Untested Waters: Challenges Facing an Operational Army Reserve

摘要

The Reserve Components of the Army have traditionally been a strategic force. Large scale mobilizations were likely only in times of national crises, such as Operations Desert Storm or Iraqi Freedom. Strategic leaders have ordered a formal conversion of the Army's Reserve Components into an operational force, capable of deploying one year out of every five or six under the Army Force Generation Model. This is a dramatic departure. It leads to an unknown the U.S. has not faced since changing to an all-volunteer army. Who will man this force. This challenge must be viewed from two key perspectives: First, civilian employers will confront an entirely new set of costs when faced with hiring a reserve service member. Second, the soldiers and potential soldiers will view an operational reserve through the new prism of guaranteed and repeated mobilization. How will their influencers parents, teachers, coaches and clergy- affect their decisions. How will spouses and significant others view service in an operational reserve. Finally, service members must consider their children in any decision to enlist or reenlist. This paper explores some of these issues and offers some suggested approaches to mitigate the impact of the conversion to an operational reserve.