- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The
U.S. Army is planning an involuntary mobilization of thousands of reserve
troops to maintain adequate force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense
officials said on Monday.
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- The move -- involving the seldom-tapped Individual Ready
Reserve -- represents the latest evidence of the strain being placed on
the U.S. military, particularly the Army, by operations in those two countries.
-
- Roughly 5,600 soldiers from the ready reserve will be
notified of possible deployment this year, including some soldiers who
will be notified within a month, said an Army official speaking on condition
of anonymity.
-
- A senior defense official said, "These individuals
are being called back to fill specific shortages for specific jobs."
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- The official said the last time the Individual Ready
Reserve, mainly made up of soldiers who have completed their active duty
obligations, was mobilized in any significant numbers was during the 1991
Gulf War.
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- Army officials are in the process of briefing members
of Congress on the mobilization and plan a formal announcement on Wednesday.
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- The Army official said the mobilization "will be
through the rest of the year. Some could be within a month."
-
- "It would be an involuntary measure, an involuntary
mobilization," the Army official said. "It's approximately 5,600."
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- "We're not calling up units, we're just using all
the existing assets in theater and we're augmenting those assets with these
individuals -- various occupational specialties, various different types
of officers running the whole gamut," the Army official said.
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- The official said military police and civil affairs personnel
were among the specialties involved.
-
- The defense official said that while soldiers in the
Individual Ready Reserve have served their voluntary obligation in the
Army they still can be mobilized involuntarily for several years after
returning to civilian life.
-
- "Sometimes there's a misperception by some of the
individuals ... that 'I've done my obligation, I've been in the Army, thank
you very much, and I'm done'. But you're not done," the official said.
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- The Pentagon had originally planned to reduce the number
of American troops in Iraq to approximately 110,000 by now, but continuing
security problems compelled officials to maintain a level of about 138,000
troops. Officials have said they planned to maintain that number through
the end of 2005.
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- The United Sates has another 20,000 troops in Afghanistan.
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- This spring, the Pentagon delayed by about three months
the scheduled departure from Iraq of roughly 20,000 U.S. troops.
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- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5536115
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