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Army Reserve's 'third force' concept deserves another look.
NATIONAL SECURITY REPORT
As seen repeatedly in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States relies on the Army Reserve for a significant part of its defense capabilities. The Army would have a difficult time sustaining such major operations without the Reserve Component.
But what kind of Army Reserve do we need? The discussion about the future of the Army Reserve has so far focused on only two options. In one, the Army Reserve would continue its traditional or legacy role as a strategic reserve. In the other, the Army Reserve would serve as an operational reserve to support ongoing operations on a regular basis.
Are the strategic reserve and the operational reserve our only options? In 2002, LTG James R. Helmly, then chief of Army Reserve, suggested what he called a "third force." It would be a quick reaction force of Army reservists who might complete multiple deployments in return for additional benefits or incentives, while most of the Army Reserve would remain a legacy force, available for deployments after activation and post-mobilization training.
His concept offers a potential mechanism that might support the nation's defense needs and help Army reservists continue to serve effectively. LTG Helmly s third force received little attention then. But it just might work now.
From Strategic to Operational
Traditionally, the Army Reserve served as a strategic reserve for the Army. During peacetime, the Reserve Components sustained a pool of trained and available Soldiers. In national emergencies, reservists could be activated, given additional training and equipment to bring them up to Active Component readiness levels, and deployed as needed. For the nation, the Reserve Component represented a cost-effective insurance policy. For individual Soldiers, deployment was often a oncein-a-career event.
In the past decade, things have changed. The United States has been continuously at war for more than eight years in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Reserve Component has been heavily used to support those ongoing actions. As of 2011, every National Guard brigade has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and more than 300,000 Guard members have deployed in this war, according to Army Chief of Staff GEN George W. Casey Jr. Many Army Reserve Soldiers have served more than one tour...