CNN reports: Pentagon to call up rarely tapped Reserves.
Pentagon officials admit that the military is reaching deep into its resources but say that war planners have long had contingency plans for such a call-up when troops are needed.The Pentagon has about 118,000 such troops, former enlisted soldiers who served less than eight years on active duty or officers who did not resign their commissions.
The Individual Ready Reserve category is distinct from regular Army Reserve because the troops do not perform any military service during the year yet are still eligible to be called to active duty.
About 2,000 IRR troops already serve in some capacity in Iraq, although many of them volunteered for service, according to Pentagon officials.
UPDATE July 1: Four Right Wing Wackos has a funny story relating to the topic of this cartoon.
Posted by Forkum at June 29, 2004 10:41 PM
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