Army is discharging
reservists who refused
to mobilize
By Robert Burns, AP
from ArmyTimes.com January 10, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan 9 -- The Army
on Monday began moves to expel dozens of reserve soldiers who failed to report
for duty months after being mobilized for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in
effect serving notice to hundreds of others that they could face penalties for
ignoring or refusing orders to return to active duty.
The proceedings mark a turning point in the Army’s struggle to contact, train
and deploy thousands of Individual Ready Reserve soldiers, nearly half of whom
have requested a delay in returning, asked to be exempt or simply ignored their
orders.
The soldiers in this category of reserve status, who have served previously on
active duty but not completed their eight-year service obligation, are different
than those in the National Guard or Reserve, and they are rarely mobilized.
The Army began mobilizing them in the summer of 2004, reflecting the enormous
strain it felt in providing enough soldiers for Iraq at a time when it was
becoming apparent that no early withdrawal was likely.
So far, mobilization orders have been issued for more than 5,700 IRR soldiers
since mid-2004.
The Army announced that about 80 soldiers will face review panels, known as
separation boards, although the number may grow. If it is determined that
they intentionally failed to obey a mobilization order, they would face one of
three levels of discharge from the service: honorable, general or
other-than-honorable.
They do not face criminal charges.
“Because of these soldiers’ disregard of their duty, the Army will initiate
separation proceedings on all IRR soldiers who fail to obey mobilization
orders,” the Army said in a statement explaining its decision to act.
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