The demand for Army forces is well above what was originally expected three years ago, and continues to dramatically rise as our geopolitical environment becomes increasingly volatile. This unpredictability has led to one of the most dangerous times in the history of our Nation, as the velocity of instabilities stemming from greater hybrid and non-state threats, as well as a myriad of humanitarian and assistance missions, requires your Total Army to be fully engaged in multiple, strategically imperative operations around the globe.
- From a Joint Statement by the Hon. John McHugh, Secretary of the Army and GEN Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Staff, Army
Since 2001, more than 300,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have been mobilized and routinely deployed across the globe, to include every major combat zone. Steady demand for Army Reserve capabilities has introduced a new paradigm of reliance on the Army Reserve as a critical part of our national security architecture.
The nation's investment in the Army Reserve is a crucial and cost-effective way to integrate, maintain and retain a proven and essential talent base. Today's Army Reserve combines the strength of the civilian sector with the strength of America's Army. Beyond deployments and joint exercises, our active duty counterparts continuously sharpen their combat skills every day, enabling them to react and adapt to multiple scenarios. Similarly, Army Reserve Soldiers hone their required technical combat support and combat service support capabilities in fields such as medical, engineering and cyber, enhancing the force through cutting-edge talent from across business, industry and academia.
Currently, more than 18,000 Army Reserve Soldiers are supporting the Combatant Commands in missions that include combat support operations in Afghanistan, civil affairs missions in the Horn of Africa, deterrence operations missions in Kuwait, military police operations at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and medical support to facilities in Honduras.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE ARMY AND THE NATION
The Army Reserve is the Army's Federal Reserve force, fully accessible under full-time federal control. As a result, we are seeing continued growth in technical enabler support to the active Army and the Combatant Commands, executing missions around the world because the active component has had to downsize in terms of force structure and resourcing.
Structured to provide operational capabilities and strategic depth to the Army and the Joint Force, the Army Reserve is an essential partner of the Total Force in preventing conflict, shaping the strategic environment, and responding to operational contingencies globally and domestically, to include Theater Security Cooperation, Foreign Humanitarian Support, Homeland Defense, and Defense Support of Civil Authorities missions.
As a component and a command organized under a single command authority, the Chief of Army Reserve, the U.S. Army Reserve and U.S. Army Reserve Command provide unity of command and unity of effort in support of the Total Army and the Joint Force.
Under this authority, the Army Reserve is integrated into, and directly supports, every Army Service Component Command and Combatant Command across the globe, with a footprint that extends across all 50 States and the District of Columbia, six U.S. Territories, and more than 30 countries.
The Regional Alignment of Forces and the development of Army Reserve Engagement Cells and Teams (ARECs and ARETs) are two ways the Army Reserve remains ready and engaged in operational activities. To ensure the Army Reserve remains an operational force, three basic efforts are emphasized: plan, prepare, and provide. "Plan" refers to the regional alignment of Army Reserve theater commands to Army Service Component Commands (ASCCs) and Combatant Commands (COCOMs). Part of this alignment is the forward positioning of full-time manning, organized into Army Reserve engagement cells. These engagement cells will have the full spectrum of technical and tactical expertise (engineers, civil affairs, medical, logistics, etc.). The engagement cells will provide direct staff planning support to ASCCs and COCOMs and utilize reach-back capability to the USARC and its subordinate GO theater commands.
"Prepare" is "how" the Army Reserve trains, assesses, and certifies Soldiers, leaders, and units for contingent and combat missions. This is done through participation in large Combat Training Centers--like field (dirt) exercises that are exclusively focused on enablers. Exercises are broken into two types -- Warrior Exercises (WAREXs) and Combat Support Training Exercises (CSTXs). WAREXs are aimed at small units and CSTXs train larger units. Both types of exercise integrate leader and staff training. The exercises are conducted throughout the year and include units from all components of the Army (Active, Guard, and Reserve), as well as units from the Navy, Marines, and Air Force. In some cases, forces from allied countries have participated. Army Reserve Soldiers and units also readily participate in ASCC and COCOM exercises.
"Provide" is the actual deployment of Army Reserve Soldiers and units in support of a mission requirement. These requirements can be planned and scheduled to meet a forecasted need by an ASCC or COCOM or they can be in response to a sudden need that was not foreseen. The Army Reserve always maintains a portion of its force (about 25,000) that is fully trained and ready for immediate use. These Soldiers and units have been identified in advance and have made the necessary arrangements with their families and civilian employers. They want to be utilized. However, not all Army Reserve Soldiers and units must first go to a mobilization site to prepare for deployment. Most Army Reserve theater commands have the ability to directly deploy Soldiers and detachments to meet specific needs.
ARMY RESERVE PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS
Citizen Soldiers are exceptional at what they do in part because they are trained to private sector standards and stay technically sharp in their respective fields. One of the ways the Army Reserve is maintaining cutting edge talent is by reaching out to the private sector. We're developing military leaders through the Private Public Partnership Program, or P3, which was developed to enhance civilian professional development and military capabilities, further advancing the operational readiness of the Army Reserve.
