United States Army Reserve Commanding General Lt. Gen. Jeffrey W. Talley gave journalists a primer on the U.S. Army Reserve during an Oct. 1 panel discussion in Washington.
The panel, which united Talley with National Guard Bureau Vice Chief Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel to address the future of the National Guard and Army Reserve, was held as part of “Covering the Military, Veterans and Homeland Security: Tomorrow’s Trends and Issues,” the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative’s 2014 conference.
If the Reserve is new to you, here are some facts and figures to get your reporting started on the right foot:
- It’s kind of a chameleon. Talley said that the Reserve is characterized by the technical expertise of its manpower, which stretches across a variety of disciplines. According to Talley, the Reserve houses the majority of the Army’s technical capabilities (vs. active-duty ranks), comprising 94 percent of the total Army’s legal units, 80 percent of its logistical capability, nearly all of its civil affairs troops and the majority of its medical capability. Additionally, he said, full-spectrum engineering only exists within the Reserve’s ranks.
- It wasn’t originally designed to fight. According to Talley, the Reserve was “founded initially to get access to private-sector doctors and nurses,” with its other technical expansion coming later on. “The Army Reserve, over years, has been transitioned from combat forces to combat support and combat services,” Talley said. He said the Army Reserve tries to maintain combat effectiveness when active-duty troops are in periods of drawdown. Talley said the Reserve is also to do any sort of sustained contingency mission for the Army.
- “It is the only component of the Army that is a command,” Talley said. He described the regular active-duty army as being “a component” rather than being one unified command. This structure stands in contrast with the National Guard, he said, which is organized as 54 different commands. He also said this facet of its structure gives the Reserve its own commander versus the National Guard setup in which an adjutant general is the leader but bows to the command of a governor.
- It’s huge. “If you take the Air Force Reserve plus the Coast Guard Reserve plus the Marine Corps Reserve plus the Navy Reserve – add ‘em all up – the Army Reserve is bigger,” Talley said, noting that it’s also bigger than the active-duty Marine Corps. He said the Reserve’s strength objective is approximately 205,000 for soldiers and 32,000 for civilians.
- It’s everywhere. “What you’ll find is the Army Reserve is directly embedded and integrated into every Army service component command and every combatant command” including the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Talley said. He said this integration is justified by the Reserve’s “enabling capability” for the Army, which provides about 40 percent of all combatant commands’ total capabilities.
- Its future is in the numbers. Talley said the way in which the Reserve deals with things like government sequestration and budgets will determine the future direction the Army Reserve and National Guard, alike, will take. However, he expressed hope in the power of its Private Public Partnership Initiative to help offset the impact of the current American fiscal crisis on the Reserve. He said past partners include Coca-Cola and Fox News.
