Reservists See Recruiting Scam

After nearly four years in the Army, including time in Iraq, Jason Pariza was honorably discharged and placed on inactive ready reserves.

He thought his active military obligation was done, until he received a notice saying all inactive ready reserve soldiers would be "involuntarily" transferred.

"I'm trying to get my life back in order, and all of a sudden I find they're trying to stick their nose back in my life," Pariza said.

To avoid being involuntarily assigned to a unit that might be sent back to Iraq, the Army counselor who sent the notice offered to helped Pariza transfer to the unit of his choice.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/30/iraq/main620335.shtml

Bush's Fundamentalist Christian morality!

When you enlist you sign an 8-year contract. You can fulfill the remainder of that contract in one of three ways once your initial enlistment is up.

1. Re-enlist for active duty.
2. transfer to Reserves or NG.
3. Inactive Reservist.

If you choose option 3 you will remain on inactive status UNTIL they call you back to active duty. Once a year while on IR you must check in with them and let them know where you are.

I spent 5 years active, got out in April of 1990, went IR and was back on active duty in January of 1991 for the first Desert Storm.

If you see my profile picture it was taken in Germany on my units way to Saudi Arabia. We stayed in Germany for a month training in the snow to go and fight in the desert.

Gotta love that wisdom.

then why did the army admit it was a 'miscommunication'?

i think 'how' they went about it was wrong, not so much as 'what' they did.

but there's plenty of stories about how troops are getting surprised in the recruitment/retention effort.

what they did was wrong. The guys that they approached should consider themselves lucky. I would have like to have had the opportunity to have a choice in the matter when I was re-activated.

There was only one option when I got called back up...go to Saudi Arabia.

Period.

That, I am sure, is where the mis-communication came in. These recruiters probably didn't have the authority to make this promise.

Bottom line is their ass belongs to Uncle Sam for 8 years.

If you are in the IRR, you do not have to belong to a drilling unit. These recruiters coerced IRR members to join units of their choice, by threatening them that otherwise they would be activated into Iraq-bound units. The involuntary activation part was a lie, and in my book , that is a scam.

to get these guys some kind of deal. It was a deal that "I" certainly didn't get when I got called back up to active duty.

I can tell you from first hand experience because it happened to me. I got called up and DIDN'T get a choice of what unit I was going to. I was told point blank..."You are going to the front".

They inprocessed us and away we went.

These guys had a choice...join a unit or get their asses on a plane to Iraq...not a bad deal if you ask me and it wasn't afforded to me when I went.

That is the part the recruiters were lying about! I'm in the IRR right now, so I've been following this a bit. I have two infantry combat tours myself. Thanks for your service!

There will be though.

- These particular recruiters made it seem like it had already been ordered. I get letters every day from reserve recruiters, telling the truth. The letters I have received say there is a possibility of an activation and blah,blah, blah. The recruiters in this situation told the troops an activation was in progress. I hope they let the troops out of the unit if they want out.
- Bush will pay a political price if he activates large numbers of the IRR. But if the OPFOR from NTC is going to Iraq, I guess the IRR ain't that far behind! Maybe they'll let the OPFOR wear those same funky-ass uniforms??? That would be some funny shit if it wasn't such a FUBAR situation.

Article isn't clear exactly what was in the dreaded "notice."

I too served and understood the 4 years active followed by 4 years inactive reserve requirement. But I have no idea what the "official" notice for re-activation would have looked like.

I smell a scam, though, where the Army called these guys up and basically lied to get them to re-enlist in a Guard or Reserve unit.

Wouldn't put it past them.

In January of 1991 telling me to report to Ft. Benning, GA for inprocessing.

I had previously served for 5 years active duty before getting out to use my GI bill.

The Army owns you for 8 years and these guys got lucky that this recruiter was bending the rules, otherwise they would be in Iraq already.

I did my time as well, and it would have been obvious to me that it was a scam and I would have called them on it. The Military counts on Soldiers being too stupid to understand and many are falling for it.

So tell me, oh wise one, when did you serve and for how long? When you signed your enlistment agreement was it for 8 years?

How did you spend those 8 years?

about this scam..

Sounds like Americans need to read up on glass bottom mugs.

More proof this ain't no joke !