[Peace-discuss] here we go.

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Pentagon Ready to Mobilize Reservists
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 6:08 a.m. ET


NEW YORK (AP) -- The Pentagon is prepared to call hundreds of thousands of 
Reservists and National Guard members to duty if President Bush orders an 
attack on Iraq, The New York Times reported Monday.

About 265,000 Guard and Reserve troops, roughly the same number used during 
the Persian Gulf War in 1991, would be mobilized in the event of an attack, 
the Times said.

Aside from military duties, many of the troops would be called upon to 
protect military bases at home and abroad. They also would be used to help 
safeguard potential terrorist targets in the United States, including power 
plants and factories, the newspaper reported.

The call-up schedule would be kept secret, but a Pentagon official told the 
Times that it ``would take more than a week or two'' to muster the reserves 
together. The reserves would need to make sure that they were up to date with 
their inoculations before being transported to their missions.

Nearly 80,000 members of the Army National Guard and Reserve forces were 
mobilized after Sept. 11, 2001, and for the war in Afghanistan. Pentagon 
records show that more than 58,000 were active last week.

There are currently 870,000 members of the Guard and Reserve. They serve a 
minimum of a weekend a month plus two weeks a year.

The reservists would only be deployed if Bush decides to take military action 
against Iraq, sources told the Times.

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On the Net: http://www.ngb.dtic.mil