Transforming the Guard - Construct and Challenges for the Operational Reserve

摘要

The U.S. Army's success during the 2003 offensive in Iraq, despite a ground element of unprecedented small size, made clear to the world America's supremacy in force-on-force engagements. Subsequent efforts to establish security and implement post-conflict stabilization in Iraq have proven to be the far greater challenge. America's extended campaign to stabilize and secure Iraq, complicated by an insurgency and civil war, has strained our nation's all volunteer force and led to extensive use of the National Guard as an operational - rather than a strategic - reserve. This shift has serious implications for the future roles, force structure, and missions of the Army National Guard. This paper reviews the historical roles of the National Guard and the challenges of becoming an operational reserve; examines pitfalls to implementing modularity and ARFORGEN (Army Forces Generation) in the guard; and outlines the impact of transformation on National Guard state mission execution and civil support.