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Soldier sues over his
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An Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon told the Star-Bulletin last night that the military wasn't ready to comment on the matter.
Miyasato enlisted in the Army in October 1987 before he graduated from Kauai High School in 1988. He was assigned to the 3rd Armor Division in Germany and was sent to 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry. Before Christmas in 1990, his unit was deployed first to Saudi Arabia. It then joined the ground war in Iraq and was sent to Kuwait for a month. He served as an Army petroleum supply specialist and a truck driver during the war.
Miyasato said that on Aug. 15, 1991, he received an honorable discharge.
He said he tried calling and writing to U.S. Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis, but never received a response until yesterday.
Miyasato surmised that he may have been picked because he was trained as a truck driver and refueler -- both skills that are in high demand in Iraq.
He told reporters his job is the same as that done by 18 Army Reserve soldiers who last month defied an order to go out on a convoy, in part out of concern about a lack of armor.
Seitz noted that the Army has no claims to Miyasato because he served as a soldier whose enlistment ended in 1996. Unlike officers who serve indefinitely until they resign their commission, Miyasato has finished his commitment, Seitz said.
After 1991 and while he was in the inactive reserve for five years, Miyasato said he would have been willing to serve if he had been recalled then.
"Being out 13 years now and eight since my obligation ended," Miyasato added, "it was something I never thought of."
Miyasato said he also believes he shouldn't have been placed in the Individual Ready Reserve where 4,166 soldiers received mobilization orders in July nationwide. Of those, 843 have neither reported nor asked for a delay or exemption, according to the Army.
Members of the Individual Ready Reserve are rarely called to active duty. The last time was 1990, when nearly 20,000 were mobilized. They are people who were honorably discharged after finishing their active-duty tours, usually four to six years, but remained for the rest of the eight-year commitment they made when they joined the Army.
Seitz added: "As a legal matter, he served his enlistment commitment. It was an eight-year contract. It's done."
As for his feelings on the Iraqi war, Miyasato said: "The Iraqis are having a hard time with their leadership and their government. We got Saddam, but now they have no foundation ... Now we might have to be responsible to get them back on their feet."