Marine Corps calling up more IRR troops
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, May 15, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps is once again calling up Marines from the Individual Ready Reserve.
The upcoming call-up will mark the fourth time since August 2006 that the Corps has dipped into the IRR to fill shortfalls in the active-duty force.
Marines in the IRR are no longer on active duty, but they have time left on their service obligation. Unlike other Reservists, they do not drill and are not attached to units.
"They are Marines who have fulfilled the active part of initial obligation, went back home for a year, a year plus, thinking they were done, and we’re calling them back to active service," said Maj. Gen. Andrew B. Davis, head of Marine Corps Mobilization Command.
Of the 60,000 Marines in the IRR, about 70 percent have deployed to combat at least once, Davis said on Wednesday.
Not all IRR Marines who are screened get orders to deploy. They can be exempt for medical issues and other reasons.
The Corps plans to screen between 1,700 and 1,800 Marines, of which it hopes about 550 will get orders for Iraq, officials said Wednesday.
In the last call-up, 2,005 Marines were screened, of whom 616 received orders to deploy, Davis said. Before that, 628 of 1,800 screened received orders to Iraq.
"I would not characterize that as disappointment on part of the manpower commanders," Davis said. "The MEF [Marine Expeditionary Force] commanders were delighted at what they could get."
The most prevalent Military Occupational Specialties of the Marines to be screened are infantry, military police, motor transport, communications and aviation support, said Corps spokesman Maj. Steven O’Connor.
The IRR Marines will muster from May 28 to June 3 at Kansas City, Mo., O’Connor said. Those Marines who receive orders to deploy will join their units in November.
The latest call-up comes as the Corps is growing, and faster than expected. In April, the Corps signed up 2,233 recruits, meeting 142 percent of its monthly recruiting goal.
If the recruiting trend continues, the Corps could hit an active-duty end-strength of 202,000 by the end of 2009, two years ahead of schedule.
Asked why the Corps still needs to rely on the IRR given its recruiting success, Davis explained that Marines who enlist today need at least six months of training before they are ready to be deployed.