Washington – The Marine Corps is recalling 1,800 reservists to active duty, citing a shortage of volunteers to fill some jobs in Iraq.
Members of the branch’s Individual Ready Reserve, or IRR, will get letters this week notifying them of plans to mobilize them involuntarily for a year, said Lt. Col. Jeff Riehl of Marine manpower and reserve affairs.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week approved the action, under which reservists would report for duty in October and deploy to Iraq early next year, Riehl said.
From the 1,800 called, officials hope to get 1,200 Marines for aviation maintenance, logistics support, combat arms and several other skills needed for the early-2008 rotation into Iraq.
The ready reserves are service members who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. Generally, Marines enlist for four years, then serve another four in the regular Reserve, where they train periodically, or in the IRR, in which they do not drill but can be recalled.
President Bush last summer authorized the recall from the Marine IRR of up to 2,500 at one time. Like the Army, the Marines have had to call considerably larger numbers of people to get the number they want, because some don’t pass muster and others ask for deferments, delays or exemptions.
