Calling Up of 72,500 More Reservists OKd

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney on Wednesday authorized the call-up of another 72,500 National Guard and reserve troops to serve in Operation Desert Shield--a move certain to affect civilian life throughout the nation.

The new authority, which does not require the approval of Congress, more than doubles the number of citizen-soldiers that the Pentagon may call to active duty. The Army is expected to call up more of the 122,500 guardsmen and reservists now available than any other branch of the military.

The order came less than a week after President Bush ordered a massive buildup of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. That announcement last Thursday mentioned the possible deployment of 12,000 combat reservists.

Most of the remaining 60,000 reserve slots permitted under the new mandate would likely be filled by reservists trained in combat support functions, such as engineering services, supplies, communications and military police.

The heavy reliance on reservists in the projected new wave of deployments underscores the military’s heavy reliance on Guard and reserve forces during an emergency. It is also expected to provide a stern test of that dependence.

“Today’s armed forces are designed with combat support . . . built into the reserves,” Cheney said in announcing the new authority Wednesday. “As we increase the deployment of active-duty forces, we must also call upon more members of the National Guard and reserve.”

Cheney in August authorized the military services to call to active duty a total of 50,000 National Guard and reserve troops. The services so far have called up 36,073 such troops, and several thousand Air Guard and other reservists have volunteered for duty in the gulf. All of those called so far have been combat support specialists.

The expected call-up of thousands more “weekend warriors” is certain to leave employers throughout the country with sudden gaps in their work force.

In search of cost savings over the last decade, the armed services have shifted the burden of supporting any large-scale deployment of forces to such citizen-soldiers. As a result, most of the medical personnel, combat engineers, communications technicians and administrators that the military requires during a conflict would be drawn from guardsmen and reservists working day-to-day in the civilian sector.

Already in Operation Desert Shield, Guard and reserve units have fulfilled critical roles in providing medical care, ferrying troops and equipment, organizing and transporting military supplies inside Saudi Arabia and purifying drinking water.

“This is what they drill for” in reserve training exercises, said Rep. G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.), a leading congressional advocate of Guard and reserve forces. “It’s why we pay them such good money. And it’s a good buy for the taxpayers.”

The call-up of Guard and reserve forces for Operation Desert Shield encountered its first legal snag Tuesday, when a sergeant in the Army National Guard challenged as unconstitutional an order transferring him to Saudi Arabia with his unit.

Sgt. Michael R. Ange charged in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that the order violates a constitutional provision that empowers Congress, and not the President, to declare war.

Also on Wednesday, President Bush notified Congress that he is extending for an additional 90 days the call-up authority for reservists already serving 90-day stints in the Persian Gulf region.

Under a measure approved by Congress last month, new Guard and reserve units called to active duty will be able to serve for 180 days, and the President will be permitted to extend their tours by another 180 days.