One example of P3's potential to enhance the force is the Army Reserve's partnership with eight top-tier universities and 21 employers in a first-of-its-kind effort to create a pathway for future cyber warriors. In 2015, the Army Reserve, through its innovative Cyber Private Public Partnership Program, brought together leaders of industry and academia with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to address a critical need for expertise in the cyber domain.
Cyber P3 serves to bridge the gap of skilled Soldiers in this area by creating a pool of Citizen-Soldiers who combine civilian skills, education and knowledge with military expertise. This effort supports the Army's efforts to recruit and retain talented cyber warriors by providing a career path to civilian cyber opportunities, also allowing active duty Soldiers to continue their service in the Army Reserve.
Our investment in the development of high-level civilian-sector technical skills, coupled with world-class military training, and you've got a tremendous asset that benefits both the Army and the nation.
DSCA/IRA/EPLOs
In addition to its contingency and theater security cooperation missions around the world, new mobilization authority created by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, paved the way for the Army Reserve to assist in domestic emergencies. Today, roles and responsibilities for Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) are greatly expanded for all DoD Title 10 forces.
The combined civilian and military skills of Army Reserve Soldiers, coupled with equipment readiness, and presence in 1,100 communities across the nation, postures the Army Reserve to provide a multitude of critical response capabilities to support civil authorities during disaster response. Our Selected Reserve includes nearly 200,000 Soldiers who can respond rapidly across state lines if needed, to provide capabilities that include search and rescue, aviation lift, engineer, transportation, quartermaster, civil affairs, medical, search, and mission control.
These expanded authorities are a perfect fit with the Army Reserve's role as an immediately accessible operational Federal reserve because the same capabilities which already support an expeditionary Army and Joint Force, such as Army Reserve Humanitarian Support and Disaster Relief to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
We have a life-saving mission. Today, the majority of the Army's medical capability resides within the Army Reserve, and by 2017 nearly 55 percent of all Army operational medical forces will reside within the Army Reserve.
We are experts at transportation and sustainment. Our Expeditionary Sustainment Commands deploy to locations devoid of infrastructure to facilitate open seaports and airports, while our logistics and supply chain personnel are experts at moving life-saving materiel and services into affected areas.
We are engineers. A significant portion of the Army's full spectrum engineer capability resides within the Army Reserve, with many of these capabilities almost exclusively or predominately within the Army Reserve.
We have a robust aviation capability. Army Reserve medical evacuation helicopters can rapidly transport patients to critical care facilities. Our fixed wing aircraft, medium and heavy lift helicopters can rapidly deliver life-sustaining supplies, equipment, and construction material into devastated areas.
Integrating these capabilities are the Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers (EPLOs). The Army Reserve provides 100 percent of the Army EPLOs and 33 percent of the Department of Defense's EPLOs, who maintain communications between the Department of Defense, federal, state and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations to coordinate assistance between all parties during emergency response events. They serve as subject matter experts on capabilities, limitations and legal authorities, and track Army Reserve assets in their states and regions.
The Army Reserve is fully integrated into the standing Department of Defense task force postured for rapid deployment to provide federal (Title 10) support for specific Civil Defense missions involving a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) event. Army Reserve Soldiers for the CBRN Response Enterprise (CRE) receive specialized training and equipment in compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue standards and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Resource Typing standards of Type 1 Collapse Search and Rescue team.
GOING FORWARD
The Army Reserve is a smart return on America's investment -- a Life-Saving, Life-Sustaining Force for the Nation that is ready now, ready in times of crisis, and ready for whatever threats and challenges the future holds.
We also have a complex and evolving global security environment, a constrained fiscal environment, and neither of those two conditions is likely to change in the near term. After 14 years of operational deployment, we have the most experienced Army Reserve in our nation's history -- one that has been completely integrated into the Total Army and the Joint Force, and expects to be mobilized.
Providing 20 percent of the Total Force for only six percent of the Army's budget, the Army Reserve is a cost-effective way to mitigate risk to national security, particularly in an era of constrained fiscal resources.
Clearly, the Army of the future will be smaller. Manpower is expensive and reductions in end strength are a quick way to reduce costs. However, we must recognize that disproportionately reducing the Army Reserve not only reduces the most cost-effective component of the Army, but also the sustainment and theater-level capabilities the Joint Force requires when the need arises. The Army Reserve will remain a critical component of the Army because of our unique command and technical capabilities, because we are globally available, and because we continue to shape our force structure to address the emerging needs of the Army. And ultimately, what America first and foremost expects of its Army is to fight and win our Nation's wars.
For more information, visit the official U.S. Army Reserve webpage at www.usar.army.mil.
The Army Reserve's mission is to provide trained, equipped, and ready Soldiers and cohesive units to meet global requirements across the full range of military operations. It consists of approximately 200,000 highly-skilled members in 148 career fields providing life-saving and life-sustaining forces for Joint Force operations. For more information about the Army Reserve, visit http://www.usar.army.mil/Pages/default.aspx
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