Thursday April 20, 2017
What is it?
On April 23, the Army Reserve celebrates its 109th birthday as the most capable, combat-ready and lethal federal force in the history of the nation. Established by Congress in 1908 as the Medical Reserve Corps, it was a ready pool of medical professionals available to increase the efficiency of the medical department of the United States Army. The act sought to prevent the serious shortage of physicians that occurred during the Spanish-American War.
What has the Army done?
The Army Reserve provided trained and ready Soldiers and units for World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
More than 300,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have mobilized and deployed in support of the Total Army and Joint Force during contingency operations, natural disaster response efforts, and as part of ongoing global Theater Security Cooperation missions since 2001.
Currently, 15,000 citizen Soldiers are supporting global combatant command operations, including civil affairs missions in the Horn of Africa, deterrence operations in Kuwait, military police operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and medical support operations in Honduras.
What continued efforts are planned for the future?
The Army Reserve will continue to provide mission-critical capabilities for the Army and the joint warfighter whenever and wherever they are needed, anywhere on Earth. The U.S. Army Reserve Command is assessing and identifying critical units-of-action that will rapidly support the warfighter through Army service component commands around the globe and win in contested environments across multiple domains. This Ready Force may provide the surge capacity the Army needs to counter short-notice contingencies by enhancing unit and Soldier stability, mitigating the cascading impacts of cross-leveling and rationalizing training, equipping and modernization strategies.
Why is this important to the Army?
The Army Reserve is an integral and essential part of the Army and the joint force. As the Army’s sole, dedicated federal reserve force, it delivers operational combat service and combat service support to the Total Army and the Joint Force to protect U.S. national security interests worldwide. Manned, trained and equipped primarily to enable combat formations, the Army Reserve provides quick access to trained and ready Soldiers and units-of-action and the critical enabling and sustaining capabilities the Army needs to win. Its unique status as both a component of the Army and a singular command gives it the flexibility, agility and unity of effort needed to respond to any mission at home or abroad, often with little notice.
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