Reservists in state waiting for call-up

Published 9:00 pm Friday, September 14, 2001

Herald news services

As Pentagon officials began mapping out which military reserve units to call up in the "war against terrorism," reservists in Washington state and across the nation Friday prepared themselves to put away their everyday lives and slip back into uniform.

According to the Pentagon, at least 35,500 reservists will be needed for assignments that are already known — and about 15,000 more also could be called.

Which units will be tapped, and whether to include the National Guard, had not been decided.

Reservists could be summoned within day,s and the largest share, 13,000, will come from Air Force Reserves. Another 10,000 would be called from the Army, 3,000 from the Navy, 7,500 from the Marines and 2,000 from the Coast Guard.

Army, Navy and Air Force reserve centers in Washington state are waiting to see if local units will be called up.

Fifteen volunteer Air Force Reserve mortuary specialists left Friday from McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma to help with the dead from the Pentagon disaster, spokeswoman Maj. Anna Sullivan said. Other than that, reserve units have not been named.

There are more than 5,000 Army reservists in the Northwest, Army spokeswoman Pam Briola said. She has no idea when units will be named.

In Everett, Capt. John Landon, commander to the regional readiness command, expects a mix of air and surface programs to be named when the call-up comes.

Bill Butler, 55, of San Diego spent five years on active duty and has 30 years in as a Navy reservist, and has reached the rank of rear admiral. After four tours in Vietnam, and assorted call-ups since, he’s ready for another stint.

"All of us have volunteered, some of us more than once," he said of his fellow reservists. "We know what is necessary, to go in harm’s way. We know our jobs. We know the risks."