Comments on: Colonel Debunks Individual Ready Reserve Mobilization Myths

By: Angry IRR SGT

Angry IRR SGT — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:21:28 +0000

I got my callback orders on Nov 11 2009 and reported on Jan 3rd 2010. My first stop was Fort Benning. The transition process back into the millitary was not smooth at all. There was very little organisation and while we were told that we should be there no longer than 2 week’s it took just over a month. My next stop was Fort Knox for MOS refresher(19D). I loved being a private again, it was possibly the greatest experience that I have had up to this point in my life. Thankfully this only lasted two weeks. My next stop was Camp Shelby. For the next month we were restricted to post to under go their “Highspeed” training. I did’nt even think it was possible to half ass training on the level that they did. It was terrible. The unit that we would eventualy report to was right down the street from where we were but we were not allowed to report to them, until we had finished our month long training. Instead of actualy training with our unit and learning their SOP’s we would instead go to classes that we have all had numerous times before, taught by instructors who were less qualified to teach the class, than the people they were teaching it to. Eventualy we linked up with our unit 3 days before they left the states! What a disapointment that was. Everything I had heard about the National Guard while on active duty waas confirmed within an hour. Now weve been in Iraq for five months and with the draw down the unit has to send people home early. Who would you send first? The IRR soldiers augmenting your force to insure you had the numbers to deploy? That would make sense but no. Thats right our Brigade is ending their own people home and shuffleing IRR around to make sure everything comes up koscher. I did not have a problem getting called back to deploy. I have a problem pulling other soldiers deployments for them. That is not the intention of an IRR call back. Next time they need me Im telling them to get F’d, then again I’ll have 3 months left on my commitment so it shouldnt happen.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:14:30 +0000

I recieved my recall orders back in November, 2009 as well and I am now currently deployed with a National Guard unit in Kuwait. Our mission here is by far the simplest and most ignorant mission I have ever heard of. Any idiot could do this really, and yet the US Government saw fit to recall some 600 of us to come over here and do support missions. While I have been here I’ve been treated like a right-out-of-basic Private even though I’m a 4 year SPC. I am constantly treated like I don’t know anything about the Army, and being an Air Defender in an Infantry Brigade, I truly feel like I am being held to their nearly impossible “high speed guard” standards.

Yet no amount of bullshit can compare to the fact that myself and a couple other IRR Soldiers are being denied the chance to take any mid tour leave, even though we have been mobilized almost as long as the Brigade itself. Our Chain of Command only gives us vague and senseless reasoning behind our inability to go home.

It is almost impossible to find any kind of regulations on us IRR Soldiers and I fear that without some kind of proof, they will have no choice but to continue to dick us all down and remind us why we got out of the Army in the first place.

If anyone can offer some insight as to what we can do in order to not get screwed over in one of the worst ways possible, we would be eternally grateful. Thank you.

By: Respect your self.

Respect your self. — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:21:11 +0000

Resisters have the courage to follow their hearts. They follow their hearts in and they follow their hearts out.

For those who go to war because they fear the gov’ment more than their own deaths, I hesitate to call them heroes.

For those who make a career by bullying their buddies, I have no respect for you.

By: CJ

CJ — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:41:41 +0000

Wow! The Courage To Resist (isn’t that an oxymoron?) folks have made their appearance. Um, moron, can I ask you a question besides this one? I don’t believe any of that and I’ve been in 16 years. Kinda blows your ignorance on the matter out of the water, eh?

