President Bush Wednesday ordered military reserves to active duty, signing an executive order that calls an unspecified number of reservists to bolster the U.S. military effort in the Persian Gulf.
The order did not give a number of reservists involved in the call-up, but a statement by press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said, "We do not anticipate approaching the full 200,000 authority provided by law."However, an administration official said the Pentagon expects to call up 40,000 reservists "between now and the end of August." The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was asked if more could be ordered to duty later. "We'll have to see," the official said. "Forty thousand is initially what we're looking at."
A Pentagon spokesman told the Deseret News that information on which units might be called up could be available late Wednesday or early Thursday. A list will be released then of which Utah units, if any, are involved.
Fitzwater said, "The president signed the order after the secretary of defense advised him that the effective conduct of military operations in and around the Arabian Peninsula may require augmentation of active components of the armed forces."
The call-up will focus on personnel who can fill the jobs of active duty forces now on duty in the gulf in such areas as cargo handling, airlift, food and water handling, surface transportation, medical services, construction and intelligence, Fitzwater's statement said.
Bush sent letters to the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate to inform them of the action, telling them his order empowers Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to designate the reservists to perform missions he "may determine necessary."
It was the first time the president has activated the reserves since March 1970, when they were called up during a postal strike. Presidents have called up the reserves 10 times since World War II.
"I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active armed forces of the United States for the effective conduct of operational missions in and around the Arabian Peninsula," Bush's executive order said.
Announcement of the call-up came as Bush prepared to meet with Cheney and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Chief of Staff John Sununu said it would be a "very surgical, specialized call-up" of personnel in specific jobs, rather than a broad call-up.
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(Additional information)
Utah reservists
Army More than 2,000
Air Force About 2,000
Navy 1,100
Marine Corps 214
Coast Guard 85