Peacekeeping: Is It Feasible to Expand the Role of the Reserve Components

摘要

The purpose of the paper is to examine the recent history of the ReserveComponents participation in peacekeeping missions and determine the feasibility of expanding their role in the future. Numerous research projects, position papers and After Action Reviews have been rendered on the performance, successes, shortcomings and lessons learned on Reserve Component soldiers and units during peace operations. These documents form the basis of my analysis. In addition, leaders from both the Active and Reserve Components have provided me their assessments of past performance and future requirements of the citizen soldiers. The paper's empirical base includes survey and informal interviews of Reserve Component soldiers and their leaders who recently served in Bosnia. The overall conclusion that it is feasible to increase the Reserve Component role in peacekeeping missions is somewhat hedged by the requirement to fix the problems associated with accessing, processing, equipping, and supporting the families of the citizen soldiers.