Reserve Components
of the U.S. Military
&
The U.S. Army Reserve Components
(U.S. Army Reserves)
(Army National Guard)
The Reserve Components
 The reserve components of the United
States armed forces are military organizations
whose members, generally perform a minimum
of 39 days of military duty per year and who
augment the active duty (or full time) military
when necessary.
 The reserve components are also referred
to collectively as the Guard and Reserves.
The Reserve Components
The eight (8) reserve components of the U.S. military are:
1. Army Reserve (USAR)
2. Navy Reserve (USNR)
3. Marine Corps Reserve
4. Air Force Reserve
5. Coast Guard Reserve
6. Army National Guard of the United States (ARNG)
7. Air National Guard of the United States (ANG)
8. United States Public Health Service Reserve Corps
(*uniformed service, not an armed service)
Note: The Army National Guard of the United States & the Air National
Guard of the United States primarily fall under the National Guard of the
United States (NGB).
Civilian Axillaries
The civilian auxiliaries of the U.S. military are not considered to
be reserve components of the respective services but could
assist the military in peacetime or wartime; the exception is the
Coast Guard where upon determination by the Commandant
Auxiliary members become part of the temporary Reserve (per
the CG Authorization Act of 1996):
Civil Air Patrol, auxiliary to the Air Force
Coast Guard Auxiliary, auxiliary to the Coast Guard
Merchant Marine, auxiliary to the Navy
Military Auxiliary Radio System
During times of war, the Merchant Marine is classified as part
of the uniformed services & members obtain veteran status.
Purpose of the RC
According to Title 10 U.S. Code (USC), the purpose of
each reserve component is to provide trained units
and qualified persons available for active duty in
the armed forces, in time of war or national
emergency, and at such other times as the national
security may require, to fill the needs of the armed
forces whenever, during & after the period needed to
procure & train additional units & qualified persons to
achieve the planned mobilization, more units &
persons are needed than are in the regular
components.
History & Tradition
The reserve components are the embodiment of the American tradition of the
citizen-soldier dating back to before the American Revolutionary War.
They are regionally based & recruited (unlike their active duty counterparts)
and, in the case of the Army & Air National Guard, are the organized state
militias referred to in the U.S. Constitution.
Members of the reserve components are generally required to perform, at a
minimum, 39 days of military service per year. This includes monthly drill
weekends (24 days) and 15 days of annual training (giving rise to the old
slogan “one weekend a month, two weeks a year”).
While organized, trained, & equipped nearly the same as the active duty, the
reserve components often have unique characteristics. This is especially true
of the National Guard, which performs both federal & state missions. In
addition, reserve components often operate under special laws, regulations,
and policies.
Reserves vs. National Guard
The definition of the term “reserve” varies depending on the context
In most respects, the Army National Guard & Air National Guard are very
similar to the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve, respectively.
The primary difference lies in the level of government to which they are
subordinated.
The Army Reserve & Air Force Reserve are subordinated to the federal
government
while the National Guards are subordinated to the various state
governments, except when called into federal service by the President of
the United States or as provided for by law.
For example, the Kentucky Army National Guard and Kentucky Air National
Guard are subordinated to the state of Kentucky and report to the governor
of Kentucky as their commander-in-chief.
Reserves vs. National Guard
This unique relationship descends from the colonial & state militias that
served as a balance against a standing federal army, which many Americans
feared would threaten states’ rights. The militias were organized into the
present National Guard system with the Militia Act of 1903.
Besides the theoretical check on federal power, the distinction between the
federal military reserves and the National Guard permits state governors
to use their personnel to assist in disaster relief and to preserve law and
order in times of crisis. I.E. “State Mission”
The latter is permitted because the National Guard are not subject to the
restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act unless they are under federal
jurisdiction. The restrictions, however, do apply to the 4 of the other 5 reserve
components just as it does with their active duty military counterparts. The
U.S. Coast Guard & U.S. Coast Guard Reserve are not subject to the
restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act because they are the only Armed
Force of the United States that is not part of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Reserves vs. National Guard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTq0SxWy9TQ
USAR:
there are NO combat arms USAR units, though formerly there
were a full range of armored, infantry, artillery, etc. units, to include two
Special Forces Groups (11th and 12th). The USAR is mainly support and
training units. Typically, they are “called-up” as individuals instead of units.
All four (4) services have federally owned Reserve components -- USAR, AF
Reserve, USMCR, and USNR.
