Individual Ready Reserve Not So Ready

There are various components of the Army's non-active duty forces. One is the Individual Ready Reserve, which is less often mobilized than either the rest of the Army Reserves or the Army National Guard. Efforts to call up this part of the force started in the summer of 2004. Upon receiving call up orders issued to about 5,700 people, "nearly half of whom have requested a delay in returning, asked to be exempt or simply ignored their orders." About 20,000 people with this status were called up in the 1990 Gulf War, the last time reservists with this status were called up.

As of Dec. 11, the latest date for which the Army had figures, 3,954 IRR soldiers had reported for duty. In addition, more than 1,600 had been excused from duty and 463 had been sent orders but not yet reported. Of those 463, the Army has been unable to locate 383. The other 80 are the ones who now face discharge.

The Army has considered criminal absent without leave charges, bad conduct discharges and dishonorable discharges, but settled on a more lenient scheme where soldiers who have been located but failed to report to duty will be discharged from service (i.e. kicked out of the Army Reserve) and face at worst an "other than honorable" discharge (which voids many veteran's benefits), although some may receive honorable or general discharges which allow the individual to receive veteran's benefits. For someone not wanting to throw their life and career away by going to Iraq, this is a pretty good deal.