Anyone been exempted from active duty re-call?

Question

I tried to ask in a prevous question but didn't really get answer. I have friends in every branch of the military that all enlisted around the same time and got out around the same time and in the last 6 months they have all been called back to active duty re-call to go back to Iraq. They are requesting exemption because they are either disabled, have spent the last two years running their own business and now would lose their business and their home or both. A Colonel denied their first requests and they had to appeal it to the General level. What kind of country calls back disabled vets to fight in combat (all combat arms mos's) when they can barely walk and are on pain meds all day + they've made a life using their education instead of their physical skills since their bodies are so used up now. This isn't the country I grew up in and im ashamed they even have to go through this. Anyone have info that could help?

tyrone- wow... your wisdom and understanding amazes me... you obviously know what your talking about...

M1- congratulations, you cannot read. they all got out between 22-24 months ago, and have all been called back in within the last 6 months... your attention to detail must mean you work at McDonalds.

So out of the six of them, one is in a wheelchair because of an IED and the others have back and knee issues, all at least 40% disabled with VA (not medical discharge, filed later with VA). So it sounds like they will all at least get called back to mobilization where they will be determined there if they are fit or not? Then why bother telling them they can request exemption? If a wheelchair doesn't keep you out along with losing your home and business... I just think this is crazy. And no, out of all of them not one was told about IRR when they signed up. They all found out around their first year and a half in. I don't think our local recruiters thought to disclose that because this was before 9/11.

Answer 1

Yea - right. Can you explain how somebody who got out of the military six months ago has been running their own business for two years?

I call BS.

Answer 2

When you initially enlist, the 4 year IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve) obligation is stressed to you when you sign your enlistment contract, both times (when you first DEP in, and when you finally enlist Active Duty.) Furthermore, it's stressed to you when you are separating from the service that you have incurred this IRR obligation, and you must inform the services of your address, etc.

However, with my experiences with working with reservists, the following would prevent a person in the IRR from being processed back into Active Duty (note, people in the IRR are not subject to the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice] while they are not on Active Duty, therefore, the military can not legally prosecute someone for the following):

1) Failure to meet weight standards
2) Failure to pass a drug screen (not suggested if they depend on their security clearance as their means of support)
3) Failure to meet physical standards - for example, if they have injuries that would deem them disabled and entitle them to a disability retirement if on Active Duty
4) Homosexual conduct prior to being recalled to Active Duty, and admitted to prior to the Active Duty Report Date.

Now, remember, standards 2 and 4 must have been violated after a person left Active Duty, and before their Active Duty Start Date specified in their IRR recall orders. If the military discovers violations of that outside that window, the person will be subject to prosecution under the UCMJ.

However, standard 1 is usually the biggest reason why IRR recallees are rejected from full recall - remember, IRR recallees are required to report to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and pass the physical required for those who are enlisting, so if they can't pass that physical, well, they can't be recalled. So, if I were in the IRR, and I wanted to make sure I couldn't be reinducted into Active Duty, I would eat my way to 250 lbs and fail my body fat composition test.

I am sympathetic to your friends plight, however, if the military did not medically retire an individual, and they are still in their IRR window, they are still subject to recall. Other than what I detailed above, there's really no way around it.

Now, I will strongly suggest - if your friends want to disregard the IRR recall order, convince them not to - violating an IRR recall order could be construed as Absence without Leave and Missing Movement, big violations of the UCMJ, which the military will declare them as deserters, and that's a big mess in of itself. Hope this helps.

EDIT: If they are certified as disabled by the VA, then they aren't coming back in, they can not legally serve in the military anymore once either the military or the VA considers them disabled. Therefore, all they have to do is report to the MEPS station (since they are still required to muster at the time specified in their orders) with their disability documentation, and they will be sent away and notified once they are "retired" from the IRR rolls.

However, in reference to your item about them not being told about the IRR, when someone signs their Active Duty enlistment contract, it states the following (and they have to initial by this, it's been this way since the year 2000!):

I hereby agree to enlist for eight years in the Naval Reserve (or whatever branch, such as Army Reserve) and agree to serve 4 years in the Navy.. etc. It says the eight year obligation in black or white.