Military says it might return some former soldiers to duty

By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The unusual move would affect some who were on active duty less than eight years. It would be intended to shore up the ranks of reserve and National Guard units, many of which have been mobilized to serve in Iraq.

"The driving force behind this is that reserves, stateside, are in some areas running short," said Ray Gall, a spokesman for the Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis.

The decision on whether to go ahead with the recall in Washington and other states is expected sometime after May 31. Men and women would be assigned to units short of soldiers. A recall could involve thousands nationwide.

In the meantime, reserve and Guard recruiters have been phoning former soldiers and suggesting they might want to enlist voluntarily to pick the unit of their choice.

"Right now, we have about 500 people who might be eligible, and about 70 to 75 of them have said they are interested in joining a unit," said Maj. Hillary Anne Luton, a spokeswoman for the 70th Regional Readiness Command, based at Seattle's Fort Lawton.

Former soldiers subject to a potential recall are those whose active-duty service fell short of the eight-year mark. After leaving the service, they joined what is known as the Individual Ready Reserve. In this position, they're able to pursue civilian careers full time. But until they reach that eight-year mark, the Army can assign them to a reserve unit.

The Army seldom uses that power of recall, but it is scrambling to come up with additional soldiers to maintain its troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It is very, very rare that they are being dipped into, and it's usually just for specialties," said Master Sgt. Jeff Clayton of the Washington Army National Guard.

Army reserve officials say many units in the United States have holes because some soldiers have been siphoned off to fill out units headed for Iraq. Army officials would try to place soldiers in reserve units within 50 miles of their homes, but there would be no guarantees. Those units, if mobilized, could be sent to Iraq.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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