Senator Collins’ Statement On Recall Of Individual Ready Reserve

Washington, DC - Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today received confirmation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense that 51 Mainers are expected to be recalled to active duty for possible service in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Army is currently recalling a nationwide total of more than 5,600 members of the Individual Ready Reserve. The Office of the Secretary of Defense also said that at a future unspecified date, another seven Mainers of the Individual Ready Reserve may also be called to active duty.

Following the release of this information by the Pentagon, Senator Collins released the following statement:

"We have explored the question of troop strength extensively in Senate Armed Services hearings with top Pentagon officials. The fact that the Individual Ready Reserve is now being called upon is further evidence that we have overtaxed our Guard and Reserve troops. That is why, during recent consideration of the Defense Authorization Bill, I voted to increase the end strength of active duty Army personnel -- meaning full-time troops -- by 20,000. "I believe that we could also reposition troops from other stations in order to meet the demands of stabilizing Iraq. In addition, we need to accelerate the reconfiguration of our forces to ensure the most efficient use of current active duty personnel, so that we are not placing such a high strain on our Guard and Reserves. "It is my hope that this call-up of the Individual Ready Reserve will only be a short-term step while we ramp up our troop strength in Iraq through other means."

###