Ex-Army Reservist Sues To Avoid Recall

A former Army reservist who returned to civilian life in December, only to be recalled five months later, filed a lawsuit Thursday to avoid duty in Iraq.

Todd Parrish, 30, served four years of active duty and another four years in the reserves, a commitment he believed expired Dec. 19. The Army maintains he will be in a voluntary reserve status until he’s 50.

The Army says Parrish never formally resigned his commission as a lieutenant, making him eligible for involuntary recall to duty. He received a letter May 10 to report for duty at Fort Sill, Okla., and is due Aug. 10.

Parrish says he did not know he had to resign. Believing he was free, he married, bought a house and began preparing for a career as a civil engineer.

"It was a life-altering experience when I read the orders to report to active duty," Parrish said in a recent interview. "I felt like I was being drafted without a draft being instituted."

The complaint filed in federal court in Raleigh contends Parrish was never informed in any enlistment contract or other document "of any requirement or need to ’resign’ his Army Reserve commission in order to terminate his status with the U.S. Army Reserves."

A call seeking comment from the Army was not immediately returned.

The Army has previously said while enlisted soldiers’ service automatically ends after eight years, an officer is subject to recall indefinitely unless he resigns his commission.

Parrish’s attorney, Mark Waple, said the papers his client signed in 1992, when he accepted an ROTC scholarship, made no mention of a resignation requirement.

"What is clear is, it’s an eight-year service obligation," Waple said in a telephone interview. "What is not clear is, what someone has to do to end this relationship."

Waple said when Parrish contacted the Human Resources Command about being recalled to duty, he was told "because he didn’t resign his reserve status, they put him in a voluntary reserve status until the year 2024."

The Defense Department has been taking numerous steps to keep enlistment up during the Iraq conflict, included issuing a "stop-loss" order that prevents soldiers from leaving the military when their obligations end and multiple deployments of guard and reserve units. (AP)

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