Reserves not ready for war, chief says, though half are on active duty

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He says forces aren't used to long, dangerous tours
By ROBERT BURNS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The chief of the Army Reserve said Thursday that his force of part-time soldiers has yet to fully adapt to the demands of a global war on terrorism, even though half of the 205,000 Reserve members have been called to active duty since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"We're at war, this is a hard war and we, frankly, inside the Army Reserve have been not properly prepared for it," Lt. Gen. James Helmly said, adding that he sees some signs of improvement.

"Every time I visit a unit I take about 45 minutes to an hour and try to talk to all of them and explain to them every initiative we have under way to properly prepare ourselves and bring the institution to a wartime footing, but it's hard," Helmly said.

The Army Reserve has about 38,500 on active duty, and those in Iraq are serving 12-month tours, which is twice as long as mobilized Reserve members spend on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia and Kosovo.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2799638

[74dodgedart]

1. Backdoor draft link

Troops being threatened with Iraq service if they don't re-enlist.

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=084435ac-0abe-421a-0195-7116da61b4e2&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

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2. Saw that

Old story, new focus. Good.

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3. Another senior military official publicly balking