Guard and Reserve Issues for Congress
By Jayson L. Spiegel
America’s Defense Needs
The National Guard and Reserves (collectively, the Reserve Components) are under-manned, under-funded, and under-equipped for the demands we are making of them. The men and women who make up the Reserves continue to carry on, accomplishing the missions the nation asks of them. But to keep faith with America’s citizen-soldiers will require leadership from the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the United States Congress to advance an agenda that keeps the Reserves ready and relevant.
This report makes the case that fixing the challenges faced by the Reserve Components will require several initiatives. Because the Reserve Components now constitute an operational force rather than a strategic reserve, these forces require additional training on an on-going basis. In addition, Congress ought to pass legislation that limits the percentage of National Guard force that can be committed to operations at any one time in order to ensure that a sufficient force remains in the United States to respond to local disasters. Congress should also provide additional benefits to members of the Reserve Components as well at to their employers to ensure shared sacrifice by all of society.
Finally, Congress should debate the appropriate role of the Reserve Components in America’s defense policy. It is unlikely that the Total Force Policy can survive in its present form if Reserve Component forces are used as frequently as Active Component forces across the spectrum of conflict. The Reserve Chiefs have publicly acknowledged that their forces are already broken or on the verge of breaking. Increased homeland security requirements exacerbate the demand for National Guard units and deployed forces cannot be relied upon for domestic contingencies. In the past, force structure decisions were made because a Reserve unit costs less than an Active unit. The so-called “war on terror” may require modification and rethinking of some past force structure decisions.
Jayson Spiegel is an Adjunct Fellow at the American Security Project. He served as Executive Director of the Reserve Offi cers Association from 1999 to 2003 and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Force Management, Manpower and Resources during the Clinton Administration as well as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
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