Today's issue of the USAToday features a story on soldiers who have been recalled for duty from the IRR.  Again, it discusses the disruption to soldiers' lives and some perspective on the use of the IRR in Iraq.  The author also included a separate section specifically defining what the IRR is, which is important.  I have found that many people I have talked to (including some in the military) don't really know that this group of soldiers exists (nor how many people - 114,000 - may be affected by activations.)

One interesting fact of which I was previously unaware was that prior uses of the IRR were generally limited to filling a need for a particular specialty.  In this case, however, the callup is very broad, from engineers to truck drivers to mechanics to musicians.  This indicates that, more than lacking particular specialists, the Army is just low on people in all areas.  Whether this is a prelude to a draft or some other measure remains to be seen.  Clearly, the Army is making great efforts to retain current soldiers and to recruit new ones.  However, the Pentagon is still very resistant to the idea of increasing the size of the standing Army.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I have a special interest in this story.  Steve is one of the recalled IRR members who is featured in this article.