Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1982

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Reserve Forces

Throughout its history the United States has depended upon the citizen soldier to round out the regular force during periods of widespread mobilization and major conflict. Standing peacetime forces in all periods have necessarily been scaled at reasonable and affordable levels which would help deter aggression, provide a ready defense, and furnish the ability to respond promptly to an active emergency or potential threat. Over time, an expansion in America's global responsibility, together with technological advances and a consequent loss in reaction time, placed an increasing premium on the readiness of reserve forces to back up the existing regulars.

The National Defense Act of 1920 established the Army of the United States as an organization of three components: the Regular Army, the civilian National Guard, and the Organized Reserves (now the Army Reserve). Using the regular establishment to train the reserve components fostered cooperation, promoted uniformity in procedures and professional standards, and prepared the way for an orderly and effective integration of reserve elements into the active Army when needed. The process was successfully tested in World War II.

Army reserve components today are closely affiliated with the active forces in funding, organization, training, doctrine, tactics, weapons, and equipment. Terms like One Army and Total Army are not empty catchwords, but rather phrases designed to remind one and all of the relationship between members of a team. During the year, Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh, Jr., stressed that the Total Army, today more than ever before, must appear formidable in the eyes of prospective enemies; General Edward C. Meyer, the Army Chief of Staff, placed the National Guard and the Army Reserve at the heart of milestone evolutionary processes represented in the Army 86 and AirLand Battle 2000 studies.

The Army budget provides funds for pay, subsistence, allowances, travel, and related expenses for soldiers of the reserve components as well as the active Army. In fiscal year 1982 the Army National Guard was allocated $1.3 billion to support a total end strength of 398,016; the Army Reserve received $973.1 million to support a total end strength of 251,849. Both budget

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and strength figures surpassed those of 1981, and during the year a further increase was sought for 1983.

The magnitude of reserve force participation in the common defense is illustrated by the organizational structure of the reserve components and the missions assigned them.

The Army National Guard (ARNG), whose units must be ready to go to war upon call, provides 46 percent of the combat forces of the Total Army. In 1982, 8 of the Army's 24 divisions were National Guard organizations, and 4 of the 16 active Army divisions were each designated to receive one of the Guard's 22 brigades upon mobilization. The Guard also contained 4 armored cavalry regiments, 2 special forces groups, an arctic infantry reconnaissance group, 132 separate support battalions, 786 separate companies and detachments, 18 hospitals, and 341 headquarters of various types. Numerous actions were taken in the force structure during the year to enhance the Guard's, and thus the Total Army's, capabilities.

The Army Reserve (USAR), whose units would provide combat, combat support, and combat service support for the Army upon mobilization, would deploy 57 percent of its units within 30 to-60 days of mobilization, and virtually all units within 90 days. The importance of the Army Reserve is evident in the fact that many of its units are unique in the Total Army structure. In 1982, for example, the Army Reserve provided all of the Army's training divisions, all of its judge advocate general detachments, and all of its railway transportation units. It also had nearly all of the Army's civil affairs units, most of its psychological operations and petroleum and terminal service units, and a sizable 62 percent of the Army's postmobilization hospital units. Force structure actions were in progress during the year to improve Reserve capabilities across the board, and thus the Total Army.

The assigned strength of the Army National Guard at the close of fiscal year 1982 was 409,238 soldiers. By midyear, paid and assigned strength exceeded end-of-year budget ceilings, but reprogramming of departmental funds enabled the Chief of Staff to approve an adjusted end strength of 410,000. The successful growth was the result of aggressive recruiting and retention

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efforts, more attractive incentives, and flexible enlistment and training options. The state of the economy and international tensions also played a part in the favorable personnel situation.

ARNG officer strength responded to active recruitment and retention programs by reaching 40,387-the highest level ever recorded and a full 98.7 percent of authorization. The continued growth in officer strength was also reflected in minority strength. Black officers and warrant officers totaled 1,744, or 4.4 percent of all officers. While state officer candidate schools remained the primary source of career officers, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) emerged as a key source of lieutenants. A total of 1,101 new lieutenants were appointed in the ARNG from ROTC during fiscal year 1982. Most of these were commissioned under the Early Commissioning Program (ECP). The increase in officer accessions could be attributed to several factors, including assignment of ARNG officers to ROTC detachments, greater use of guaranteed reserve forces duty contracts, and additional funding of ROTC scholarships for the Selected Reserve. Under this program, fifty two-year scholarships were awarded to ARNG members in fiscal year 1982.

ARNG enlistments in the fiscal year reached 95,618, which was 99.6 percent of the programmed objective. Both non-prior and prior service enlistments continued to exceed objectives, to the point where enlistment controls and state strength ceilings had to be imposed to hold the Guard to its adjusted authorization. Quality recruits continued to be the goal, as it was throughout the Total Army.