ARNG:
There ARE combat arms units in the ARNG. The ARNG
includes almost all branches of the Army (depending on the State).
The National Guard is also both a source of economic importance (jobs,
building projects, etc) and prestige to the States, so any attempts to reform it
at all, much less consider taking it away from the states, are typically fought
tooth and nail by state governors, congressional delegations, and the
National Guard Association of the United States. Only the Army & Air Force
have National Guard components.
Reserve Categories
All members of a reserve component are
assigned to one of 3 reserve component
categories:
 The READY Reserve
 The STANDBY Reserve
 The RETIRED Reserve
READY Reserve
 The Ready Reserve comprises military members of the Reserve & National Guard,
organized in units or as individuals, liable for recall to active duty to augment the active
components in time of war or national emergency.
 The Ready Reserve consists of 3 reserve component subcategories:
1. The Selected Reserve consist of those units & individuals within the Ready Reserve
designated by their respective Services & approved by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff as so essential to initial wartime missions that they have priority over all other
Reserves. The Selected Reserve consists of additional sub-subcategories:
• Drilling Reservists/Troop Program Units (TPUs) .
• Training Pipeline (non-deployable account) .
• Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs).
• Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) are National Guard or Reserve members of the
Selected Reserve who are ordered to active duty or full-time National Guard duty for
the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the reserve
component units.
2. Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) personnel provide a manpower pool composed
principally of individuals having had training, having previously served in an active duty
component or in the Selected Reserve, and having some period of their military service
obligation (MSO) remaining.
3. Inactive National Guard (ING) are National Guard personnel in an inactive status in the
Ready Reserve, not in the Selected Reserve, attached to a specific National Guard unit,
who are required to muster once a year with their assigned unit but do not participate in
training activities. On mobilization, ING members mobilize with their units.
STANDBY Reserve
 The Standby Reserve consists of personnel who maintain their affiliation
without being in the Ready Reserve, who have been designated key civilian
employees, or who have a temporary hardship or disability. They are not
required to perform training & are not part of units but create a pool of trained
individuals who could be mobilized if necessary to fill manpower needs in
specific skills.
 Active Status List are those Standby Reservists temporarily assigned
for hardship or other cogent reason; those not having fulfilled their military
service obligation or those retained in active status when provided for by
law; or those members of Congress & others identified by their employers
as “key personnel” & who have been removed from the Ready Reserve
because they are critical to the national security in their civilian
employment.
 Inactive Status List are those Standby Reservists who are not
required by law or regulation to remain in an active program & who retain
their Reserve affiliation in a non-participating status, and those who have
skills which may be of possible future use to the Armed Force concerned.
RETIRED Reserve
The Retired Reserve consists of all Reserve officers
and enlisted personnel who receive retired pay on the
basis of active duty and/or reserve service; all
Reserve officers and enlisted personnel who are
otherwise eligible for retired pay but have not reached
age 60, who have not elected discharge, and are not
voluntary members of the Ready or Standby Reserve;
and other retired reservists under certain conditions.
SFC (Retired) Welch & COL (Retired) Alexander
Mobilization
Individual service members or entire units of the reserve components may be called
into active duty (also referred to as mobilized, activated, or called up), under several
conditions:
 Full Mobilization requires a declaration of war or national emergency by the U.S.
Congress, affects all reservists (including those on inactive status & retired members),
& may last until 6 months after the war or emergency for which it was declared.
 Partial Mobilization requires a declaration of national emergency, affects only the
Ready Reserve, & is limited to a maximum of one million personnel activated for no
more than 2 years.
 Presidential Reserve Call-Ups do not require a declaration of national emergency
but require the President to notify Congress and is limited to 200,000 Selected
Reservists and 30,000 Individual Ready Reservists for up to 270 days.
 The 15-Day Statute allows individual service secretaries to call up the Ready Reserves for up
to 15 days per year for annual training or operational missions.
 RC Volunteers may request to go on active duty regardless of their reserve component
category, but the state governors must approve activating National Guard personnel.
Mobilization
 Members of the National Guard (Army & Air), operate
under Title 32 of the United States Code under normal
circumstances.
 However, once they are MOBILIZED, they then fall under
Title 10 of the U.S. Code and therefore are subject to ALL
the rules & regulations of the Active Duty services,
including the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
 Mobilizations can occur for entire UNITS or for specific
INDIVIDUALS.
 Mobilizations are for specified periods/lengths.
National Guard Bureau
The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the
administration of the National Guard of the United States established by the
United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army
and the Department of the Air Force.
