HONOLULU, HI -- November 9 -- On November 5, Kauai, Hawai’i, resident David M. Miyasato filed a lawsuit here in the United States District Court seeking to restrain the United States Army from involuntarily recalling him to active duty.

After being ignored by the Army for weeks, the Army responded within hours after Miyasato filed his suit, granting him an “administrative delay” for up to 30 days, and notifying Mr. Miyasato he would soon be receiving a “new report date”.

His attorney, Eric A. Seitz, said, “My belief is that the Army is hard-pressed to recruit enough troops to send to Iraq and they're activating reserves as means to avoid implementing the draft. This, however, is a back-door draft.”

Mr. Miyasato enlisted in the Army in 1987 for a term of eight years. His enlistment contract specified that he would serve on active duty for three years and then be enrolled in the inactive reserves for five additional years.

Mr. Miyasato reported for active duty on August 16, 1988. He served as a specialist E-4, driving a heavy equipment mobility tactical truck, delivering fuel, ammunition and other materials. He served in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Gulf War.

He was honorably discharged on August 15, 1991. He then returned to Kauai while he remained in the inactive reserves. His enlistment obligations expired on August 15, 1996.

Suddenly, in late September 2004, the Army issued orders directing Mr. Miyasato to report to a military facility in South Carolina on November 9, 2004, “for no more than 24 months active duty.”

Mr. Miyasato objected in writing, and pointed out that his enlistment long ago expired, but was ignored by the Army. After Miyasato filed his suit, the Army notified Mr. Miyasato he had been granted a 30-day administrative delay and would soon be receiving a “new report date”.

Mr. Miyasato owns and operates a small auto window-tinting business on the Island of Kauai. He is married and has a new infant child. If he is suddenly compelled to re-enter the Army and serve on active duty his business will not survive and he and his family will suffer significant hardship.

For interviews with David M. Miyasato and his attorney, Eric A. Seitz, please call Jeff Chang at 347.678.8593 or Juli Henning at 808.533.7434.

Veteran Sues Over Reactivation 13 Years After Army Discharge

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 8, 2004

HONOLULU, Nov. 7 (AP) - A veteran of the first Persian Gulf war is suing the Army after it ordered him to report for duty 13 years after he was honorably discharged from active duty and 8 years after he left the Reserves.

The veteran, David Miyasato of Kauai, received word of his reactivation in September, but says he believes he completed his eight-year obligation to the Army long ago.

"I was shocked," Mr. Miyasato said Friday. "I never expected to see something like that after being out of the service for 13 years."

His federal lawsuit, filed Friday in Honolulu, seeks a judgment declaring that he has fulfilled his military obligations.

Harry Yee, an assistant United States attorney, said his office would defend the Army. He declined to comment further.

Mr. Miyasato, 34, was scheduled to report to a military facility in South Carolina on Tuesday.

Within hours of filing the lawsuit, however, Mr. Miyasato received a faxed letter from the Army's Human Resources Command saying that his "exemption from active duty had not been finalized at this time" but that he had been given an administrative delay for up to 30 days, said his lawyer, Eric Seitz.

Mr. Miyasato, who is married and has a 7-month-old daughter, enlisted in the Army in 1987 and served in Iraq and Kuwait during the first gulf war as a petroleum supply specialist and truck driver.

Mr. Miyasato said he received an honorable discharge from active duty in 1991, then served in the Reserves until 1996 to fulfill his eight-year enlistment commitment.

The Army announced last year that it would activate an estimated 5,600 soldiers to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Army officials are tapping members of the Individual Ready Reserve - soldiers who have been discharged from the Army, Army Reserve or the Army National Guard, but still have contractual obligations to the military.

Mr. Miyasato said he never re-enlisted, signed up for any bonuses or was told that he had been transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve or any other Reserve unit.

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