- WASHINGTON -- The pentagon
has launched a drive to track down tens of thousands of "missing"
military reservists to help to bolster America's forces in Iraq and ease
the strain of fighting the global war on terror.
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- In a move that has provoked fierce controversy the Defence
Department is demanding access to tax records to locate reservists who
have completed active duty tours but are still eligible for compulsory
recall.
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- Army chiefs are seeking the backing of Congress for the
plan, which would force the Internal Revenue Service to supply the Pentagon
with the relevant taxpayers' addresses, breaching current rules on confidentiality.
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- Under United States law, a reservist soldier who has
completed a four-year tour of duty can still be recalled for another four
years. Since September 11, 7,000 such reservists have been called back
for further service.
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- An estimated 280,000 reservists fall into the recall
category, but the current addresses of at least 50,000 are missing. If
Congress passes the Pentagon proposal the bill would eventually have to
be signed into law by President Bush.
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- The proposal has instantly become the butt of late-night
humour on America's talk shows.
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- Last week Jay Leno, referring to the President's patchy
recollection of his National Guard service in Alabama, joked: "The
Pentagon is proposing to use the IRS to help to track down reservists who
signed up for military duty, but who they can't find anymore.
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- "They said troops must provide the military with
information as to where they are at all times. President Bush said, 'That
must be a new policy, huh?'
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- " Civil liberties campaigners are less amused. Ari
Schwartz, an associate director with the Centre for Democracy and Technology,
told a local newspaper in the military town of Fort Worth: "There
are other ways to solve the problem they have, without putting the tax
information at risk. We hope that members of Congress who only recently
strengthened tax-privacy laws will stand up and say this is a bad idea."
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- Lt Col Bob Stone, a Pentagon spokesman for reserve affairs,
said that the IRS proposal has been under discussion for years, long before
the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan sharply increased the demands on
the US military.
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- The army is believed to have the largest number of missing
reservists, losing track of 40,700 GIs.
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- "While the military today is comprised of an all-volunteer
force, every individual who volunteers for service voluntarily accepts
an eight-year military service obligation," said Lt Col Stone.
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- "The troops are required to keep the services updated
on their residences," he said, "but many do not. Thirty-four
per cent of former army soldiers cannot be tracked. The unknowns in the
other services are in the single digit percentages. One of the difficulties
that the military services confront is keeping addresses current."
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- Many American servicemen and women serving in Iraq have
had their "tours" extended beyond their original postings, to
the consternation of the soldiers, their families and - in the case of
reservists - their civilian employers. Some have had their return date
set back more than once.
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- The strain on the US military, and the danger that conflicts
such as Iraq will drag on for years, has provoked speculation about the
return of conscription - although the administration insists that there
is no need for such a move, and no likelihood.
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