# Calling Up the Inactive Reserves?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 18, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848 "2004-05-18T21:30:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/1 "2004-05-18T21:30:13Z")
[Link.](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2004_05/003952.php) I’ll admit I don’t know a whole lot about this. But it sure looks to this semi-ignorant observer that they’re really reaching now, in terms of using every last possible way to have enough troop strength to sustain operations in Iraq. The U.S. military’s [enlistment contract](http://usmilitary.about.com/library/pdf/enlistment.pdf) says" “If this is my initial enlistment, I must serve a total of eight (8) years.” My understanding is that, once you’ve served your active duty or active reservist obligation, however long its term, you’re still regarded as being on reserve status until a total of eight years has elapsed. Between the time your active commitment has ended, and the end of the eight years, you’re in what’s known as the inactive reserves. While in the inactive reserves, you’re subject to involuntary recall to the active reserves or to active duty. (We’ve got lots of present and former military on this board; if I’ve got the story wrong, _please_ speak up!) Anybody know when was the last time we called up the inactive reserves? I’ve been trying to google that, and am drawing a blank. But I’m assuming we haven’t done it since Vietnam at least, and maybe not since Korea. (The inactive reserves _were_ called up in Korea.) I don’t know that I have a particular point with this, just that I’m worried about the stress on our troops, and on the U.S. military as a whole. Because this seems to me to be a fairly convincing sign that our forces are stretched about as tight as they can be stretched. And maybe then some. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/2 "2004-05-18T22:26:28Z")
dont know anyone in the inactive reserve, but I saw a show on tv last night that mentioned it (vegas…) didnt watch whole show either, but it seems that there was consderable consternation over this event. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/3 "2004-05-18T22:31:28Z")
HOLY SHIT!! just read some of link. wtf?? The armed forces are stretched thinner than the skin on joanie rivers face… and that’s only with half an adventure done in afghanistan, and ;maybe 10 % of one done in iraq, and this clodhopper is barking at syria. I got a bad feeling about this… ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/4 "2004-05-18T22:44:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Title 10 U.S.C. 12301(a) provides that, in time of war or national emergency declared by the Congress, the entire membership of all reserve components or any lesser number can be called to active duty for the duration of the war or national emergency plus 6 months. Although this statute normally is viewed as the call-up authority for responding to a major threat to national security, DOD stated that it could be used to activate reservists for a domestic emergency. However, it has never been used for this purpose. Source: [http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/guardandreserve/a/reservecallup.htm](http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/guardandreserve/a/reservecallup.htm) It appears that [H.J.Res.114](http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.J.RES.114:) meets the criteria of 10 USC 12301(a) in that the inactive reserves may be called up _for the duration_ of the Iraq war. According to the [Reserve Affairs FAQ Table](http://www.defenselink.mil/ra/secondary/componentsfaq.html) this is a component of full mobilization of the armed forces. Since I don’t see anything greater in the table, for all intents and purposes, the US military is on full war footing, with military retirees being the last callup before the have to go outside of the the military structure for more bodies - a draft. What has me concerned is what happens if another conflict looms? I am not talking doomsday scenarios by any means but if the the US were pulled into another conflict - South Korea for example - we are already at the end of our military rope. Were we ever at this point during Vietnam? Or was Korea the last time in our history we were on the doorstep of total war (with total war defined as all available military mobilized and the civilian population was next in line)? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/5 "2004-05-18T22:49:34Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Source: Were we ever at this point during Vietnam? There was a draft in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/6 "2004-05-18T22:50:27Z")
Do you have a cite from a reputable non-partisan news orginization for this RTFirefly? This site has how should I put it, a blatantly obvious rabid partisan slant. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/7 "2004-05-18T22:58:51Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Do you have a cite from a reputable non-partisan news orginization for this RTFirefly? This site has how should I put it, a blatantly obvious rabid partisan slant. no, no, no this is too much,. permit me, at the risk of presuming, to direct your attention to the google box. you have enough from Tapped, Kevin Drumm, and multiple ;word matrices in the comments to contradict any shaky assertion in thirty milliseconds. you dont get to question TAPPED, as rabid. iI’M RABID. Wasington Monthly and American Prospect are practically DNC mouthpieces (compared to me…) If you want different facts, I suggest an alternative universe where George Bush is played by Noam Chomsky instead of John Wayne ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/8 "2004-05-18T23:00:07Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Do you have a cite from a reputable non-partisan news orginization for this RTFirefly? This site has how should I put it, a blatantly obvious rabid partisan slant. no, no, no this is too much,. permit me, at the risk of presuming, to direct your attention to the google box. you have enough from Tapped, Kevin Drumm, and multiple ;word matrices in the comments to contradict any shaky assertion in thirty milliseconds. you dont get to question TAPPED, as rabid. iI’M RABID. Wasington Monthly and American Prospect are practically DLC mouthpieces (compared to me…) If you want different facts, I suggest an alternative universe where George Bush is played by Noam Chomsky instead of John Wayne ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/9 "2004-05-18T23:06:15Z")
> [@furt](#): > > There was a draft in Vietnam. Yes, of course. But during Vietnam did we activate the inactive reserves as well? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/10 "2004-05-18T23:06:44Z")
