US Army National Guard: Rising to Meet the Challenges of Serving in the Operational Force and Operational Reserve
Abstract
In 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued policy guidance to the Department of Defense to treat the Reserve Components as part of the operational forces. Four years later, the Department of the Army issued Directive 2012-08 to revise policy for integration of the Active and Reserve Components as part of the Army total force. As part of the total force, the Army National Guard contributes to the full range of missions as within the Army's force generation plans. In this role, Army National Guard Soldiers must offer strategic depth as an operational reserve and retain the ability to sustain contributions to the operational force as required. Changes are necessary to ensure that the total force becomes an increasingly capable warfighting organization possessing the operational capacity to win. Several variables significantly affect the Army National Guard's ability to perform effectively and in a sustainable manner as part of both the operational force and the operational reserve. Among them are cultural bias across the Active and Reserve Components, meaningful alignment of Army National Guard formations with Regular Army units that increases interoperability, budgetary limitations under sequestration that result in unfulfilled promises that weaken trust, and the lack of an integrated personnel management system. This monograph will examine these four areas to summarize some associated challenges and support recommendations that enable the Army National Guard's current role within the Army's operational force while concurrently serving as a cornerstone of an operational reserve comprised of units identified across the Total Force based on tiered levels of the readiness.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 24, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1071572
Entities
People
- Andrew J. Watson
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies