This FAQ is related to Courage to Resist’s “Resisting Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) recall” published February 2009. If this question is of interest to you, please read our overview first.
Based on the handful of lieutenants and captains we have spoken to who have been or are currently refusing IRR involuntary activation, there seems to be no difference in outcomes compared to enlisted refusers.
Due to the differences in oaths taken and agreements signed, we initialing had significant concerns regarding the implications of refusing activation for military officers. Again, so far we have not seen anything different.
At the completion of an officer’s term in the IRR, they are usually sent a form in the mail in order to indicate what they would like to do now. The form has a few check boxes to choose from, including: remaining in the IRR, or requesting separation from the IRR (by resigning). However, requesting a separation from the IRR doesn’t guarantee that you will get a separation. The IRR command seems to think that it has the option to keep some officers in the IRR indefinitely.
If you find yourself in such a situation, we would suggest ignoring all future IRR contact. Another option would be to write a resignation letter and mail a copy of it in response to each IRR letter.
“After Alex was killed in Iraq, my ex-wife told me that he didn’t want to go back … If I had known about Courage to Resist, Alex might be alive today.”