Within the favorable aggregate Guard strengths, there were also gains at minority levels. Black representation increased by about 3,200 during the year, while female participation expanded by more than 2,800.

The paid drill strength of the U.S. Army Reserve at the close of the fiscal year was approximately 242,900-the highest level in a decade. As was the case with the National Guard, the USAR was so successful in recruiting and retention that, midway through the year, steps had to be taken to restrain growth in order to stay within budget and strength limits. The moving forces behind the favorable personnel situation were the same as those that influenced the Guard's progress. Despite corresponding improvements in strength levels of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), shortages continued in that pool of pretrained manpower. From a 1978 low of 144,000, the IRR reached 225,000 at the end of fiscal year 1982, roughly half of the desired target strength.

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps program continued to serve as a key source of USAR officers. In recent times the

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ROTC program has produced about 7,000 graduating cadets per year, about 1,000 of whom enter the Reserve Forces Duty Program. By the middle of the decade, annual production under the program is expected to exceed 10,500 officers, with some 3,000 entering active duty.

As the Army Reserve personnel strength improved, minority membership gradually increased. Black representation reached 58,770-over 23 percent of assigned strength-while 39,909 women served in troop program units, which was 16.4 percent of unit strength.

The reserve components played important roles in 1982 joint readiness exercises, overseas deployment training, and training with the active Army. At home, in Europe, and in the Far East, Guard and Reserve units took part in a variety of exercises such as GALLANT EAGLE, LOGEX, BOLD EAGLE, WINTEX, REFORGER, TEAM SPIRIT, and YAMA SAKURA.

A plan for reserve component participation in joint training exercises had been devised to ensure several years of lead time in which to schedule and fund reserve unit wartime training with active Army units under the CAPSTONE program. Begun in 1980, this program seeks to align units of all components to meet wartime requirements, establish unit associations, focus organizational formats for force planning, and define equipment, training, stationing, deployment, and modernization requirements and capabilities.

In the National Guard, in addition to overseas and stateside training, a small unit exchange program with allied nations was continued, involving Norway, the United Kingdom, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic. Units of up to company size participated in this activity, enhancing relationships between countries and broadening personal perspectives and operational experience.

Key ARNG unit personnel trained with active Army counterpart units during the year. About 2,000 commissioned and noncommissioned officers from selected Guard divisions and brigades participated in this training to promote individual tactical skills and improve unit readiness. ARNG undergraduate pilot training was increased substantially during the year, tactical intelligence training was instituted on a modest scale, and training courses to promote equal employment opportunity and to combat sexual harassment were conducted at Defense and Guard locations for ARNG personnel.

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To streamline mobilization processes and prepare the Guard to execute corresponding actions expeditiously, mobilization documents were revised in 1982. In other steps, ARNG officers were assigned to six active installations and to all nine Army readiness and mobilization regions in order to improve the interaction between the National Guard and the active Army. Twenty-two units participated in an evaluation of mobilization deployment readiness.

In the Army Reserve, overseas deployment training was expanded in 1982. More than 160 USAR units or cells were involved-the majority in Europe, 15 in Korea, and 1 in Japan. Experience indicated that cell participation was more appropriate than using whole units. As a part of the overseas training, 27 USAR units participated in REFORGER 82 and deployed in exercise aircraft.

The United States joined with Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in the military competition of the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers held at Fort Meade, Maryland, in August 1982. Three-man U.S. teams placed 2d, 3d, 7th, 19th, and 20th in the 37-team matches.

Competitive marksmanship continued to be a useful training activity as the USAR Shooting Squad maintained its position as a dominant force in the field. USAR marksmen, as individuals and as team members, won several U.S. shooting championships and placed seventeen individuals (35 percent of team strength) on the U.S. Shooting Team that will compete in the World Shooting Championships. In the 1981 Shooting Championships of the Americas, USAR members of the U.S. team won 29 gold, 8 silver, and 12 bronze medals in the fifty events that made up the championships. The USAR Service Rifle Team also swept the Interservice Rifle Championships, winning three of the five team events.

Individual Ready Reserve aviator training continued during 1982. Approximately 400 IRR aviators participated in the program to produce qualified copilots who would fill open spaces in aviation units of the active components upon mobilization. In the medical field, a newly established physicians' assistant course for qualified USAR personnel was in its first cycle at the Academy of Health Sciences during the year.

More that 160 USAR officers were selected to participate in various fields of professional education in 1982. Seventy-nine were designated for senior service college resident or nonresident instruction, sixty-eight for command and staff college

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courses, and six for the Logistics Executive Development Course. In the command and staff area, the Armed Forces Staff College was opened to USAR personnel for the first time.

