Call Out the Minuteman
Abstract
The term Minutemen hearkens back to the American Revolution and those militiamen who at a minute's notice were armed and prepared to fight the British Regulars. Where are the Minutemen today? I would argue that they no longer exist. Although Reserve Component forces are on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo unlike their active duty counterpart they are not structured or resourced to respond rapidly in the event of a crisis. Unless the Reserve Components can transform the way they do business and adopt a more expeditionary mindset it is likely that they will become less and less relevant to the Total Force. Maybe it is time to resurrect the Minuteman system? The MINUTEMEN concept would create a more rapidly deployable expeditionary Reserve Component force. This campaign capable force would fill a current void in available manpower while enhancing the capability of the Reserve Components. The concept is based on the Division Ready Brigade (DRB) Concept already used by the Active Component. Under this concept all Reserve Component units would rotate through pre-planned and tiered alert and readiness levels over a five year period. Under the MINUTEMEN system all Reserve Component functions (i.e. training recruiting etc.) would be based on the units position in the five year cycle. The MINUTEMAN system would allow the reserves to remain relevant and ready as the Regular Army transforms to adopt an expeditionary force structure and mindset.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 03, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA423710
Entities
People
- Joel R. Hillison
Organizations
- United States Army War College