The Army National Guard and Army Reserve: An Operational Transformation

The Army National Guard (ARNG) and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) are an integral element of the total force and employed as an Operational force since Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), while resourced as a Strategic reserve. The current level of foreign and domestic operational demands exceed the available supply of Active Component forces and these demands will not decrease in the foreseeable future. In order to sufficiently meet the current and future operational demands, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of the Army (DA) must transform the ARNG and USAR from a Strategic reserve to an Operational Reserve. This transformation requires fundamental reforms in Reserve Components (RC) homeland defense/ homeland security roles and missions; personnel management systems, equipping and training policies, family and employer support policies, the organizations and structures used to manage the RC, and funding. The Department of the Army, the ARNG, and the USAR all fundamentally agree on the general definition of an Operational Reserve. However, there is not a consensus on the detailed objectives and metrics necessary to achieve the desired end state. This is one of several issues currently impeding progress in achieving this objective. The Department of the Army, the ARNG, and the USAR collectively must clearly define the specific attributes of an Operational Reserve to include the appropriate employment, support policies and resources. This paper will examine the work that DA has completed thus far. It will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the work as well as outline some detailed measureable attributes of an Operational Reserve. It will conclude with some specific changes DA must implement to the process and process oversight structure to achieve these objectives.