40 percent of Army reservists fail to  report to Fort Jackson
Associated Press 

COLUMBIA--Only about 60 percent of reservists ordered to  report to Fort 
Jackson have reported so far, Army officials said. 

As of  Tuesday, 186 of the 309 members of the Individual Ready Reserve 
ordered to  report to the Columbia base had arrived, said Lt. Col. Burton L. 
Masters,  spokesman for the Army's Human Resources Command. 

"We're not surprised  by those numbers at all," Masters said. 

Most of those who have not  reported are seeking exemptions from active duty 
or delays in reporting, he  said. 

Those who have not reported or applied for a delay or exemption  will be 
considered deserters if they do not show up within seven days of the  date they 
were told to report for duty, Masters said. 

"We are going to  go the extra mile to work with people," he said. "But if 
they don't report, the  Army will track them down." 

Troops subject to the recall have been on  active duty but have not completed 
their eight-year obligation to the Army.  

The Army said 5,600 individual reservists were being recalled to active  
duty; 4,500 were to report to Fort Jackson. However, orders have been cut for  
only 3,667 of the soldiers to return to active duty, Masters  said.