The Guard And Reserve In The Total Force

"Forging a Total Force traces the evolution of the Guard and reserve from the Revolutionary War-era militias to today's operational reserve, an integral part of the nation's total force. In the early republic, the ideal of a citizen-solider, capable of taking the field with little or no training, predominated. The realities of modern combat slowly made it clear that a more professional force was required, but policy changes failed to keep up with that changing necessity. The nation struggled to provide adequate training and equipment to the reserve component throughout the Cold War until the idea of a Total Force, which integrated regular and reserve components, emerged and was achieved. It wasn't until the defense buildup of the 1980s that the ideal of a combat-ready reserve became reality. The core of this book focuses on what came next, from 1990 to 2011, with particular emphasis on the decade after 9/11. The Persian Gulf War demonstrated both the effectiveness of the reserve and the challenges it continued to face. The post-Cold War drawdown during the 1990s made the smaller active component more dependent on the reserves than it had been since the nation's founding. The reserve component proved itself yet again in the wars following 9/11, but also became strained as it became clear just how much the nation depended on its Guard and reserve. Finally, the authors detail the policy changes made midstream in an attempt to address issues with the overextended force, such as balancing training and deployment with civilian lives and careers, providing health care to reservists, and integrating the active and reserve components. The authors conclude by detailing the issues policymakers will face as they forge ahead with citizen-soldiers serving as an operational force."--Provided by publisher.

This volume is a study of the origins and evolution of the Air National Guard. This history was written during 1978-1979 by the author as part of his doctoral program in military history. The expanding role of the Guard and its close cooperation with the Air Force are the author's themes, explaining the rise of the Guard to the prominence it plays in today's air operations.

Executive Summary of the Final Report by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, which was chartered by Congress to assess the reserve component of the U.S. military and to recommend changes to ensure that the National Guard and other reserve components are organized, trained, equipped, compensated, and supported to best meet the needs of U.S. national security.

One of the most significant post-Cold War issues is the future of the U.S. Army's reserve components. Although National Guard and Army Reserve units fought well in the first Persian Gulf war, Jeffrey Jacobs warns that Americans should not be sanguine about their ability to perform effectively in future conflicts. Having served in the active Army as well as both the Guard and the Reserve, Jacobs offers a unique perspective on the current missions, structure, and policies of the Army and the impact of the reserve system on its readiness for combat. From both active and reserve points of view, Jacobs describes the current limitations and deficiencies inherent in the separate structures of the Army's three disparate components. He finds the roots of many of the reserves' problems in their strong ties to traditions and politics. The solutions he proposes focus on integrating the three components into a true Total Army—in fact as well as in rhetoric. Such reforms will affect several sacred cows, including state control of the National Guard, the weekend drill system, and the geography-based reserve system. Much has been written about the reserves, but few recent writers have proposed such far-reaching reforms. Jacobs's controversial proposals will interest those who make, influence, and study military policy. Here is a stimulating and thought-provoking consideration of a vital aspect of America's defense posture.