ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps plans to notify 1,800 Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve this month that they could be mobilized for one year, to include an expected seven-month deployment to Iraq, said Maj. Steven O’Connor, Reserve liaison officer at Headquarters Marine Corps Public Affairs.
Troops in the IRR have left active duty but still have time on their obligation to serve. Unlike other reservists, they do not drill.
Of the Marines notified, about 1,200 are expected to get orders to join the I Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq, O’Connor said Monday.
That breaks down to 1,067 sergeants and 133 captains, said Lt. Col. Jeff Riehl, of Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
Of the roughly 60,000 Marines in the IRR, about 25,200 are eligible for this callup, Riehl said.
Riehl gave the following breakdown of how many Marines the Corps is looking to call up per Military Occupational Specialty:
Aviation maintenance, 361Logistics support, 225Infantry, tanks and artillery, 223Motor transport, 178Communications, 97Intelligence, 95Military police, 21In August, the Corps announced that it planned to mobilize up to 2,500 Marines in the IRR to stem a shortfall of 1,200 Marines. The Corps had been relying on volunteers from the IRR, but fewer Marines in the IRR had volunteered to be mobilized.
Since then, 150 Marines in the IRR have been notified they could deploy, of which 69 have received orders to go to Iraq, O’Connor said.
The Corps decides on a case-by-case basis whether calling up Marines from the IRR would pose an undue hardship to individual Marines, he said.
Those Marines who receive orders to deploy can expect to be on active duty from about Oct. 9, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, O’Connor said. They will receive their training stateside before heading downrange.
In addition to receiving combat pay and other benefits that active-duty troops get, the IRR Marines will receive a per diem to cover meals, lodging and incidentals, he said. Their Tricare benefits will also kick in 90 days before they deploy and remain in effect for 180 days after they come home.
Should the Corps need more Marines from the IRR, notifications could go out again this July, O’Connor said.
About 4,700 Marines from the IRR have been mobilized since 2001 as part of the overall war on terrorism.
