Give the CINCs the Authority for Selected Reserve Call-Up.

摘要

For almost 20 years, the Total Force Policy has called for the early reliance on reserve forces for crisis response. The accessibility of these forces has been limited, however, by the President's hesitancy to recall selected reserves under Title 10 USC673b. The CINCs are charged with planning and executing regional contingency missions for which there are reserve force requirements, but they lack the authority to activate these forces. This paper addresses the history and current laws and limitations of reserve recall, evaluates the adequacy of reserve employment strategy and potentially critical reserve units, reviews two recent crises in which there were problems regarding reserve call-up, and analyzes three possible alternatives for dealing with the current problem. It concludes that Congress should give the CINCs a very limited reserve call-up authority that would enable them to use those forces needed during the early phases of a contingency operation. This solution represents a compromise between retaining the status quo and changing the Total Force Policy to replace those critical reserve units. Reserve, Call-up, Mobilization, Recall, Selected, CINC, Title 10, Total Force Policy.