It was created by the Militia Act of 1903. This was changed by the 2008
National Defense Authorization Act, which elevated the National Guard to a
joint function of the Department of Defense. This act also elevated the Chief
of the National Guard Bureau from Lieutenant General (3-Stars) to General
(4-Stars) with the appointment of General Craig R. McKinley, U.S. Air
Force. The National Guard Bureau holds a unique status as both a staff
and operation agency & now holds a set on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Directors, Army & Air NG
Both Directors are
career National Guard
Officers.
Both previously served
as Adjutant Generals of
States
Ingram = North Carolina
Wyatt = Oklahoma
LTG William E. Ingram Jr.
LTG Harry M. Wyatt III
U.S. Army Reserve (USAR)
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is the federal reserve
force of the United States Army.
Together, the Army Reserve & the Army National Guard constitute the
reserve components (RC) of the United States Army.
The Army Reserve was formed 23 April 1908 to provide a reserve of
medical officers to the Army. After the WW I, under the National
Defense Act on 4 June 1920, Congress reorganized the U.S. land
forces by authorizing a Regular Army, a National Guard, and an
Organized Reserve (Officers Reserve Corps and Enlisted Reserve
Corps) of unrestricted size, which later became the Army Reserve.
USAR Components
 Office of the Chief, Army Reserve (OCAR) at The Pentagon,
Washington, DC
OCAR provides the Chief, Army Reserve (CAR) with a staff of functional
advisors who develop & execute Army Reserve plans, policies & programs,
plus administer Army Reserve personnel, operations & funding. The CAR is
responsible for plans, policies & programs affecting all USAR Soldiers,
including those who report directly to the Army. OCAR is composed of
specialized groups that advise & support the CAR on a wide variety of issues.
 U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC) at Ft. Bragg, NC
Through USARC, the CAR commands all Army Reserve units. USARC is
responsible for the staffing, training, management & deployment of its units to
ensure their readiness for Army missions. The Army Reserve which consists
of three main categories of units: operational & functional, support, and
training. Due to Base Realignment & Closure Act, the HQ of USAR has moved
to Ft. Bragg.
Chief, Army Reserve
LTG Jack C. Stultz
The Chief, Army Reserve (CAR) is responsible for plans, policies &
programs affecting all Army Reserve Soldiers, including those who report
directly to the Army & also commands ALL Army Reserve units.
The Office of the Chief, Army Reserve (OCAR) is made up of specialized
groups that advise and support the CAR on a wide variety of issues.
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is the federal reserve force of the
United States Army.
USAR Operational Commands
3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support) (MDSC) at Fort Gillem, GA
7th Civil Support Command at Kaiserslautern, Germany
11th Aviation Command (Theater) at Fort Knox, KY
79th Sustainment Support Command at Los Alaminitos, CA
143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) (ESC) at Orlando, FL
200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade, MD
311th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) (ESC) at Los Angeles, CA
335th Signal Command (Theater) at East Point, GA
377th Sustainment Command (Theater) (TSC) at Belle Chasse, LA
412th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) at Vicksburg, MS
416th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) at Darien, IL
807th Medical Command (Deployment Support) (MDSC) at Salt Lake, UT
U.S.A.R. Medical Command (AR-MEDCOM) at Pinellas Park, FL
Military Intelligence Readiness Command (MIRC) at Fort Belvoir, VA
U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command –
Airborne (USACAPOC-A) at Fort Bragg, NC
U.S.A.R. Joint and Special Troops Support Command
USAR Support Commands
1st Mission Support Command at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico
63rd Regional Support Command "Blood and Fire" at Moffett Field, CA
81st Regional Support Command "Wildcat Division" at Fort Jackson, SC
85th Support Command "Custer Division" at Arlington Heights, IL
87th Support Command "The Golden Acorn Division" at Birmingham, AL
88th Regional Support Command "The Blue Devils" at Fort McCoy, WI
99th Regional Support Command "Checkerboard" at Fort Dix, NJ
Army Reserve Careers Division at Fort McPherson, GA
USAR Training Commands
Training commands, institutional
75th Training Command (Battle Command Training Division) at Houston, TX
80th Training Command (TASS) "Blue Ridge Division" at Richmond, VA
84th Training Command "Lincoln County Division" at Fort McCoy, WI
108th Training Command (Individual Entry Training) at Charlotte, NC
166th Aviation Brigade at Fort Hood, TX
Training support commands
First United States Army East at Fort Meade, Maryland
First United States Army West at Fort Carson, Colorado