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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

He got away with fleeing from combat, defying orders to take his 
physical, going AWOL---and received an Honorable Dischargd, no 
less---wonder if these Reservists will get the same suckup treatment.


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Hundreds of Rarely Used Army Reservists Balk at Involuntary Call-Up

*By Robert Burns* The Associated Press
Published: Oct 1, 2004

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WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the former soldiers involuntarily 
called to active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have failed to report on 
time, the Army acknowledged Friday, but it said no one has yet been 
classified as AWOL.

Officials also said they expect next year to call up several thousand 
more from this category of rarely used reservists, known as the 
Individual Ready Reserve. These soldiers were honorably discharged after 
finishing their active-duty tours of usually four to six years, but they 
remain part of the IRR for the rest of the eight-year commitment they 
made when they joined the Army.

The current IRR call-up, which began in July and will continue through 
next spring, is designed to fill 4,400 positions in Army units deploying 
to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the 1,765 IRR soldiers ordered to report for training between Aug. 31 
and Sept. 28, a total of 622 failed to show up, Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, 
director of military personnel policy for the Army, told reporters Friday.

Of those 622, officials said 375 have contacted the Army and are trying 
to work out a solution. The other 247 have not been in touch but are not 
considered AWOL, or absent without leave.

"No one is considered in an AWOL status," Byrne said.

Other Army officials have recently told news organizations that at least 
six IRR soldiers were AWOL.

Byrne said the Army was willing to work with individuals who missed 
their report dates, rather than set a firm deadline for resolving their 
cases. He said more than 200 of the 622 have given "very positive 
responses" to the Army's reminder that they are obligated to serve.

The total number of IRR soldiers contacted and given a report date as 
late as March of next year is 3,899. Of that total, 1,498 have requested 
a delay or exemption based on a wide range of issues including medical, 
financial and personal problems, officials said.

The Army has approved more than 300 of those requests and rejected 26, 
said Raymond Robinson, chief of staff for the Army's top uniformed 
personnel officer. He said the 26 have been told to report for duty, but 
said it was unclear what would happen to them if they did not.

To reach the goal of filling 4,400 positions in active-duty and 
mobilized National Guard and Reserve units that are deploying to Iraq 
and Afghanistan between now and next summer, the Army expects to call up 
5,674 IRR soldiers, realizing that medical and other factors are likely 
to disqualify about one-third of them.

That one-third ratio is approximately what the Army has seen with the 
first group of 1,765 ordered to report for duty by Sept. 28, and Byrne 
said he expects that to continue in the months ahead. "We're pretty much 
on track," he said.

AP-ES-10-01-04 1520EDT