Mobilization and rejection of Individual Ready Reserve personnel in Operations Desert Shield/Storm at a U.S. Army Quartermaster post.

The individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is an important component of the U.S. Army's total combat force. After Operations Desert Shield/Storm, we investigated the mobilization of soldiers with combat service support specialties from the IRR to a quartermaster training post. In the initial 2 weeks of activation prior to assignment and deployment, the soldiers went through medical and administrative screening, and general and specialized military training. During this period, a sizable portion (one-quarter) of IRR troops who reported to duty were rejected for a variety of reasons (overweight, inadequate dependent arrangements, etc.) and did not remain on active duty. Potential changes to the policies that led to these rejections are discussed.