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More IRR Marines face involuntary call-ups

Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve could face involuntary activations to fill the gap as the Corps moves to increase its end strength by 22,000 Marines, according to the Corps’ top mobilization official.

Last August, President Bush gave the Corps authority to involuntarily activate up to 2,500 IRR Marines at any one time. That power was exercised in December when 150 IRR Marines were involuntarily called up for duty — the first time the Corps had made such a call since 2002. Activations would be for up to 18 months for each Marine.

There will probably be more involuntary activations in the near future, Brig. Gen. Darrell Moore, commanding general of Marine Corps Mobilization Command, told Marine Corps Times on Feb. 2. Moore would not give further details but said it would be “more than 150.”

Reservists could also be used to fill manpower gaps until proposed end-strength increases are achieved, the MobCom commander said. The Bush administration has said it wants to increase end strength by 5,000 Marines a year until it reaches 202,000. End strength is at 180,000.

“The IRR exists for a reason,” Moore said. “I think an operational Reserve does have a place in helping the Marine Corps meet its manpower demands, whatever those might be, whether they are part of a congressionally authorized end-strength increase over time, whether they are for very legitimate deployment tempo concerns, as testified to the commandant regarding our infantry battalion and others regarding their rotation schedules.”

Moore was referring to Commandant Gen. James Conway’s initiative to increase time at home between deployments for Marines. Right now, Marines spend about seven months at home after seven months deployed. He wants to double that time at home to 14 months.

Involuntarily activating IRR Marines could make sense with respect to small skill sets, such as intelligence, explosive ordnance disposal, military police or other job fields that might have long school lengths, low density or lack of available school seats, said Frank Hoffman, a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

There are about 60,000 leathernecks in the IRR, which can lay hands on about 80 percent of its Marines. The remaining 20 percent — or about 12,000 — have not kept their contact information current. “They’ve not been proactive,” Moore said.

Plus-ups to Corps end strength would also round out the Reserve, Moore said.

“That obviously will have a ripple effect,” he said. “More Marines on active duty means, down the road, Marines leaving active duty.”

Corps leaders have said they plan to make the end-strength goal by stepping up recruiting and luring back leathernecks already out of service.

The Corps loses about 39,000 Marines annually and estimates there are about 100,000 released from duty who are re-enlistment eligible, Lt. Gen. Emerson Gardner, deputy commandant for programs and resources, said during a press briefing last month.

“We are going to go out, and our commandant will make a call to arms and see what number of those 100,000 would be willing to come back on active duty,” Gardner said. Ë