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Careful process used to determine Guard, Reserve mobilizations

Army News Service

Release Date: 10/22/2003

By Spc. Bill Putnam

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 22, 2003) -- "A very, very detailed" look at units will be done before an undetermined number of them are told to pack their bags for a year-long deployment in Iraq, said Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"Somewhere within the next two to three weeks we should be able to come forward to (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld) with our recommendations on what units fulfill the capabilities that the commanders on the ground want," Pace said at a Pentagon press conference Oct. 21.

Pentagon leaders and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are currently poring over a list of units that Gen. John Abizaid, the Central Command commander, needs for the next rotation of troops into Iraq.

The capabilities of both active duty and reserve component units will be given an equal look during that evaluation, Pace said. And because of the current deployment tempo for active-duty units, the Army Reserve and National Guard are getting a close look to replace active duty units in Iraq, Pace said.

New equipment tailored toward peacekeeping will also be used during the next rotation in Iraq, he said.

For example, more Humvees and other lighter vehicles, and fewer tanks will be used, Pace said.

"That also lightens up the amount of logistic support needed, and mechanics needed, and the like, to keep the heavy equipment moving," he said.

The bulk of the units being mobilized are logistical units to support the combat units in country, Pace said.

Pentagon planners are also working to make sure units aren't called up needlessly, Pace said.

"We don't want to call up a tank repair platoon if, in fact, we're not going to have tanks," he said. "So we want to make sure that we don't just mindlessly replace one unit with another."

However, "rushing to anticipate" what will happen in the coming weeks is probably a waste of time, said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

"These involve lots of peoples' lives," Rumsfeld said. "And the effect of misinformation being communicated because people want to print the news before it's news, or before it happens, or before the decision's made . does nothing but jerk around the families and the service people. And I don't find it helpful, which is why we're being so careful in what we're saying."

There are about 60,0000 Reserve and Guard Soldiers in Iraq now and other Reserve and Guard units will replace them, Pace said.

Three National Guard enhanced separate brigades going to Iraq next year have already been told about their deployments, Pace said.

Enhanced separate brigades have about 5,000 Soldiers and field a mixture of infantry, armor, artillery, engineer and support units.

The Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade, the North Carolina Guard's 30th Infantry Brigade are deploying to Iraq next spring.

The Washington Guard's 81st Infantry Brigade has been alerted for mobilization, but hasn't received word when they're going.

A fourth, unnamed brigade could be mobilized for duty but the chances of that happening are small, Pace said.

The approaching holidays are big factor in the planning and alert process, Pace said. Right now, it's a goal of the Joint Chiefs not to mobilize the reserve component units before the holidays, he said.

"As we think through how to make sure we alert them in plenty of time to think it through but not have them actually mobilized over the holidays if we don't have to," Pace said.