ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The Army should focus on deploying smaller National Guard and Army Reserve units, which are quicker and easier to train, alongside active-duty troops if the service is called upon to quickly mobilize for a major conflict overseas.

A recent RAND Corp. report found it would take too much time to get larger reserve component formations—such as brigade combat teams or combat aviation brigades—properly mobilized and trained during the earlier periods of a conflict or contingency. 

The Army is likely to continue a pilot program that pairs active-duty and reserve component units to build readiness and strengthen unit cohesion across the force, the new director of the Army National Guard said.

The Associated Units Program, launched in 2016, was designed to test whether combining units across the components would increase readiness and improve relationships and unit cohesion.

The pilot program was to run for three years, with senior Army leaders set to decide on the program by Sept. 30.

Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey says his soldiers, their families and employers may feel the impact of having a more-ready force.

With his 21 years of combined service in the Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve, Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper knows the value of the reserve components and the challenges.

In an Army News Service interview, Esper said his own service in the National Guard after he left active duty showed this was a talented, hardworking force. “I came to really respect the Guard,” he said.

Spanning 20 time zones and containing 200,000 soldiers, the Army Reserve provides 78 percent of the sustainment capabilities for the Total Army

Host and Association of the U.S. Army Council of Trustees member retired Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz kicked off the annual Maj. Gen. Robert G. Moorhead Guard/Reserve Breakfast this morning by reiterating the theme of the 2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Among the speakers were Gen. Robert B. Abrams, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command; Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Raymond Horoho; and Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey. To a man, each reiterated the exposition theme of “building readiness.”

The lethality and complexity of today’s battle space present new challenges to the Army Reserve, where readiness levels have relied on a well-worn rotational schedule.

Instead, the Reserve must prepare for a full-spectrum operational environment that includes making ready significant portions of the Reserve force to move quickly, in some cases in days or weeks, so it can effectively complement active-component formations that rely on its capabilities.

Quickly growing the Army to meet urgent operational demands is possible only by placing a heavy burden on the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, according to a new report.

A RAND Corp. analysis of the Army’s options for rapidly regenerating says there are many challenges, including difficulty recruiting if the civilian job market is strong, public support that might be limited depending on the given conflict, and the Army’s requirement to continue operating while it’s expanding.

Feb. 9, 2017

As the Army has ramped up operational use of its National Guard and Reserve units amid ongoing counterinsurgency operations, budget constraints and end strength cuts, training has become more critical than ever for all components, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Daniel B. Allyn told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee.

“To build sufficient operational and strategic depth, the Army continues to explore ways to build increased readiness” in the Guard and Reserve, Allyn said during a Feb. 8 hearing of the readiness and management support panel.

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law Friday by President Barack Obama. The bill brings an end to the Army’s troop drawdown and provides soldiers with the first pay raise in five years that matches the average private sector increase.