thedrifter
03-06-07, 06:45 AM
Corps may use IRR call-ups to fill billets
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : March 12, 2007
The Corps’ top general is considering calling up more Individual Ready Reserve Marines to fill billets taxed by frequent combat deployments, he told Marine Corps Times on March 1.
The Corps is legally able to activate up to 2,500 Marines from the IRR at any one time, Commandant Gen. James Conway said.
“We’re within our authority to do that at our discretion. I’ve asked the Reserve to take a look at what the needs are,” he said.
“We’re getting a lot of what I’ll call individual augment requirements. And I’d like not to strip out our active-duty forces, especially those that are in the rotation, if there’s another means to field those things,” Conway said.
Conway has pledged to make sure every Marine deploys to the war zone, which means reassigning active-duty Marines to deploying units. Called “Every Marine Into the Fight,” the initiative targets 66,000 Marines who have not been to war yet.
As for the IRR, any future call-ups would likely be job-specific.
The commandant said he did not know how many IRR Marines would be activated. Currently, only 150 of the 60,000-stong IRR have been called up.
An IRR call-up would help fill personnel gaps while the Corps works to increase end strength and improve the dwell-time ratio for active-duty troops.
“What it helps is drawing the stress off those people,” Conway said. “We just want to expand our employment base.”
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : March 12, 2007
The Corps’ top general is considering calling up more Individual Ready Reserve Marines to fill billets taxed by frequent combat deployments, he told Marine Corps Times on March 1.
The Corps is legally able to activate up to 2,500 Marines from the IRR at any one time, Commandant Gen. James Conway said.
“We’re within our authority to do that at our discretion. I’ve asked the Reserve to take a look at what the needs are,” he said.
“We’re getting a lot of what I’ll call individual augment requirements. And I’d like not to strip out our active-duty forces, especially those that are in the rotation, if there’s another means to field those things,” Conway said.
Conway has pledged to make sure every Marine deploys to the war zone, which means reassigning active-duty Marines to deploying units. Called “Every Marine Into the Fight,” the initiative targets 66,000 Marines who have not been to war yet.
As for the IRR, any future call-ups would likely be job-specific.
The commandant said he did not know how many IRR Marines would be activated. Currently, only 150 of the 60,000-stong IRR have been called up.
An IRR call-up would help fill personnel gaps while the Corps works to increase end strength and improve the dwell-time ratio for active-duty troops.
“What it helps is drawing the stress off those people,” Conway said. “We just want to expand our employment base.”