Talk:Individual Ready Reserve

message: Article needs a lot of detail on how big this is.  Currently the reader can't tell if it's 2,000 people or twelve million.  Suggested details to add:
*  What percentage of enlisted men go into the program? (categorized by service)
*  What percentage of officers?  (categorized by service)
*  What's the current number?
*  How many people sign up for an 8-year obligation when they enlist?
Tempshill 22:15, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Numbers 

message: Should we expand this? The IRR is going to be playing a huge role due to the GWOT.
Hal06 13:43, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The IRR was called up during Desert Storm. Source provided in article. Gelston 10:08, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Expansion 

message: The article reads like it was written by a soldier (as opposed to a Marine, airman, or whatever). --Cuervo @ 76.212.167.62 06:05, 24 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Army bias 

message: UCMJ is applicable to IRR soldiers as they are soldiers waiting for a discharge after having finished their term of service. The military is not going after them for whatever reason, cost to benefit comparison, savings the personnel for more important things, etc. They do have the authority to prosecute for AWOL/UA, they simply choose not to. Also, you are given a tentative character of discharge when you are reassigned to the IRR, your character of discharge that you receive at the end of your IRR is your true and final character of discharge from the army, and the only character of discharge that you have. The article makes it sound as if you will only get a bad discharge from the IRR but you will still have you honorable discharge from active duty. The reference for the section is a propaganda site run by IRR resisters, not exactly the fairest or most impartial group. I would hesitate to trust a group of people who feel they have the right to ignore their contractual obligations to activate from the IRR based on a mistaken belief that just because the Army ignores them that means the Army isn't able to come after them. Even if the UCMJ did not apply to IRR soldiers they would still be liable under contract law for a breach of contract and my admittedly inexpert guess is that the Army's damages for that breach would be the entire cost to train a new recruit to replace the IRR resisters, which is quoted at approx. $150,000.  AaronMP84 (talk) 11:27, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Completely agree.  Refusal to mobilize from the IRR is a very serious thing and can follow a person for the rest of their life.  Also, most employers DO know the difference between "Released from Active Duty" and "Discharged".  Showing a DD214 saying you got an Honorable RAD is great, but any employer with a brain will then ask to see the final discharge order or certificate from the reserves.  Social Security checks too, and someone who gets a general or OTH from the reserves will have that reflected on SSA payments even decades later. -OberRanks (talk) 20:32, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  UCMJ is applicable to IRR soldiers. 

message: Members of the IRR who meet the minimum service requirements for VA eligibility, i.e. 2 continuous years of active duty, less than 2 years active but with a deployment, etc., will still be eligible for veterans benefits even if they are recalled to active duty. Visit www.va.gov or go to your nearest VA hospital for full requirements and to apply; you do not have to have a service-related injury or illness to be eligible for VA healthcare. 
I would like to know of an actual example where a person is not in the IRR to finish off their 8 year contract.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Peacekeeper 1234 (talk • contribs) 15:20, 17 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  VA 

message: The issue of whether or not there is a "civilian law" that provides a legal compulsion for soldiers to report when ordered to activate from the IRR has been disputed. There are, in fact, at least two "civilian laws" which provide such a compulsion, both of which are currently relevant.
*US Code 10 Section 12302 grants the President the authority to involuntarily activate "any unit, and any member not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit, in the Ready Reserve" to active duty for up to 24 months. The primary limitations on this power are that it may only be exercised during a national emergency declared by the President, and that there may be no more than 1,000,000 such personnel on active duty against their will at one time.http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12302
In connection with this it is worth pointing out that we have been in a declared national emergency since 9/14/01 due to 9/11. I'm not sure if it's still true, but at one time I researched national emergencies and at the time, if I remember correctly, I determined that we have technically been in a state of national emergency without interruption since Iran-Contra.
*US Code 10 Section 12304 grants the President the power to "order any unit, and any member not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve (as defined in section 10143 (a) of this title), or any member in the Individual Ready Reserve mobilization category and designated as essential" to active duty for up to 365 days.http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12304
The only pre-requisite for involuntary activations under this section is that the President determine that "it is necessary to augment the active forces for any named operational mission or that it is necessary to provide assistance referred to in subsection (b)." Subsection (b) lists essentially a response to emergencies related to either terrorism or WMDs.
Section 12304 goes on to list specific limitations and set forth certain procedures related to callups under this section.
AaronMP84 (talk) 05:19, 23 June 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: No one has ever been punished for refusing IRR orders. 140.186.246.248 (talk) 03:04, 3 November 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Authority to recall IRR soldiers 

message: There was an unreferenced revision to the article a while ago that stated that UCMJ does not apply to IRR soldiers, and there is no "civilian law" requiring them to report as ordered. The second part of that statement I addressed in the previous section of this talk page, showing that there are, in fact, two non-UCMJ laws yielding a legal compulsion to report. This shows that failing to report is in violation of law, but leaves unanswered the question of whether the UCMJ does in fact apply to IRR soldiers or not.
*First and foremost it is important that it is understood that UCMJ is, in fact, no different than any "civilian law," as it is a law enacted by congress like any other. Specifically it may be known as 10 USC Chapter 47.
*The primary distinction that provides it with it's "military law" aspect, is Article 2 of 10 USC Chapter 47. Article 2 of 10 USC Chapter 47 (UCMJ) delineates who is subject to UCMJ authority. The relevant text would be "persons lawfully called or ordered into, or to duty in or for training in, the armed forces, from the dates when they are required by the terms of the call or order to obey it." This clearly states that if lawfully ordered to report under the two laws cited in the previous section of this talk page, that upon the date you are required to report you become subject to UCMJ. This effectively means that as of the day that you fail to report, you simultaneously become subject to UCMJ regardless of whether or not you actually do report, and if not, regardless of what the reason you didn't report was.http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/802
To summarize, the only reason that civilians are in general excluded from being subject to UCMJ is due to their not being listed in UCMJ Article 2. IRR soldiers, however, if ordered to activation ARE listed in UCMJ Article 2 as of their report date.
AaronMP84 (talk) 05:46, 23 June 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: None of this changes the fact that you can ignore IRR orders without consequences. 140.186.246.248 (talk) 03:09, 3 November 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  UCMJ Status (finally verified) 

message: No matter what the military law states the fact is: the individual ready reserve law is not enforced. No one has ever been punished for ignoring or refusing IRR orders. I feel that every veteran has a right to know that if they receive IRR orders. If you refuse to report you will receive orders to report for a hearing. If you ignore those you get a general discharge from the IRR.  Only one veteran I am aware of reported to his hearing. His story is here:
  Ihttps://linksunten.archive.indymedia.org/node/5088/index.html
If the situation changes, and members of the IRR begin to face legal consequences, I can change the page to reflect that. 140.186.246.248 (talk) 23:34, 10 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lack of enforcement