By: self-respect, please!

self-respect, please! — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:43:24 +0000

Kissing up to a gov’ment that ill-treated you and cheated you of your best years, your arms and legs and mental health. And trying to incriminate your buddies? Some self-respect pls.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:06:48 +0000

I just got back from an IRR recall tour to OIF, I was out more than two years. I showed up, rumor on the ground was that many didn’t. I asked an HRC rep how they came up with the list, and his answer at least satisfied me in that it was random. The deploying unit publishes a manning requirement that HRC then fills through transfers, mob volunteers, and after a certain drop date, whatever is left over gets pulled from the IRR sorting by MOS/rank (all those are approximations, they can call a SGT for a SPC slot if need be or an approximate MOS, 11B for a 19D slot for example…..I had 13 11B’s in my scout platoon, go figure). So a list is generated that has one caveat I know of, if you’re IRR you have 90 days dwell time, after that, you’re fair game.
I didn’t mind the call up all that much, many others (IRR was almost 10% of the end strength of the combat brigade we went with) were very much pissed. Unless you have less than a year left on your MSO I don’t feel much sympathy, going with the Colonel on this one. But HRC should screen by MSO’s and keep the short-timers off except in an uber-emergency….nothing we do seems to qualify as one at the moment.

regards,

Cpt Tim

By: also annoyed

also annoyed — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:26:05 +0000

I was recently drafted. The unit I am with here in Iraq is supposedly going back early (oh yeah – they have no assigned mission). There is a rumor that they will send the IRR people to Afghanistan when they go back to the states because… I have no idea. But that’s the latest rumint. Can they do this? Has this happened to any IRR person before?

By: EOD Tech

EOD Tech — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:47:29 +0000

I too recieved orders within 8 months of serving four years in the Army. The most confusing part for me was the fact that both of my shoulders were found to be disabled by the Compensation and Pension deptartment of Veteran Affairs. I don’t know how many of you know anything about Explosive Ordnance Disposal but one of the reqiurementsis the ability to wear a 65-85 pound bomb suit (depending on the size) while carrying a 155mm artillery round (approx. 90 pounds) in your arms for 100 meters, which is to include an incline of a degree I can’t recall at the moment. I know this because I use to perform the tests for soldiers wishing to reclass to EOD. I injured my left should approx. 8 months before my ETS date and spent numerous nights in the ER due to severe pain. I have been to four hospitals since the injury to include Walter Reed and have recieved three different diagnosises. I have been seeing a VA Surgeon monthly to try and solve this continued problem. When I recieved orders I was at first shocked that the army had stooped to the level of trying to deploy disabled veterans but quickly remembered how disorganized it was while I was serving so, I figured they had just forgotten to cross reference their list with the VA. After turning in my disablement paperwork I figured I would not hear from them again. I was wrong. They very quickly replied with a “denial from exemption” both by letter and phone call. I clearly appealed this decision having my VA assigned surgeon write a letter stating that I was unfit for combat, especially if weight exceeding 25 pounds was going to be expected of me to carry and that my condition was chronic. This appeal was also denied. I decided to set up surgery (which I was avoiding because it only has a 50% success rate) but decided to do it anyway due to these orders. I sent in the letter showing my pre-op and operation dates which were within 9 days of my report date and I was again denied. I am now sitting at Fort Benning preparing for mobilization and my only last chance of defence is the PA I will be seeing tomorrow. However, even if they find me unfit for combat I will still be unable to get home in time for my pre-op which means I will be back on the waiting list for surgery. Is this really the way the military is honoring their honorably discharged disabled Veterans?

By: Annoyed Scout

Annoyed Scout — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:55:23 +0000

My IRR callup orders got cut Nov 17… happy Thanksgiving. Somewhat surprised because I only ETS’ed 6 months ago, and during the 6 months leading up to that glorious day I was constantly reminded that the Army was getting more recruits than it needed because of the economy and if I wanted to re-up I’d need to make a decision before the 90-day mark. Now barely half a year later HRC wants me to deploy with a National Guard unit? WTF, over. At least if I’d gotten Stop-Lossed I’d be getting a chunk of change back in exchange for one more wasted year.

By: A Resister

A Resister — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:46:29 +0000

I would like to shed some light on the U.S. Army Human Resource Command. What kind of people are making decisions? What are the process of making these decisions? Have these decision makers passed conflict-of-interest check? Have they ever been they influenced by their friends? How often do they used their privileges as bargaining chips? How often do they tip off insider information to their friends? How often do they use their privileged to settle personal grudge? Based on my army experiences, unless these HR POGs prove themselves innocent, I would assume they are all guilty.