US Tells 27,000 Reserve Troops To Prepare For Duty

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a fresh sign of preparation for possible war with Iraq, the United States has ordered another 27,000 Reserve and National Guard troops to prepare for active duty, defense officials said on Saturday.

They said the alert was issued by the Pentagon on Friday night and that the services were identifying units ranging from Navy port workers to Army engineers to be prepared for a likely call to active duty early in the new year.

"Defense Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld has not given a final call-up order, but the troops are being alerted to get ready," one of the officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. They said the new call-up could go as high as 30,000 troops.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Army units would include military police, engineers and supply specialists and that the Navy was planning to notify at least 1,000 ship cargo specialists and other port workers.

There are already more than 50,000 part-time U.S. reservists on active duty from all U.S. services, part of a call-up sparked by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The defense officials spoke after the military on Friday began giving mandatory smallpox vaccinations to the first of 500,000 U.S. troops, including medical response teams and key units that might go to war or support combat against Baghdad over weapons of mass destruction. That inoculation effort was ordered by President Bush

If Bush orders an attack against Iraq, the Pentagon is expected to activate up to 200,000 reservists to fill key posts in the military from piloting warplanes to shipping arms. Many of them would also guard bases and key civilian facilities at home and replace regular Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force troops sent off to battle.

A total of 265,000 National Guard and Reserve members were called to duty during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites).

In addition to the nearly 30,000 to be alerted under Friday night's order, defense officials said last week that the Army was preparing to call up 8,000 or more of its National Guard and Reserve troops to help provide security at American air bases.

Those troops would likely replace Air Force Guard and Reserve people who have been already on active duty for nearly a year.

Grandpa during WWII said "What is happening in Europe (The Bombings) will someday come to America. We can not always feel that it can not happen here". My two father inlaws were drafted and served throughout the war. My dad was too old, but he volunteered in WWI. I was a draftee in the early 60's who turned the military into a career. What we all had in common was we were all only sons. I favor the draft (suprise?) as it was the great equalizer. Everyone was subject to it. Some of us tried to advoid it by legal means only to find ourselves inducted. There will always be those who would oppose serving no matter what the circumstances. Can we continue to depend only on volunteers? The National Guards and Reserves have been more than decimated over the past 10 years. They call it reorganization and modernization. No matter how you look at it, it is reduction and de-activation. If we take losses on the first echelon who will be there to back it up? Who will replace the active reserve units? Are we so sure of victory? Are we so sure we will be able to stop the enemy forces from causing damage to our homeland? The draft is not an evil instrument, members of the armed forces are better protected than the civilian population. In the future when we get bombed, its not going to 200 - 500 lb bombs falling from the sky dropped by 250 mph bombers. We may not have early warnings or sufficient time to take cover as they did in WWII. Now there are suit case nukes, vehicle nukes, boat nukes, and who knows how many test tube vials of contagious viruses, that can be unleashed upon us without any warning. There is no 100% guarantee that we will be able to defend against them. Bottom line is keeping your sons at home will not protect them anymore than they can protect themselves in the armed services.

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