IRR Marines still have Corps rules to follow
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — You gave four to the Corps.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/issues/stories/0-MARINEPAPER-3529022.php
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : May 26, 2008
You’ve served your time honorably. You have the discharge papers to prove it, and you’re ready to start a new chapter in your life.
Now, you’re a card-carrying member of the Individual Ready Reserve, with the responsibility of fulfilling the remainder of that eight-year obligation you entered when you signed the contract.
And the Corps is trying to make certain that you do just that.
For most Marines, that means four years in IRR status. For others, typically those in aviation billets that require more time in school, it’s two years.
“Many Marines at the end of their active-duty service feel that they’re out,” said Col. Lisa Hynes, assistant chief of staff of operations with Marine Corps Mobilization Command, Kansas City, Mo.
“They’re required to maintain their uniforms. They’re required to maintain their weight and physical fitness,” she said. “They are not authorized to wear their uniforms at political events. They have to keep us apprised of their contact information and marital status.”
Failure to do so could mean administrative separation and, in some cases, punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, MobCom officials said.
“You’ve earned an honorable discharg; this puts that at risk,” said Maj. Gen. Andrew Davis, MobCom commander.
That’s what happened to a corporal in the IRR who became national news last year, after he was told he was being investigated for wearing a portion of his uniform during an anti-war protest and showing disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer. A military panel changed Adam Kokesh’s honorable discharge to a general discharge under honorable conditions.
Members of the IRR also must follow current Corps regulations on body piercing and tattoos. This means no tattoos or brands on the head and neck, no sleeve tattoos or half- or quarter-sleeve tattoos visible when wearing physical fitness gear, and no tattoos deemed “prejudicial to good order,” such as sexist, racist, vulgar or gang-related tattoos.
“The single case we had of a Marine disqualified for body art was a Marine who had earlobe disks and he refused to remove them,” Davis said. “He was given an administrative separation.”
Excessively overweight IRR Marines are not punished under the UCMJ, officials said, but they can be administratively processed for separation.
Screening musters are a federally mandated annual requirement. These musters are held about once a month across the country and usually held within a radius of 150 miles of major cities, said Maj. Winston Jimenez, MobCom spokesman. Marines who attend musters upon orders are compensated. But the once-a-year requirement is apparently too much for some.
“Historically, we have an effective screening rate of 69 percent with a 56 percent muster show rate, no matter how many letters are sent,” Jimenez said in an e-mail. “These are official orders and Marines are subject to articles of the UCMJ or administrative separation for failure to comply with official military orders.”
MobCom is trying to improve that rate. The command has developed an online program that instructs Marines on their obligations as members of the IRR, as well as the opportunities they have in the Reserve. After reading through the program, which takes about half an hour, Marines are tested.
Marines who fail the test have to take it again. Those who pass the test receive a certificate.
“Our goal is that the Marine will not receive his DD-214 [discharge] papers until he presents that certificate,” Davis said.
He said an order has been written that would make this policy. MobCom is now waiting for approval.