What is this “IRR” that is becoming more commonly heard of these days?
 
When someone signs up for the military, s/he actually signs up for an 8 year contract. If s/he doesn't re-enlist, then how many ever years is left after his/her contract is spent in the Individual Ready Reserve – the IRR. During this time, if the Military “needs” someone during “a time of War or National Emergency,” they are open to pull those in the IRR back in. In other words – a Backdoor Draft.
 
I showed up telling myself “As long as I do what I have to do, they will understand that I have been recalled and will leave me alone.” Unfortunately, this was not the case in my experience. Along with what everything our Government was doing, eventually drove me into an extreme depression, and I began regular visits to the Chaplain and Mental Health.
 
Another large factor was the fact that I was drafted for a mission that didn't need me...or the other 30 soldiers with me in my Company. If all of us were not there, the only difference would have been the number of days off the soldiers of the unit would have had. With us there, they were having up to 4 days off after a mission. The missions we did are not hard or even dangerous. They are simple, require very little physical effort, and the majority of the missions required 9 hours (this includes hours of preparation time). I, having previous deployment experience, was driven insane by the amount of whining because of “little time off” the vast majority of soldiers whined about. Every soldier I was recalled with all felt the same way, at least the ones who have deployed before.
 
A lot of the Recalls I served with had a lot of the same problems I did. Most of us did what we were told, and even sometimes beyond the standard. I always did what I was told, even though I didn't want to. I still was treated poorly because I didn't “hang out” or “talk” with my leadership. This was my issue. Others had the same issue and other issues as well.
 
I guess after this ramble, my big point is don't treat Recalls like Privates. Of course Recalls are going to be a bit unruly...our lives were just completely interrupted and are now in a place we definitely don't want to be. It is just made worse by mistreatment. A lot of guys wait to start families until they get out of the military because they just don't want that type of lifestyle for their family. Some guys I was recalled with were married or had children on the way before the recall letter was even sent. For a good portion, also, Recalls are used to fill the empty positions in the National Guard or Reserves. This is a NIGHTMARE for those who were Active Duty before.

As long as your IRR's are doing their job, leave them alone. It's almost that simple. If you are surprised on why they may be acting up, just ask yourself, “Would I be acting this way if I were drafted?”