Former U.S. Soldiers Balk at New Iraq, Afghan Duty

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040928/ts_nm/iraq_usa_troops_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty percent of former U.S. soldiers who have been called back to duty involuntarily to serve in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) have failed to report on time, and eight have been declared AWOL, the Army said on Tuesday.


The Army's problem with mobilizing soldiers from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), a seldom-tapped personnel pool, is another sign of the difficulty the Pentagon (news - web sites) is encountering in maintaining troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan.


So far, the Army has mobilized 3,664 people from the IRR to active duty, but 1,085 have not reported on time to the Army post to which they were assigned, said Julia Collins, a spokeswoman for the Army Human Resources Command.


The Individual Ready Reserve is made up of 111,000 people who have completed their voluntary Army service commitments and have returned to civilian life but remain eligible to be mobilized in a national emergency. Many have been out of the active-duty military for years.

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[MichiganVote]

1. Uh..oh. 8 AWOL soldiers. See what you started George?

[Squeegee]

2. Well, if the president can do it, why can't they?

n/t

[nosmokes]

3. so that's 8 potential republican prez nominees, no?

this administration, this war and it's attendant policies, the domestic agenda and the loss of millions of jobs, the entire thing is atrocious.

the dubya stands for *worst president ever.*

[Carla in Ca]

4. Oh my. Can you say snowball?

[DemoTex]

5. I was fresh from Vietnam, and recalled to that shit-hole for a second tour

They were short of my MOS (101-CO fixed-wing multi-engine aviator) with my security clearance (Top-Secret Crypto Code-Word). I called the Pentagon and beat the call-up. The left hand knew not what the right hand was doing.

[VegasWolf]

6. Hey, when Georgie restarts the draft, do ya think his kids will go?

[krkaufman]

7. "eligible to be mobilized in a national emergency"

Just ridiculous that these men and women are being called-up to fight Bush's War.

Iraq was hardly a "national emergency" in March of 2003 -- though it would be tough to argue that it isn't rapidly becoming an international crisis, now.

When are Jenna and the other twin enlisting?

[teryang]

8. Welcome to the stonewalling civilian world

Love how the media help the government understate a problem.

[bemildred]

9. I have a feeling the "national emergency" is going to be

nobody showing up for service except angry guys with deer
rifles, bad attitudes, and beer guts.

[kodi]

10. and don't forget, in times of "national emergency" CUT TAXES!!

.

[Kimber Scott]

11. NATIONAL Emergency? US National Emergency, or Iraqi National

Emergency?

[pacalo]

12. Are there any exemptions for those who want to help campaign?