Posted on 9/16/2003, 9:38:20 PM by Brian S
Edited on 4/13/2004, 8:41:10 AM by Jim Robinson. [history]
WASHINGTON
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.com ...
I am glad this general is aware and serious.
Reserves chief tells troops to enter full war mode
By Dave Moniz, USA TODAY
First, this is GANNETT, for crissake.
Next, we're ALREADY in war mode.Anywhere from 30% to 50% of the Guard forces have contingents supporting the GWOT.
The 1.4 million-member active duty military is backed up by about 1.1 million National Guard and Reserve troops made up largely of part-time troops who typically train one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer.
Nothing mentioned about the COHORT training done with our active brothers, or the four 6-month tours which have become OJT for us.
The National Guard is a state and federal force with headquarters in all 50 states. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Reserves are under the control of those branches.
All 50 states PLUS the territories and DC. And we're only Federal in DC; everywhere else, we're under the Governor. And the Reserves are NOT ours - they get their callups from Big Army. Perhaps that's where the farticle got the idea of "state and federal" from. But we guard Guys can't call up a Reserve unit; that only comes from Big Army.
I'm a novice at these things. Any thoughts, advise is appreciated....
Only comment I have about recruiting is: Bah. Our manpower situation is adequate for now. It's not so much recruiting, as much as retention. And the retention rates are up there fairly high; no solid figures, mind you, but you can assume the high 70's for percentage; which is a wildly successful rate.
Bear also in mind, that the whole of the Active Force is not committed to the GWOT directly. Several divisions were involved in Iraq, but not the whole force.
But you're right, the next 12 months are going to be something to watch...
What exactly are you reading? If you're referring to this article, don't get too worked up yet (besides LTG Helmly is the Chief, Army Reserve, who has no business with how or who the National Guard deploys). One of the requirements to make any soldier, regardless of component (Active Duty or Reserve/Guard), deployable remains being qualified in the skill (MOS) that the soldier is supposed to be. He should at least attend basic and AIT before being deployed anywhere. If not, he has a legit argument for claiming that the Army National Guard failed to meet the terms of his contract.
Given the situation, that was out of line; hopefully, your concern has caused you to toss that term out too freely.
Looks like the press has accomplished its mission.
Is it correct to assume that everyone who wants to be in the military and qualifies is allowed in? if so, how do we 'bulk up' ?
It is a matter of recruiting and retention. Right now, the military has lower recruiting goals and can be pretty picky about who they take. If you don't meet certain educational standards, they won't take you. They can easily get more recuits if they need to, they have before.
The military has drawn down significantly since the late '80s. We have fewer ships, aircraft and units than we had then. My understanding is that some M-1 tank units have two tanks per crew, one for training and one for deployment. In addition, many specialties which were previously active duty have been transferred to the reserves.
Transferring duties to reserve units cuts costs during peacetime, but creates hardships during wartime. It is especially difficult during a long period of less than total war like the War on Terror, since only those in the military are making significant sacrifices.
Depends on how the individual's contract falls out. I was IRR myself, from '91 tolate '97. Because of my single-area specialty (Imagery Intelligence) I was on callback for most of that time, as an IMA (individual Mobilization Augmentee).
I spent six years on IRR and my only obligation was to contact the personnel office if I changed my address.
Had to do the same thing.
Like I said, it depended on the person involved. We've got a lot of guys with unique skills who came out of limbo to rejoin the fight. Medics, Intel, a lot of guys that did nasty things in the wilderness.
Alls I can say is, those figures are in the ballpark.
We've got a significant pool to draw from for MSCA missions like this one. Not everyone's across the pond - the unit mix for the War doesn't call for it.
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