Thursday, May 01, 2008

Army Reserve celebrates 100 years of constants

The Army Reserve’s 100th anniversary acknowledged our nation’s enduring need for such a force, and gives us an opportunity to recognize the contributions of hundreds of thousands of men and women who sustained the organization for a century.

Further, the anniversary recognizes that the force has changed over 100 years from a small reserve force of about 160 medical professionals into a much more capable force that provided all types of combat-arms, combat-support and combat-service-support capabilities to what it is today: a CS/CSS-focused operational, expeditionary, and domestic force that is an essential piece of the Army.

What hasn’t changed in 100 years is the commitment, selfless service, and personal courage of our men and women who voluntarily put their lives on hold - and on the line - to defend our country and our freedoms.

Since terrorists slammed hijacked airliners into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2001, more than 182,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have mobilized to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and more than a dozen other countries. Today, about 23,000 Army Reserve Soldiers serve on active duty in support of the War on Terrorism. About 17,000 serve overseas, while another 6,000 support homeland defense missions at training centers, mobilization sites and medical centers. About 15,000 serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Three Army Reserve Soldiers have earned the Silver Star Medal for valor in action: Spc. Jeremy Church, April 9, 2004; Sgt. James Witkowski, Oct. 26, 2005; and Staff Sgt. Jason Fetty, Oct. 15, 2007.

Today, I lead 205,000 heroes, and I see those heroes step up every day to serve our nation. Our Army Reserve Soldiers are part of the next greatest generation of Americans who have served their nation in the military.

The Army Reserve I joined was a strategic reserve, a source of manpower, should our nation need us. We were not highly trained, we were not well-equipped, we were not ready to deploy immediately, but, the Army knew our numbers and our locations.

Our expectation was to devote one weekend a month and two weeks each summer to Soldiering. The men and women in my unit didn’t expect to be called up unless World War III broke out and the Russians were coming across the Fulda Gap - and we never thought that would happen.

The days when Army Reserve Soldiers committed one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer to Soldiering duties are gone. The “weekend warrior” is no more.

Today’s Army Reserve is no longer a strategic reserve; instead, it is an operational force and an integral part of the world’s greatest Army. Today’s units are prepared and available to deploy with a full complement of trained Soldiers and equipment when the nation calls. Today’s Army Reserve Soldier is a member of the best-trained, best-led, and best-equipped fighting force our nation has ever fielded.

We continue to adjust to current needs and support other enduring missions at home and around the globe.

Although today’s Army Reserve continues to supplement the institutional base, trainers who once expanded training-base staffs now instruct members of the Iraqi and Afghan armies.
Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who once merely augmented military hospitals in the states now command the hospitals in our war zones. Today, one Army Reserve combat support hospital serves in Iraq, and another is ready to deploy there in the spring.

Throughout its existence, the Army Reserve has answered the nation’s call to serve during times of emergency, both in war and in peace. The biggest deployment of Army Reserve Soldiers overseas since the Korean War took place during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991. Almost 84,000 Army Reserve Soldiers and 647 units answered our country’s call. Thousands of Army Reserve Soldiers have served in the Balkans to conduct peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, and later in Kosovo, since 1995.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the men and women of the Army Reserve have served on the front lines of the war on terror abroad and at home. Units and individuals responded immediately and performed a variety of missions that supported rescue and recovery operations and secured federal facilities across the country.

Peacetime emergencies have included a variety of disaster relief and humanitarian operations at home and abroad, including Hurricane Katrina and an earthquake in Pakistan
Today, the Army Reserve remains the Title 10 first-responder to support civil authorities during domestic emergencies. It provides 2/3 of the DoD’s rapid response capabilities and is prepared to deploy to conduct chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive consequence management operations in support of U.S. Northern Command or the lead federal agency at the incident site.

Today, Army Reserve Soldiers are continuously deployed to more than 20 countries around the world, Indicators point to increased Army Reserve requirements in Africa, especially now that U.S. Africa Command has been established.

Each time Army Reserve Soldiers deploy overseas, they bring part of America with them. They also often deliver the best of America to the children of that country as they demonstrate our country’s generosity and concern for them and people in other nations around the world.

A case in point is a small town in Kosovo, where our civil affairs Soldiers worked with the Virginia National Guard to completely renovate a soccer and basketball court and build a classroom and conference building. The local city council meets in the conference room and the building has become one of the town’s centerpieces.

Things like this happen when reserve component Soldiers tackle a mission.

Another constant is the value of civilian-acquired skills Army Reserve Soldiers bring to help make the U.S. Army the most powerful and sophisticated military force in the world. Often, these skills are unrelated to their normal military duties. For instance, a military policeman who is a teacher at home may be exactly the right Soldier to help train Iraqi policemen. 

During our first 100 years, we were characterized as “Citizen-Soldiers.” When Army Reserve Soldiers wore combat patches, they were typically from active-duty units the Soldiers had served with in Vietnam. Today’s Army Reserve Soldiers are warrior-citizens. They are warriors who fight for our nation, and they are also citizens, but their involvement in military
operations has been tremendously expanded.

Today, we see evidence of their involvement in the combat patches worn by Soldiers who served on active duty with their Army Reserve units. We see it in the reserve-unit patches worn by active-component Soldiers who served in combat under a reserve headquarters.

Young men and women serve in today’s Army Reserve because they want to defend our country. They fully expect they will be called upon - on a regular basis - to do just that. They know they must maintain a high state of readiness, both physically and mentally. They know they will be asked to make great sacrifices - to leave their families and their civilian jobs - to serve our nation.

Today’s Army Reserve Soldiers represent the values upon which our country was founded. They are citizens who are willing to lay down their plows and pick up their rifles when called upon. They’re proud of their service. They’re proud to say they’re part of the Army Reserve.

Editor’s note: The writer is chief of the U.S. Army Reserve.