August 18, 2004
By GREGORY PIATT
The Times-Union
Photo: Steve Talley, 49, says he "was kind of shocked" that the Army decided to recall him to active duty as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program. He asked an old landlord to send his uniform.
BOB SELF/The Times-Union
The scene at an American Legion Post on Ft. Caroline Road in Arlington one afternoon this month seemed to reflect what Gen. Douglas MacArthur said happens to old soldiers.
About a dozen veterans sat in Post 283 sipping beer or other high octane beverages as pictures of World War II battle scenes, various ships and aircraft adorned the walls. Smoke filled the air as a few of these old soldiers stood at either end of a long shuffleboard table, the kind found only in bars and bowling alleys.
Peanut gallery gibes were tossed about and many focused on the gray-haired Steve Talley, who was sliding a hockey puck-sized shuffleboard disk down the table.
"Sign me up, I'll go," jokes Harold Cooper, a 69-year-old Jacksonville veteran. "But Steve, keep out of my foxhole."
Come Sept. 6, Talley will defy MacArthur's words and not fade away. Instead, Talley, who will turn 50 in December, will report to Fort Jackson, S.C., for active duty.
After completing a physical, paperwork and refreshing his soldier skills at Fort Jackson, Talley is expected to transfer to Fort Eustis, Va., to update his military job specialty in logistics. Then it's off to Iraq, Talley thinks, where he'll be either a truck driver or a coordinator of Army supply convoys.
Talley was recently called back to active duty under the Army's Individual Ready Reserve program. He's one of 231 former soldiers in Florida who still have time left on their military obligations and are being recalled.
"I don't believe they're calling you back at 50," quips John Jimmerson, a veteran from Jacksonville, as a cell phone on the bar rings with the bugle sound of reveille. "We must be desperate if they are calling the old guys back."
BY THE NUMBERS
Recalling reserves
The Army said it needs 3,823 reservists from 114,000 members of the Individual Ready Reserve. Here are the top and bottom five states and the number of soldiers recalled from the Individual Ready Reserve:
TOP FIVE:
# New York: 348
# Texas: 297
# Florida: 231
# Pennsylvania: 213
# Ohio: 176
BOTTOM FIVE:
# Wyoming: 8
# North Dakota: 7
# District of Columbia: 6
# Hawaii: 2
# Alaska: 1
The soldiers recalled will not serve as combat troops but as service support personnel. Here are the top five skills the Army will seek from the Individual Ready Reserve.
# About 20 percent of the call-ups are truck drivers
# 12 percent are specialists in tracking supplies
# 10 percent are light-vehicle mechanics
# 7 percent are administrative specialists
# 6 percent are combat engineers
Source: U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
It was last month when Talley got the letter saying his country needed him.
"I was kind of shocked," said Talley, a freelance industrial electrician from Jacksonville.
Last month, the Army announced it would start mobilizing 5,600 Individual Ready Reservists as one way to shore up certain military skills needed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last large recall of the Individual Ready Reserve was during the Persian Gulf War of 1991, when 20,000 former soldiers were mobilized. As of last week, the Army said it only needs 3,823 soldiers from the Individual Ready Reserve pool of 114,000 ex-soldiers.
Many in the pool are those who previously served four or six years on active duty. But a typical military contract is eight years, and enlistees have the option to serve those final years in the reserves, National Guard or the Individual Ready Reserve, an inactive reserve role that doesn't have any units and doesn't require drills.
Those soldiers are recalled when really needed and nobody should be surprised by the role of Individual Ready Reserve, said James Carafano, a senior research fellow specializing in defense issues with the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.
"When they raise their right hand they ought know what to expect because there are no guarantees," said Carafano, a 25-year Army veteran.
According to news reports across the nation, a few of the people recalled like Talley didn't expect to wear a military uniform again.
"I didn't understand how the IRR worked," said Talley, who is asking an old landlord in Texas to send his uniform to him.
Talley served on active duty in the Army from 1980 to 1987 and left as a sergeant. He didn't want to stay in the military, but he had a wife at that time and inquired about the Army Reserve. The reserves had a slot for him as a computer programer.
He continued to drill with his reserve unit until 1999, but his electrician job kept him on the road and he couldn't make the monthly meetings, Talley said. So he stopped going.
The reserve obligation counts duty time differently than the active obligation. Troops in the reserves serve one weekend per month, plus two weeks a year on active duty.
Talley re-enlisted twice in the Individual Ready Reserve and collected points toward retirement pay but not retirement time. He isn't paid while he is in the Individual Ready Reserve, but is afforded some military benefits. According to Talley, he is a year and eight months short of full retirement in the military.
Now, instead of using his leftover time to decide how to spend retirement money, Talley will use it overseas on active duty.
"I knew four years ago I was short [of retirement]," he said. "I have been thinking about going back in the reserves to get the retirement but didn't have the time."
As Talley's American Legion buddies remind him its his shot on the shuffleboard, he said his recall couldn't happen at a better time. Talley has been unemployed for about a month.
"I am kind of glad that they called me up and that they need me," said Talley, who moved to Jacksonville five years ago. "I have never been in a wartime situation and I'd like to go."
Talley just missed the Vietnam War, since that conflict was winding down when he turned 18. He didn't get a draft number even after registering. However, his Army experience in the '80s has stuck with him, Talley said.
"I still have dreams, at least once a week, concerning the military," he said. "I feel the military is in my blood."
He may look 50, but Talley said he considers himself in good condition.
"I've also been running to get into better shape," Talley said as he sipped his beer.
greg.piatt
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/081804/met_16393193.shtml