[R-G] Is it getting drafty these days?

[aaron at istop.com]

I wonder how much longer they can go on with these quasi/De Facto draft 
messures before the fuzzy mitten comes off and the proclaim "we are bringing 
back the draft." In alot of cases where we fight the enemy, we must be 
tactically superior to our enemy:with that being said I feel we in the social 
justice movment are making a mistake if we just make the political argument 
for U.S war resisters to stay in canada without also setting up the logistics 
and on the ground organising to help facilitate,war resisters and very 
possibly draft dodgers.I have said it befor, but I will say it again, We must 
think about such things as War Resister transition houses set up on or near 
border down that will better facilitate the war resister, also what about 
individuals or famillies adopting a war resister. Have "adopt a war resister" 
campaings set up in different comunities. The catholic church still has alot 
of monistaries and othert places in rural areas. I personally know of many 
places in Cape Breton where War resisters could go and noone would know there 
there and where the community would protect them.well I am at the library in 
Halifax and overstayed my limit.
                       yftr, Aaron Doncaster


US Army to call up 5,000 more ex-soldiers in 2005
01 Oct 2004 22:51:29 GMT

Source: Reuters
 
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, now mobilizing 5,600 former 
soldiers from a rarely used personnel pool to go to Iraq and Afghanistan, 
plans to summon a similar number next year for duty in those war zones, a 
senior official said on Friday.

The Army also said it plans to step up recruitment efforts to try to meet 
goals to sign up 80,000 new soldiers for the regular Army and 22,000 for the 
Army Reserve in the fiscal year that began on Friday. The Army recruiting 
command's chief acknowledged the wars were deterring some potential recruits.

To plug shortfalls in certain skills in units being deployed, the Army has 
tapped the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), made up of 111,000 people who have 
completed voluntary military commitments and have returned to civilian life 
but remain eligible to be mobilized in a national emergency.

The Army said about 3,900 of the 5,600 IRR soldiers scheduled to be summoned 
to active duty already have received orders to report. The mobilization, 
which began in July, is intended to yield about 4,400 soldiers for duty in 
Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months after the Army provides 
service exemptions for medical problems and other hardships.

Robert Smiley, a senior Army official involved in personnel mobilization, 
said the Army also expected in mid-2005 to begin mobilizing about another 
5,600 from the IRR.

"It will be a one-for-one swap, essentially," Smiley told reporters, with the 
5,600 IRR soldiers being mobilized next year, replacing the current IRR 
soldiers after they complete 12-month combat tours.

"It will be a one-for-one swap, essentially," for the IRR soldiers currently 
being mobilized after they complete 12-month combat tours, Smiley told 
reporters.

Critics have cited the Army's reliance on the IRR as evidence that it has too 
few soldiers to sustain force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'A NATION AT WAR'

"We're a nation at war. And we need these people to come on active duty," 
said Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, the Army's director of personnel policy.

Of the IRR members whose date to report for duty has already arrived, roughly 
one-third have not shown up on time, with most of those requesting service 
exemptions or a delay in reporting, Byrne said.

Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon, said the Army has 
identified six IRR members who have not reported by the date ordered, and 
have not requested an exemption from service or a delay in reporting.

These six people potentially could face future criminal charges if deemed 
absent without leave, or AWOL, although Hart said charges were unlikely and 
noted that commanders have a great deal of discretion in how to handle these 
cases.

A spokeswoman for the Army Human Resources Command had said on Tuesday that 
eight IRR members had been listed as AWOL.

Byrne said the Human Resources Command was mistaken, adding, "No one is 
considered in an AWOL status right now."

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, head of the Army Recruiting Command, 
said the Army is adding 1,000 recruiters and $12 million in advertising money 
to boost efforts to sign up fresh soldiers. In the fiscal year that ended 
Thursday, the regular Army and Army Reserve met recruiting goals, while the 
Army National Guard fell short.

"Obviously there's a war going on. No one would deny that. And for some 
people, for some of our prospects for our target age, young men and women, 
that is in fact a drawback. And it will deter some of them," Rochelle told 
reporters.

"Many of them, once presented with the facts, can be convinced otherwise."