A last step before a draft? All the men and women who are still obligors under the IRR system need to start checking their paperwork and see what their status is. The possible call-up of close to 6,000 Army folks ought to have everyone looking at their 214's and taking that discharge (if you have one) out of it's frame and getting a Notarized copy made and stored in a safe-deposit box.

It's one thing to want to go off to war; and it's another to have served and be called up after you've done your service. I doubt that a call-up of IRR soldiers would stop with those who are still "obligors". After all, the training curve is way more manageable for any prior service personnel; it's just a matter of convincing Congress to make an eeensy little change in the law I would imagine to get even those who have served and owe nothing back, especially if they were deemed "vital".

And hey, I think that if you're a fellow Officer, it's a pretty safe bet that you're a possible player...remember our Geneva Convention Cards (oooops Military ID's) said expiration: Indefinite. Unless you specifically resigned your commission, I think this whole thing could be problemmatic...but that's just my take on it, I'm probably wrong.

In any event, the whole IRR thing is an interesting event. The numbers are not huge yet, but the Preznit can call up something like 30,000 IRR members.

Unlike members of the Selected Reserve, who drill consistently with an organized unit, soldiers in the IRR aren't required to attend training, nor are they attached to a specific unit. In fact, many IRRists aren't even aware that they're in the reserves at all. But whenever the president sees fit, these troops have to answer the bell. Title 10 of the United States Code gives the president the authority to muster 200,000 reservists whenever "it is necessary to augment the active forces." Of that 200,000, who must serve for a period of 270 days, no more than 30,000 can be members of the IRR.

In addition, in times of grave national emergency, the president can authorize a partial mobilization of the reserves, which would involve up to 1,000,000 troops for a 24-month stretch. A full mobilization, which can occur only if Congress has declared war or during a national emergency, would call up all reserves and military retirees younger than 60 for the duration of the crisis.

This is just another facet of the lies of the 1600 Crew and the Chickenhawk Cabal...more bodies for their politics.