in March 2004, Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee stated in
testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee “We
now rely on our Reserve Component to support our operations to
a degree not seen since World War II. As of January 2004, there
were more than 164,000 Reserve Component Soldiers mobilized
with over 139,000 of them serving overseas.” [Senate
Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee hearing,
3/3/04]
Of the 10 army divisions located in South Korea, Bosnia, Japan
and Afghanistan--each having 10,000 to 15,000 troops--all have
sent forces to Iraq, according to the April 13, 2004 Los Angeles
Times.
In July 2004, the 3rd Infantry Division was re-deployed to Iraq to
serve for at least another year.
"Stop-loss" and "Stop-move" orders were issued to keep up
military strength in Iraq. A “stop-loss” order prevents troops
from retiring or leaving the service at the end of their
enlistments, while “stop-move” holds them overseas beyond the
original end of their tours. This is what has been called a "back-
door draft."
There are 179,594 reservists currently mobilized, according to a
November 3rd, 2004 report by United Press International.
Now, the Individual Ready Reserve--former soldiers who are in
the inactive reserve--is the current last resort to beef up the
military in Iraq (that is, until the reinstatement of the draft).
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush declared a
national emergency that authorized the mobilization of up to 1
million Ready Reserve troops to serve for as long as two years.
