Recalling the Ready Reserve

On Tuesday the Marine Corps announced that up to 2500 of the inactive ready reserve would be recalled to involuntary active duty because fighting two wars simultaneously in Iraq and Afghanistan has stretched the Corps to the limit, and is requiring that extraordinary measures be taken to bolster deficits in equipment and manpower.

This is the first call-up of Marines Ready Reserve troops since 2700 were recalled before the 2003 invasion.

The Marines are experiencing equipment shortages because three years of combat duty in rough desert terrain wears out fighting vehicles, Humvees and trucks. The Marines are having to borrow equipment from non-deployed units and preposition these stockpiles of equipment.

That these two events are occuring simultaneously is testament to the flagging ability to retain combat readiness.

And it isn't just the Marines. The Army has recalled more than 5100 of the ready reserves, most called back to active duty since 2004. over 2100 remain on active duty. In addition, the Army has extended the tours of 4000 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Their one-year tour has become 16 months, and the soldiers and their families are not happy. Approximately 300 soldiers who had made it home were returned to the combat zone within days.

Recalling the ready reserves, and retaining troops in the combat zone for months beyond the end of their tours amounts to a backdoor draft, and I will all but guarantee that recruiters assured recruits who knew they were going in for four years ,then balked at the eight year commitment specified in their contracts, that a recall would never happen. I have heard of those empty promises from troops, and I have heard recruiters make those promises with my own ears.

Anyone who is considering enlisting needs to remember that the contract they sign is only binding for the troop, not the service. Nobody asks to be a recruiter, they get stuck with the job. All recruiters are salesmen, and like any salesman, they have a quota. Before you seriously consider enlisting in any branch of the armed services, locate and talk to veterans of the branch of service in which you are considering enlisting.

It is imperative that anyone who enlists be aware before they sit down at the table to play that the deck is stacked. The decision to serve in the military is not right for everyone. And while the decisions made by my father and my husband were the right decisions for them and their families, not everyone is suited to a military life.

And that goes for the dependents. Before you get married, make sure the civilian half of the couple is suited to the life of a military spouse. It isn't for everyone. Military spouses have to be tough, resilient, and strong. Here I have to stop and tip my hat to my Mom, the original firecracker, this goes double for Navy spouses, because even in peace time they go on long tours and are gone for months. My life as an Air Force wife was a cakewalk compared to the life of a Navy wife.

Service is a big decision. It is life altering, and can be life ending. It is not to be entered into lightly.