An ABC affiliate out of Portland Oregon has some coverage: [http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67391](http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67391) > [@](#): > > Only last week soldiers who were on inactive reserve were told they have to go back to the front lines. > The decision affects several thousand former soldiers in the Northwest and about 127,000 nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/11 "2004-05-18T23:26:07Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > An ABC affiliate out of Portland Oregon has some coverage: > [http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67391](http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67391) yet another rabidly partisan source. Is there no TRUTH to be had, anywhere?? Where is the “Charge of the III Brigade”? Where is the “Battle of Baghdad”? How can the people think clearly? Michael Moore stalks the land. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/12 "2004-05-18T23:26:27Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > What has me concerned is what happens if another conflict looms? I am not talking doomsday scenarios by any means but if the the US were pulled into another conflict - South Korea for example - we are already at the end of our military rope. On a somewhat related note, [US Forces in Korea](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/skorea.troops/index.html) are going to be tapped for deployment to Iraq. > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON – The United States has notified South Korea and Japan it plans to move about 3,600 troops from South Korea to Iraq, senior Pentagon officials confirmed to CNN. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/13 "2004-05-18T23:33:59Z")
Whether or not this story has a basis in fact, **NOW** can any of GW’s water carriers tell my why this while Iraq mess isn’t just a Mark 1, Mod. 0; SNAFU, Type GW Bush, Routine? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/14 "2004-05-18T23:37:18Z")
From [here](http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2913503.php) > [@](#): > > The Army has begun screening members of the Individual Ready Reserve to determine who would be available to be called to active duty if needed > [@](#): > > Some IRR members could be called up once the screening is finished > [@](#): > > While the Army does such screening periodically, the current Army-wide screening is a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Masters said. > > ?It?s a big pool of manpower to get up to date with,? he said. I don’t think its accurate to say that we are calling up the inactive reserves. This is just a very basic step that seems to be done periodically anyways. Thats not to say that our forces aren’t stretched thin and it is possible that we eventually will call up the inactive reserves. Is there anything that you specifically want to debate here? alaricthegoth- Holy cow man did we forget our medicine or something? ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/15 "2004-05-18T23:47:12Z")
We’re far from the end of our military rope. In fact, we’re not even halfway there. Rough estimates are that we have 114,000 US personnel and over 23,000 coalition personnel deployed in Iraq. Over 26,000 US and Coalition personnel were deployed in Kuwait, providing logistical support to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In Afghanistan there are around 20,000. [Cite.](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat.htm) However, in Southwest Asia as a whole, we’ve got 200,000 to 225,000 troops (including 1,200 at the Horn of Africa) (same cite). We’ve also got [71,000 troops in Germany](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22217-2004Mar24.html), and another [47,000 in Japan](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/korea-orbat-usfj.htm), which aren’t exactly hot spots. We’ve also got thousands of troops deployed around the world in places from Kosovo to Djibouti to building schools in Central America to fighting the drug war. None of our carriers are currently deployed to the Persian Gulf (in fact, only two are currently deployed, including the Kitty Hawk, which is always deployed). And still, half our units are sitting back home. Still, I have no problem with calling up the inactive reserves. They’re reserves. That’s what we’re reserving them for. This is probably the first time in a long while that we’ve been able to use them. So I don’t think we’re stretched too thin. I think we could commit more troops if we wanted without sacrificing other missions. And if it came down to it, we could probably sacrifice a couple of other missions. Of course, we haven’t done that, so it’s probably too early to get worked up over this. ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/16 "2004-05-18T23:51:56Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > Whether or not this story has a basis in fact, **NOW** can any of GW’s water carriers tell my why this while Iraq mess isn’t just a Mark 1, Mod. 0; SNAFU, Type GW Bush, Routine? Huh? So you think this story proves that Iraq is a mess, regardless of whether it’s true or not? Wow. That’s quite a burden of proof you’ve got there. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/17 "2004-05-18T23:58:03Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Yes, of course. But during Vietnam did we activate the inactive reserves as well? Well, when you’re grabbing guys off the street and sticking them in the Mekong, you’ve gone rather beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/18 "2004-05-18T23:59:08Z")
I don’t see how this is such a surprise to people. My pal Rich was ROTC in college, graduated, and did his stint in the reserves which ended _several years ago_. He finished up as a captain in the quartermaster corps, got bumped up to major the day before he went inactive, and went on his merry way. And last February he got the call. He was being reactivated and get himself ready…and, by the way, he was a Captain again. Three weeks in Fort Hood and off to Kuwait to await the war. He’s running a platoon performing water supply work in a spot just south of Baghdad now. It was supposed to be a 6 month deployment to get the system set up then he’d be rotated back home while some other unit took over. That was 14 months ago. He has no idea when he’ll be home. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/19 "2004-05-19T00:03:21Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Well, when you’re grabbing guys off the street and sticking them in the Mekong, you’ve gone rather beyond that. Maybe we are getting ready to do that … > [@](#): > > **Pentagon may use IRS to find reservists** > > FORTH WORTH, Texas, May 18 (UPI) – The Defense Department has proposed using U.S. Internal Revenue Service data to track down reservists with which they have lost contact. > > The measure, which department officials say has been vetted by its lawyers, would allow the Pentagon to access the addresses for tens of thousands of people who still face active-duty recall, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Congress and President Bush would have to approve an amendment to the tax code in order legalize the practice. Source: [http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/05180002aaa0076b.upi&Sys=rmmiller&Fid=NATIONAL&Type=News&Filter=National%20News](http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/05180002aaa0076b.upi&Sys=rmmiller&Fid=NATIONAL&Type=News&Filter=National%20News) “Ah, sir, we’re not here about your tax bill. You see, you are still obligated under your reserve military status and if we in the IRS cannot get your money, we’ll take your hide instead …” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848/20 "2004-05-19T00:14:29Z")
> [@Age Quod Agis](#): > > We’re far from the end of our military rope. In fact, we’re not even halfway there. IIRC, the shortages weren’t in raw troop numbers, but rather in specific relevant kinds of troops. At on epoint 30 out of 33 units of active duty combat troops were either deployed or just back from being deployed or just about to be deployed. IIRC, there’re something like ten or fifteen support troops for every combat soldier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-up-the-inactive-reserves/245848.md?page=2)