11 years later, Army recalls Md. reservist
WASHINGTON -- In 1993, with the Cold War over and no formidable enemy in sight, the Army decided to reduce its ranks drastically. So Sergeant First Class Rolando Rivera, a soldier for 15 years who was serving a pleasant tour in Germany, was told the service no longer needed his computer skills.
Then this past May, the 44-year-old Rivera received a letter from the Army telling him he would be serving in uniform once again, this time in desolate and dangerous Afghanistan. A principal systems engineer for a software company, Rivera has not fired a weapon in more than a decade. His old uniform, hanging in a basement closet, is too snug for his middle-aged torso.
The Columbia, Md., resident is part of the Individual Ready Reserve, a rarely used pool of Army Reservists who do not train or belong to units but have each been collecting several thousand dollars a year. Now, with the military stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are now being called up by the thousands to serve in support roles in both theaters.
Rivera is due to report for active duty Friday, according to his lawyer Eugene R. Fidell, but he is balking. While he has been paid more than $100,000 during more than a decade in the reserve, he said he deserves an exemption due to family circumstances -- his wife has a heart condition -- and his honorable prior service.
''I question how much weight was given to my years of service and the financial hardship we will suffer as a result of this call to active duty," Rivera said. ''I think after 15 years of service, I've already met my obligation to my country."
Ralph Peters, a defense analyst and former Army officer, has little sympathy for Rivera.
''He took the [Army's] money though, didn't he?" Peters said. ''At the end of the day, this person doesn't have a moral or ethical argument."
The Army has turned down Rivera's request for an exemption, and he is appealing the decision to the Army's adjutant general.
''How is it I get called first?" asked Rivera, maintaining that the Army is supposed to consider prior service in determining which reservists to deploy.
''Not having drilled in more than 10 years, my soldier skills are rusty," he said. ''It could not only be detrimental to me but dangerous to the soldiers in my unit who would depend on me."
Rivera also said that the deployment would be financially devastating, sharply reducing his annual income of more than $180,000. And the overall stress would worsen his wife's heart condition, according to her doctor.
Like thousands of other reservists, Rivera will receive weeks of training, including weapons handling, before he deploys.
Rivera is one of hundreds of members of the Army's 118,000-member Individual Ready Reserve involuntarily recalled since Sept. 11, 2001, to fill key support jobs ranging from clerical workers to truck drivers and combat engineers.
Last month, the Army began calling up an additional 5,600 members of the reserve to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq, revealing that the active-duty Army is stretched thin in its efforts to stabilize both countries. Army officials said more reservists will be ordered to active duty next year.
Officials with the Army's Human Resources Command in St. Louis said 596 soldiers from the reserve who had been called up had requested exemptions from duty and 299 had been granted. Another 165 of these part-time soldiers requested delays in reporting, and 140 were approved.
The command had requests for 106 exemptions and 12 delays pending as of early August.
David Segal, a military sociologist at the University of Maryland at College Park, said he would not be surprised if a growing number of reservists resisted the call-up, since many are older and settled in civilian careers. The decision to call on thousands in the reserve was the clearest evidence of strain on the active-duty Army, Segal said.
''I think it's the result of the Army being too small to do what it's being asked to do," he said.
General Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, said recently that the call-up was necessary ''to meet demanding requirements."
If he does not report, Rivera could be declared AWOL, prosecuted by the military, and face up to a year and a half in jail. He said he would report for duty, complete his training, and deploy, for the first time, into a hazardous-duty zone.
''I'll go if I have to go," he said. 