Leaders call operational Reserve 'a new DoD efficiency'

Published Feb. 3, 2011
By Col. Robert K. Thompson
Air Force Reserve Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- The new role and future direction of the Department of Defense's reserve components was the focus of the Reserve Officer Association gathering attended by more than 600 people at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel here Jan. 29 - Feb. 2.

Senior DoD leaders here discussed how the Reserve programs have evolved to the point that they are critical to daily operations and are seen as efficient and cost-effective manning solutions during tight financial times.

"Ideas about the reserve components have changed," said Dennis M. McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs during his address to the crowd. "No longer is the 'strategic reserve' used only once in a lifetime."

Since 9/11 and nearly 10 years of combat, reservists have played an ever-increasing role in ongoing military operations around the globe. This increased reliance on reservists is called the "operational reserve" while the traditional role of the "strategic reserve" can still be seen during surges such as those in Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2010.

"There is a change underway. There is a need to rebalance the force and the important roles that all three components play," said Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., chief of the Air Force Reserve at the Pentagon, and the commander of Air Force Reserve Command headquartered at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. "This is being discussed at the absolute highest levels today."

In the next five years, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has tasked the Armed Services to find more than $100 billion in overhead savings. The Air Force's share is $34 billion.

"The reserve components are the cost-effective part of our nation's military," said U.S. Rep. Tom Latham (Iowa-R) during his acceptance of the "Minute Man of the Year" award at the symposium. "The process of shifting to an 'operational reserve' must continue as the current conflicts wind down."

All of the three of the Air Force's Total Force components - Regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command - are seeking ideas to generate savings that can be invested in force structure, modernization and readiness.

"The contributions of the Guard and Reserve are never lost on us," said Daniel B. Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. "We have the responsibility to get the most bang for the buck - to be as efficient as possible. The ARC [Air Reserve Component's] can do it for less."

The Quadrennial Defense Review provides senior leaders guidance for strategy and future force structures. The most recent 2010 QDR report called for an in-depth review of all the military services' reserve components and for detailed research into what the new balance of forces should be.

After eight months and input from all DOD offices, Secretary McCarthy's team delivered this review to the secretary of defense on Jan. 31.

"This report met its goal of being very comprehensive," said Secretary McCarthy. "I'm very proud of the end product."

He stated that he looks forward to Secretary Gates' reaction to the report's recommendations and the public release of the findings.

"We're going to have to make adjustments to the [DOD] base budget," said Secretary Ginsberg. "As OCO [Overseas Contingency Operations] changes, we must support the expanded role of the Guard and Reserve."

Air Force reservists are active in every Air Force specialty and continue to be on the leading-edge of new and emerging missions. And as the federal government looks for ways to save money, General Stenner said his team is working hard to ensure that the Air Force Reserve continues to become ever more efficient and cost-effective, delivering what the combatant commanders and nation require.

"Our Air Force Reserve provides a 'Tier-One' capability - ready to go within 72 hours," he said. "We're the only service that maintains this level of readiness in all three components. We're seamlessly ready to integrate and go anywhere in the world."

Several new and on-going initiatives are already solidifying the Air Force Reserve as first and foremost a strategic reserve that also provides an operational combat ready force or operational reserve.

"We're engaged in a series of actions to ensure we're a full partner at every single Air Staff function as well as at the squadron, wing and major command levels," said General Stenner. "By mid-2012, about 14 months from now, we plan for these changes to gain full operational capability."

These initiatives include the growth of the new Force Generation Center that began standing up in August 2010. This center is designed to be the "one-stop-shop" for combatant commanders to request Reserve help and the single doorway for Air Force reservists to enter active duty.

Growth continues in other mission areas as well. Air Force reservists are leading aircrew training for B-52 bombers with Air Force Regular Airmen working alongside them as an "active associate" unit based at Barksdale AFB, La. In another unit at Barksdale, the Regular Air Force combat-coded B-52 mission is supported now by a "classic associate" Air Force Reserve Command team - a first for the Reserve, directly augmenting the nuclear mission.

Also, after growing two new intelligence squadrons in 2010, the Air Force Reserve plans to add more and eventually expand into new groups and wings.

"There's never been a better time to be in the Reserve," said General Stenner. "Recruiting and retention is at a 16-year high. Benefits like the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill are the best since World War II. We have reservists in every mission specialty and every agency and our efficiency and cost-effectiveness are being recognized at a time when our nation needs us the most."