ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill., (Sept. 19, 2011) -- Ten general officers, representing the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee, met at First Army Headquarters Sept. 12, to review regulations for reserve-component policies concerning mobilization and demobilization procedures.
The Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee, or ARFPC, and its Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve subcommittees represent the Department of the Army offices of the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff. One of the missions of the ARFPC is to review and comment on major policy matters directly affecting the reserve component of the Army.
ARFPC meets annually to recommend a variety of courses of action and presents those courses of action to the secretary of the Army for decision.
John Newman, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Training Readiness and Mobilization, noted that the group needed to "come here to First Army today to develop a new oversight program and figure out what's best for America's Army."
"What should the role of the First Army be in the mobilization and demobilization process," said Maj. Gen. Richard Stone, deputy surgeon general for mobilization, readiness and reserve affairs, and the current chairman of the ARFPC.
"First Army needs to transform," noted Stone, as the United States begins its drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The committee discussed the requirements-based demobilization model, the Army Reserve's contingency expeditionary force requirements and the new nine months "Boots on the Ground" deployment policy that goes into effect by April 1.
Maj. Gen. Mark MacCarley, First Army deputy commanding general, said that First Army is "driving forward within the Army Forces Generation model" but asked the committee to provide assistance in meeting the reserve-component readiness challenges that lie ahead.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, Iowa adjutant general, said that the committee's goal is "all about the future and maintaining the [readiness] capability level at the lowest possible cost."
Following the meeting at First Army headquarters, the ARFPC members were given a tour of Rock Island Arsenal, the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center and the Army Sustainment Command.
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