N.C. Judge Grants TRO to Former Army Reservist

By Tim Whitmire

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a former Army reservist from suburban Raleigh does not have to report for recall to Iraq by Friday, granting a temporary restraining order at least until a hearing next week.

Todd Parrish of Cary is locked in a legal battle with the Army over his status. He says his Army commitment expired Dec. 19, after four years of active duty and another four years in the reserves.

But the Army says Parrish never formally resigned his commission as a lieutenant, making him indefinitely eligible for involuntary recall to duty.

Last month, Parrish sued the Army, contending he was never informed "of any requirement or need to ’resign’ his Army Reserve commission in order to terminate his status with the U.S. Army Reserves."

With a Friday deadline looming for Parrish to report for duty and discussions with the Army going nowhere, Parrish’s lawyer Mark Waple said he filed a motion Monday for a temporary restraining order in Raleigh federal court.

U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan granted the request Wednesday. She scheduled a hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against the Army for Sept. 1

In her order, Flanagan said the Army’s willingness to extend Parrish’s reporting date several times in recent months shows the military will not be harmed by delaying the case until a full hearing can be held.

Waple, of Fayetteville, said he and the Army have been going back and forth about Parrish’s status since Parrish first received an order from the Army in May requiring him to report to Fort Sill, Okla., by June 13 for processing and deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When Parrish tried to resign his commission, the Army told him it was too late. He then filed for an exemption from recall, which also was denied, Waple said.

Parrish has appealed that ruling.

Waple has said he believes Parrish is a victim of efforts by the military to keep as many people as possible in the Individual Ready Reserve so they can be called to active duty.

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

Parrish, who grew up in Durham, attended North Carolina State University on a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship. He served four years on active duty in the United States, completing that obligation in December 1999.

Last week, a California Army National Guard soldier sued the military in federal court in San Francisco over the stop-loss program, which could keep up to 20,000 Army personnel beyond their time of service.

The Army says its stop-loss program is necessary for a cohesive military with seasoned personnel, although it has been criticized as contrary to the concept of an all-volunteer military force. Stop-loss also was enacted during the buildup to the 1991 Gulf War. (AP)

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