Military says it might return some former soldiers to duty

[icymist]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001933950_armyrecall20m.html

Thursday, May 20, 2004 - Page updated at 01:26 A.M.

Military says it might return some former soldiers to duty

By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter

Hundreds of Washington residents who thought they might be done with their days in the Army may be pulled back into service in the weeks ahead.
The unusual move would affect some who were on active duty less than eight years. It would be intended to shore up the ranks of reserve and National Guard units, many of which have been mobilized to serve in Iraq.

"The driving force behind this is that reserves, stateside, are in some areas running short," said Ray Gall, a spokesman for the Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis.

The decision on whether to go ahead with the recall in Washington and other states is expected sometime after May 31. Men and women would be assigned to units short of soldiers. A recall could involve thousands nationwide.

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Army reserve officials say many units in the United States have holes because some soldiers have been siphoned off to fill out units headed for Iraq. Army officials would try to place soldiers in reserve units within 50 miles of their homes, but there would be no guarantees. Those units, if mobilized, could be sent to Iraq.

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