NEW YORK, 17 July 2004 — For the first time since the 1991 Gulf War, the US Army is forcing thousands of former soldiers back into uniform, which experts say is an indication of the strain on the US military over the long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army officials announced earlier this month that 5,674 former soldiers - mostly people who recently left the service and have up-to-date skills in military policing, engineering, logistics, medicine or transportation - will be assigned to National Guard and Reserve units and will be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in the near future. The first notifications were sent out last week.
The call-up, which will force ex-soldiers back into service for a year to 18 months, could be extended to include a total of 25,000 men and women who have already returned to their civilian careers.
An indication that the Army is so stretched for manpower occurred in April when it broke a promise to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that they would not have to serve more than 12 months in Iraq. It also has extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.
Robert Smiley, the Army secretary’s principal aide on troop training and mobilization, said he could not estimate the number but would not rule out that it would be thousands. He added that more former soldiers were likely to get called up next year.
Col. Debra Cook, commander of the US Army Human Resources Command, told the press that many soldiers undoubtedly would be “shocked” when they are called up, and would be given at least 30 days’ notice to report for training.
The move has proved unpopular with service families, as has the extension of tours in Iraq for about 20,000 troops who were due to rotate home. The Pentagon’s measures also underline the strategic limits of the Bush doctrine of unilateral military action where America’s interests are threatened.
Democratic Congressman Rick Larsen, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said this latest call-up amounted to conscription. “If there was any doubt that this administration was conducting a pseudo-draft, this call-up should dispel that doubt,” Larsen said.
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the training and equipping of the Iraqi forces, said he anticipates that American troop levels in Iraq may actually begin to decline rather than increase, as they have during the last year. Gen. John Abizaid, the top American commander in the Middle East, is expected to wait until at least September to give his assessment on whether US troop levels can be adjusted up or down.
