http://web2.stratfor.com/news/2004GIR/Info.neo?P=ST4WEEKLY
Summary
The U.S. Department of Defense is now activating the Army's Individual
Ready Reserve for combat duty. Given the inherent problems associated
with such a move, it is clear that U.S. war planners were caught in a
trap: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's "revolution in warfare" has
not evolved as expected.
Analysis
On July 6, 5,600 members of the U.S. Army's Individual Ready Reserve
will start to receive notices that they are being recalled to active
duty. Members of the IRR are generally soldiers who have completed their
primary active-duty assignments. They are not part of the regular
Reserves or the National Guard, but are simply kept on a list as
available for recall. In general, this has been simply a formality. IRR
members have been called up on only two occasions: Once was in 1968,
following the Tet offensive; the other was in 1991, in the context of
Operation Desert Storm. There have already been some smaller call-ups of
essential specialties, but this is the first large-scale mobilization.
The Army has indicated that there likely will be more.
The recall is neither routine, nor what the Army would like to be doing.
First, the reactivated reservists will have been out of the Army for
several years. They might not be in appropriate mental or physical
condition for a tour in a combat zone -- where, according to the Army,
most are going to be sent. Since the current plan is to keep them on
active duty for no more than a year, there is little time for an
extensive conditioning program if the troops are to spend much time
in-theater. These are not the forces commanders want to lead if they
have a choice.
......
It has always been understood, in the fine print, that calling up the
IRR was possible, and soldiers who are being recalled cannot complain
that they did not know -- they can complain only that they did not
expect it to happen. However, people who have already served and
completed their tours -- and are busy with careers, children and
mortgages -- are now going to be sent into combat zones.
....
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-Gel
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