In June, the Bush administration’s back-door draft kicked into high gear by tapping the Individual Ready Reserve.
Amid Congressional concerns that the military is stretched too thin, the Army is preparing to take advantage of a rarely used wartime program that allows it to recall soldiers who have left the service and did not join the reserves. Pentagon officials said Tuesday that 5,600 former soldiers were going to be called up for yearlong tours, mostly assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bear in mind, the call-up is involuntary. The IRR includes troops who have already retired and received honorable discharges. Now, the Pentagon is re-enlisting them.
Or, as it turns out, the Pentagon is trying to re-enlist them, but is having a little trouble.
Fewer than two-thirds of the former soldiers being reactivated for duty in Iraq and elsewhere have reported on time, prompting the Army to threaten some with punishment for desertion.
The former soldiers, part of what is known as the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), are being recalled to fill shortages in skills needed for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[…]
“The numbers did not look good,” said Lt. Col. Burton Masters, a spokesman for the Army’s Human Resources Command.
I’ve gone out of my way to let Bush’s National Guard background fade from my attention, but this story is a stark reminder of a terribly flawed system that punishes those who did their duty (retired soldiers) and rewards those who didn’t (Bush).
The military is considering “desertion” charges for those who have already fulfilled their service requirements, retired, and received honorable discharges. Indeed, AWOL charges already abound.
Several of those who received recall notices have already been declared AWOL (absent without official leave) and technically are considered deserters. “We are not in a rush to put someone in the AWOL category,” Masters said. “We contact them and convince them it is in their best interests to show up. If you are a deserter, it can affect you the rest of your life.”
He’s got a point. In fact, if you fail to meet your mandatory requirements to the military, you might even end up as President of the United States.
I don’t want this election to hinge on Bush’s failure to do his duty in 1972, but here’s an instance in which a commander-in-chief without moral authority creates a dilemma. How many of these former soldiers who are being called up for involuntary service and now facing AWOL charges are wondering to themselves, “If Bush didn’t show up, why should we?”
In fact, I’m being far too generous to Bush in my comparison. These allegedly AWOL troops already fulfilled their military requirements. Bush, in contrast, let his Guard down and failed to show up for duty. The former are facing severe punishment, despite having already served honorably, while the latter would technically be responsible for bringing these American troops to justice and holding them accountable for their “crime.”