WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps said Tuesday that it would begin calling Marines back to active-duty service on an involuntary basis to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan — the latest sign that the American force is under strain and a signal that the military is having trouble persuading young veterans to return.
Marine commanders will call up formerly active-duty service members now classified as reservists because the Corps failed to find enough volunteers among its emergency reserve pool to fill jobs in combat zones. The call-ups will begin in several months, summoning as many as 2,500 reservists at a time to serve for a year or more.
The Pentagon has had to scramble to meet the manpower requirements of the Iraq war, which have not abated in the face of a continuing insurgency and growing civil strife. Earlier this year, the military called forward its reserve force in Kuwait, sending one battalion to Baghdad and two to Ramadi. Last month, the yearlong deployment of the Army’s Alaska-based 172nd Stryker Brigade was extended by four months to provide extra soldiers to roll back escalating sectarian violence in Baghdad. more
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Does this amount to a draft? Naw, Bush said there would be no draft.
Is this going to be like most of the other wars that the draft was enforced wher the rich people can buy their way out? This is a scary thing when we don’t even have enough troops to fight as there is. And the United States is the world leader in diplomacy? Whatever happened to credibity? Where will the troops come from?
There will be increased incentives for low income Americans to join as the economy slows down. Therefore, increasing supply.