract before signing/whining.

Quoted: What is the "Individual Ready Reserve"?

When you sign an enlistment contract, you are signing up for eight years total.  In my case, I signed up for 4 years active, 4 years IRR.  The IRR is a reserve component in which you do not have to attend drills, but are subject to recall to active duty in a time of war.  You are required to keep the service you enlisted in aware of your address, esp. if it changes.  At the end of your term, the service will mail you the orders taking you off IRR status, as well as your discharge certificate.

Quoted: As inactive reservists, IRR members don’t drill, and are not assigned to a unit. Those who recently reported for duty are in-processing, playing catch-up with common task training and going through refresher courses. “We all do PT at our own pace,” said Spc. Shavonda Bivens, 27, an Army transportation management coordinator who recently arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. A guard at her local jail in Tifton, Ga., Bivens is a single mother who left the Army in May 2002 and didn’t give a thought to the IRR until the end of July. “I got orders saying I was being activated back into the Army,” Bivens said. “I never thought they’d call the IRR.”

Umm..whatever happened to the requirement that IRR members report once a year to a designated unit for records upkeep and misc. paperwork? We still have IRR people stop in once a year. She hasn't had to stop in since she went IRR in '02? Somethings wrong there.

hell I'm waiting for orders to get cut for me.  I'm not so sure that they are going to call up 19D's, especially those with a 20% disability rating, but I'm not going to pass up the chance to go back, civillians sometimes make me question why I even bothered defending anything of theirs.  I'm proud of being a soldier, but some people just dont deserve being defended.(like the guys at DU)

Quoted: What is the "Individual Ready Reserve"?

I believe thats the "reserves" of soldiers that have completed their active duty time.  Every military enlistment is 8 years. I did four active, followed by 4 years of inactive reserve in which i was subject to recall.

With all the ranting about a "bad economy" I'm surprised the military is having a hard time getting recruits. If I ever lost my job the Military would be #1 on my list of new job options. Of course I would try to get into something other than Marine infantry in my old broken down state. Maybe 2111 (Armorer)?

Quoted: Quoted: As inactive reservists, IRR members don’t drill, and are not assigned to a unit. Those who recently reported for duty are in-processing, playing catch-up with common task training and going through refresher courses. “We all do PT at our own pace,” said Spc. Shavonda Bivens, 27, an Army transportation management coordinator who recently arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C. A guard at her local jail in Tifton, Ga., Bivens is a single mother who left the Army in May 2002 and didn’t give a thought to the IRR until the end of July. “I got orders saying I was being activated back into the Army,” Bivens said. “I never thought they’d call the IRR.” Umm..whatever happened to the requirement that IRR members report once a year to a designated unit for records upkeep and misc. paperwork? We still have IRR people stop in once a year. She hasn't had to stop in since she went IRR in '02? Somethings wrong there.

IIRC, when I left AD in '94, there are certain places to check in if you live in a geographic area.  If you are outside a certain radius, you don't have to make a journey.  50 miles, I believe, of certain MEPS stations but not sure.  I stayed in J'ville, NC for a year when I seperated and never had to check in.

Quoted: You are not DISCHARGED until your obligated service is over, you are only separated from active servive. That means, if YOU SIGNED UP for a 4 year active duty/4 year IRR, you are still obligated to serve until DISCHARGED at 8 years. Read the contract before signing/whining.

Ditto.

Quoted: IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned.

Ignorance is no excuse.
You signed on the dotted line, and it clearly said "8 years".

ive got an active hitch and im now a drilling reservist so ill have no IRR commitment but you guys who immediately condemn the IRR no shows then ask what the IRR is need to STFU. im not defending them but you arent in a position to judge. we're talking single parents, people who will lose their homes, and small businesses etc if they get called to the IRR. its a tough spot. they need to lawyer up and handle it correctly. being a no-show is just making it harder.

They can "lawyer up" all they wish.
But if their excuse is that of ignorance, good luck.

Were you stone assed drunk when you SIGNED your Enlistment contract?
Did your recruiter beat you over the head with an ignorant stick to get you to sign your enlistment contract?

