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Statement from Kerry Advisor Rand Beers on Pentagon Plan to Utilize Troops from the Individual Ready Reserve

June 29, 2004

Washington, DC - Kerry National Security Advisor Rand Beers issued the following statement today:

"Thousands of members of the military are learning through media reports that they may be involuntarily recalled to active duty. If true, this is troubling news and an unusual step to take.

"A few weeks ago, the Pentagon announced an expansion of the stop loss program, effectively forcing thousands of troops to extend their deployments.  At the time, that move was called a back-door draft. Today that back-door swung wide open.

"The fact is that this involuntary call-up is a direct result of the Bush Administration's diplomatic failure to get real international help in Iraq. The situation on the ground in Iraq calls for more than a token training force from NATO. We need combat ready troops from NATO to stand side by side our men and women on the front lines."

FACT SHEET:
STRETCHED THIN: BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO USE IRS IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO RAISE MORE TROOPS

Background Information on IRR Mobilization:

Recently the Pentagon has announced plans to utilize troops from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) a collection of hundreds of thousands of men and women who do not drill with a unit, and have no responsibilities other than to report their current address and contact information to the military, while they serve out the remainder of their term in the military.  The IRR was last tapped in the First Gulf War, when 20,000 were mobilized.  Thus far, approximately 2,000 IRR's have re-enlisted and most have done so voluntarily.  However, the Pentagon has defined plans to involuntarily re-enlist 6,500 IRR's for the upcoming troop rotation in Iraq.  In addition, they have announced plans to utilize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help track down thousands of soldiers in the IRR with bad contact info.  Finally, and most importantly, many in the IRR have reported that through an Army memo and phone calls, they felt pressured to re-enlist in the reserves, or risk being involuntarily mobilized into a unit to be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

US Reserve Launches Involuntary Recall of the IRR:

o       "A group of Army Reserve soldiers rarely tapped for duty could soon be heading to Iraq...The troops, part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), could be called to fill holes in units deploying to Iraq as part of the upcoming rotation of troops later this year.  As many as 6,500 IRR troops could be called and would be chosen because of critical skills needed in Iraq, such as Military Police, infantry or engineers, Pentagon officials said... The Pentagon has a pool of about 118,000 Army IRR troops, consisting of people with past military service who have a remaining mandatory service obligation. The category is distinct from regular Reserve troops because they do not perform any military service during the year, yet are still eligible to be called to service. About 2,000 IRR troops already serve at some capacity with Operation Iraqi Freedom, though many of them volunteered for service, according to Pentagon officials.  The last time a significant number of IRR troops were called to duty was for the Gulf War in 1991... The move reflects the continued shortage of troops..."[CNN.COM, 6/24/04]

o       "The Army is experiencing serious shortfalls of certain kinds of troops -- military policemen, linguists, interrogators, civil affairs specialists and medics, for instance -- so it is combing the Individual Ready Reserve to find veterans who have these skills. As many as 6,500 could be recalled to active duty.   The IRR consists of veterans who have completed their enlistment contract but who still have time remaining on the 8-year obligation they incurred when they joined up." [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/24/04]

o       "Another sign of Mr. Bush's growing desperation is the decision to activate the Individual Ready Reserve in an "involuntary mobilization." These are veterans whose service ties have been severed, in some cases for years, as well as college students on military scholarships and cadets at the service academies. Normally, IRRs are called up only for catastrophic national emergencies. But hundreds or even thousands are soon to be -- there is no better word for it -- drafted."[Berkshire Eagle, 6/14/04]

The Pentagon Uses Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to Track Down Reservists:

*       "The Pentagon may soon ask the Internal Revenue Service for help in finding thousands of troops who belong to the Individual Ready Reserve but have no current address on file. After all, what better place to find an up-to-date mailing address than on a tax return? IRRs aren't your once-a-month, two-weeks-a-year soldiers. They are men and women who have been released from the military after completing one or more tours of active duty. They aren't required to join a drilling reserve unit or show up anywhere for training. But they are available for recall, often for four years after they leave a four-year active-duty enlistment.   IRRs are supposed to keep their military organizations informed of any change of address, but that's where the trouble lies. Apparently some have moved and dropped off the Pentagon's radar." [Charleston Post and Courier, 5/30/04]

*       "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. In a move that has provoked fierce controversy the Defense Department is demanding access to tax records to locate reservists who have completed active duty tours but are still eligible for compulsory recall...."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."  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."[UK] News-Telegraph, 5/24/04]

IRRs Pressured to Re-Enlist

*       Call-Up Rumors Worry Reservists:  "Their fears have been stoked by an internal Army memo that has bounced around the Internet from recruiters to soldiers and their families, detailing plans of a mobilization of 28,400 members of the inactive reserve.... Officials with the Army Reserve acknowledge the existence of the call-up plan, but say it was not implemented. The Army has the authority to call up these soldiers, who have finished active duty and are serving out contracts as inactive reservists, usually for four years. However, such involuntary call-ups are rare.... (Steven) Stromvall acknowledged the existence of the plan, though he said he didn't think it originated in the Army Reserve. He said the e-mail was a mistake, a plan that was never implemented.... He declined to offer details about the e-mail's origin, but said no one had been disciplined for it. "A mistake is a mistake and we all learn from it," he said. "People looked into it and it was corrected. No one was strung outside a building for it." [St. Petersburg Times, 6/12/04]

*       "Really, all I can say with any certainty is that it could happen and no decision has been made," said Steven Stromvall, deputy director of public affairs for the Army Reserve. [St. Petersburg Times, 6/12/04]

*       "Don't treat us like mushrooms and keep us in the dark," Lindsay said. "There's hundreds and hundreds of people who have heard the same rumor and gossip, and everyone's passing it around trying to figure out what I'm trying to figure out. Every mother from here to Wyoming is scared out of their mind. They're saying, "Please tell me he doesn't have to go.' They're looking for answers."[St. Petersburg Times, 6/12/04]

*       "The memo from a purported May 7 "formal announcement" states Soldiers who don't join willingly will be "slammed," implying they will be transferred to units chosen by the Army, likely going to Iraq or Afghanistan...Some National Guard recruiters and retention NCOs have seized on the document as a scare tactic to encourage IRR Soldiers to join guard units or to re-enlist...The Army announced May 20 it would revoke the re-enlistment orders of Soldiers who felt they signed up under false pretenses, according to a release from U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio. DeFazio said in early May members of the IRR were told they needed to join the Army Reserve or National Guard or be involuntarily assigned. This faulty guidance resulted in a 1,000 percent increase in enlistments this month in Oregon, according to the release. The speed with which the electronic news of an IRR mobilization spread throughout the ranks, and its misuse by some recruiters, may have to do with some act-now-or-pay-later language."[DCmilitary.com, 5/28/04]