In fiscal year 1982 the National Guard's equipment status was upgraded as a result of several favorable factors, including product improvement, new procurement, delivery of late models, exchange within Army channels, and dedicated congressional appropriations. The most significant gain was the delivery of modern equipment to ARNG roundout units at the same time as their active Army host units. Issue of late model M60A3 tanks and improved TOW vehicles to the 48th Infantry Brigade-roundout unit of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) -was in keeping with the Department of Defense goal of equipping units, regardless of component, in a way that would ensure organizational integrity, maintenance compatibility, battlefield interoperability, and single-generation supply support. As the year closed, the 2d Armored Division's ARNG roundout battalion was preparing to receive the Abrams tank and Bradley fighting vehicle as part of the upgrade program. New communications equipment was being issued, armored personnel carriers equipped with TOW missiles were received in exchange for vehicles without these missiles, and weapons like the self-propelled howitzer were being converted to more advanced capabilities. Aircraft were also being upgraded along with the ground equipment.

Organizational clothing and equipment received its share of attention in the upgrading process. Fiscal year funding was allocated to procure chemical defense equipment, cold weather clothing and equipment, camouflage screen systems, tents, tool sets, binoculars, and medical items, all necessary to prepare military forces to carry out their mission. In the area of command and control, the Worldwide Military Command and Control System was fielded at mobilization sites operated by the Army National Guard.

The Army Reserve's equipment status also improved during the year. The budget contained $112 million to equip units earmarked for the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, $12 million for stock fund equipment associated with force structure changes, and $33 million to outfit early deploying units. As with the ARNG, the USAR purchased chemical and cold weather equipment, and bean outfitting unit personnel with the, new battle dress uniform.

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Trucks and fork lifts were added to the inventory, and the first USAR decentralized service support system, providing data processing to combat service units, was delivered in March 1982.

Despite progress in equipment acquisition, there were serious shortages in USAR wartime requirements as the year closed. An improved personnel picture also drew attention to equipment levels because of expanded training needs.

Regarding mobilization and wartime requirements, the Chief of the Army Reserve estimated early in the year that the USAR lacked about 1,200 tanks, 2,100 five-ton trucks, 210 aircraft, and 230 pieces of artillery-which added up, along with other needs, to shortages in excess of $4 billion.

Although dedicated appropriations-money appropriated by Congress for specific individual components-contributed to reserve force readiness, Army budget personnel found that separate funding was more difficult to track than a single Army procurement appropriation that was administered for the total force on a first-to-fight basis regardless of component. Separate funding made supervision of the overall equipment program more complicated for the Army managers, and units did not receive equipment in order of priority.

Like their active Army associates, the reserve components require armories, warehouses, offices, logistical centers, and training areas, and funds are needed to purchase, construct, operate, and maintain these facilities.

In fiscal year 1982 the Army National Guard received $67.7 million in new obligational authority for facilities and construction, the largest such appropriation in ARNG history. Despite this allocation, a construction backlog of an estimated $800 million existed at year's end. Contracts were awarded for 57 major projects totaling $36.5 million, 24 minor projects costing $2.3 million, $400,000 for energy conservation projects, and $700,000 for security and other type projects.

The 1982 construction appropriation for the Army Reserve totaled $65.2 million; coupled with $13.5 million in funds carried over from previous years, this left $78.7 million available for obligation, of which $50 million was committed by year's end. USAR estimated that replacing obsolete or deteriorated facilities would require $898 million-an increase of some $560 million over the backlog of a decade before.

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Support to Civil Authorities

Fiscal year 1982 was another active period for the Army National Guard as it responded to emergencies throughout the United States and its territories to assist in the protection and preservation of life and property and to maintain order. From October 1981 through September 1982, over 10,000 National Guardsmen responded to 316 call-ups in all of the states and territories, which made use of their organization and discipline as well as their training and expertise to deal with various civil emergencies.

There were six civil disturbance call-ups in as many states in 1982, requiring 492 soldiers to control antinuclear demonstrations against power plants and laboratories and to restore or maintain order in prison disturbances and strikes.

Natural disasters produced a hundred call-ups involving forest fires; snow, ice, and wind storms; tornadoes; and floods. There were search and rescue operations, medical evacuations, chemical spills, water hauls, power outages, structural fires, a train derailment, and three incidents involving explosive ordnance disposal to challenge Guard capabilities across the board. All of the states and more than 8,500 troops were involved in these operations.

The Guard's widespread role in emergency situations and its active participation in public service activities at the community level enhanced its standing with the American public and increased citizen understanding of ARNG's place in the national defense picture.

Given the realities of state government-the common defense must take its place among other constituents of national life and military forces must share in finite resources-the reserve components fared reasonably well in fiscal year 1982. The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve ended the year with improved readiness and with the prospect of increasing their preparedness through measured annual appropriations in the coming years.

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