Once a year the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) holds an Individual Readiness Reserve (IRR) muster screening at Regular Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve installations to help ensure members of the IRR are up-to-date and ready to be called to service when the need arises. This year’s IRR was held June 4, 2016 here at Travis Air Force Base, Calif....
“Everyone who enlists has an eight-year service commitment, regardless of if their contract was four years or six years,” said Tech. Sgt. Marcus Harvey, 349th Air Mobility Wing recruiter. “When their contract ends they are moved into the IRR to complete that commitment.”
The IRR musters are held to give a face-to-face opportunity to verify and update a member’s contact information, which helps to increase timeliness and efficiency in the event of an activation process. It is considered a mandatory formation and all IRR members within 150 miles of the muster are required to attend. Members with valid reasons can asked to be excused or rescheduled, while members who fail to show can be pulled to active duty for a period of time.
“The IRR is a huge mobilization resource for the Air Force,” said Maj. Andrew Williams, AFPC assignment facilitator. “If Uncle Sam needs someone and they aren’t able to find an active duty or Reserve member, they will dip into the IRR.”
In addition to verifying information, the IRR members are also given a baseline medical screening that is taken back to AFPC and added to the member’s records. In the event of a mobilization, the members would go through a more thorough medical screening at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
“This is a very basic screening,” said Williams. “If a member is found to be unfit for standards, like say a member is an amputee, they will be medically discharged from the IRR and will no longer be subject to screenings.”
For IRR members who might be interested in reenlisting, recruiters are on hand at the muster to answer questions and help get the members on the right track.
“This is my first muster and I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Senior Airman Paul Bradford, an IRR member. “I was active duty Army, then Army National Guard, and then Air Force Reserve. I miss it and was happy to talk to a recruiter and ask some questions. I would like to get back into security forces.”
While seemingly a simple screening event, planning for an IRR muster takes several months.
“IRR musters fall under AFPC jurisdiction, but we rely on the host unit for support, they are the ones standing up and coordinating these events,” said Williams. “We owe the 60th and 349th Air Mobility Wings a lot of gratitude for helping us put this on.”
The IRR muster screened around 250 members and lasted four hours. All members were paid approximately $225, regardless of rank.