I still have my original enlistment contract, it states that my enlistment was a 3X3 TAR enlistment, three years active duty, two years active drilling reserve and one year inactive reserve.
I didn't sign it until someone explained it to me.

Since I didn't want to "stand duty" once a month for two years I stayed active for another year and if I had gotten out I would of had to do 2 years of inactive reserve time.

Quoted: IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned. ive got an active hitch and im now a drilling reservist so ill have no IRR commitment but you guys who immediately condemn the IRR no shows then ask what the IRR is need to STFU. im not defending them but you arent in a position to judge. we're talking single parents, people who will lose their homes, and small businesses etc if they get called to the IRR. its a tough spot. they need to lawyer up and handle it correctly. being a no-show is just making it harder.

Quoted: Were you stone assed drunk when you SIGNED your Enlistment contract? Did your recruiter beat you over the head with an ignorant stick to get you to sign your enlistment contract? I still have my original enlistment contract, it states that my enlistment was a 3X3 TAR enlistment, three years active duty, two years active drilling reserve and one year inactive reserve. I didn't sign it until someone explained it to me. Since I didn't want to "stand duty" once a month for two years I stayed active for another year and if I had gotten out I would of had to do 2 years of inactive reserve time. Quoted: IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned. ive got an active hitch and im now a drilling reservist so ill have no IRR commitment but you guys who immediately condemn the IRR no shows then ask what the IRR is need to STFU. im not defending them but you arent in a position to judge. we're talking single parents, people who will lose their homes, and small businesses etc if they get called to the IRR. its a tough spot. they need to lawyer up and handle it correctly. being a no-show is just making it harder.

In DvlDog's defense,  I did read my contract but I was older when I went in.  A lot of 18 yo's don't and there are some unscrupulous recruiters out there.

Quoted: IRR is a raw fucking deal. it is not made clear in the recruitment process and in my case it wasnt even mentioned. ive got an active hitch and im now a drilling reservist so ill have no IRR commitment but you guys who immediately condemn the IRR no shows then ask what the IRR is need to STFU. im not defending them but you arent in a position to judge. we're talking single parents, people who will lose their homes, and small businesses etc if they get called to the IRR. its a tough spot. they need to lawyer up and handle it correctly. being a no-show is just making it harder.

Bullshit.  When I enlisted it was made perfectly clear to me what my active duty commitment was and what my IRR commitment was.  When I separated from the Air Force, I was issued a Reserve Military ID which expired at the end of my IRR commitment.  So I don't buy this "I didn't realize that I could be called to active duty" crap.

Quoted: In DvlDog's defense,  I did read my contract but I was older when I went in.  A lot of 18 yo's don't and there are some unscrupulous recruiters out there.

I was 17 and I had enough sense to know exactly what I was signing up for.

You sign on the dotted line you damn well be ready to fight a war. They dont report the Army needs to track them down.

Quoted: Quoted: What is the "Individual Ready Reserve"? I believe thats the "reserves" of soldiers that have completed their active duty time.  Every military enlistment is 8 years. I did four active, followed by 4 years of inactive reserve in which i was subject to recall. With all the ranting about a "bad economy" I'm surprised the military is having a hard time getting recruits. If I ever lost my job the Military would be #1 on my list of new job options. Of course I would try to get into something other than Marine infantry in my old broken down state. Maybe 2111 (Armorer)?

Its not about having trouble getting new people, its about needed trained experienced people quickly.

For example, I now have 4 IRR recalls assigned to me. 2 62B 10's, 1 63BH8 20, 1 63J 10. Between them they have 17 years experience in thier jobs. Not only do they know the job better than a new trainee, but they were quicker to get to me.

In my MOS, 919A, they have recalled 5 this year. You damm sure cannot produce a 919A overnight so that's really the only option.

Aren't these IRR people who are being recalled mainly specialists in various technical roles?

I mean I doubt they are recalling many infantry people. But I bet computer folks, mechanics, etc are in higher demand. Hell, it would be unlikely that many of these people would end up deep in the shit to begin with, so I don't see what all the whining is about.

Am I correct in this assumption that those being recalled are special skills people?