Army Reserve Role in Force Projection

The force projection Army must integrate the capabilities provided by Army Reserve units in order to deploy our combat forces smoothly and rapidly.

As the military continues to downsize, access to the capabilities of the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) has become vital to meeting our force projection requirements. Active Army and Army Reserve forces must be configured seamlessly to accomplish force projection missions. Today's Army Reserve has proven itself to be an essential partner in America's Army. In recent years, the Army Reserve has participated in a wide variety of contingencies, including Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where 35 percent of all Army forces were from the Army Reserve, and the intervention in Haiti, where over 70 percent of all reserve component forces mobilized were Army Reserve personnel. Today, 47 percent of the Army's combat service support assets are found within the Army Reserve.

Unquestionably, the Army is undergoing a revolution in military logistics. It is changing the way it does business in getting forces to the next contingency. Since the end of the Cold War, the Army has gone from a forward-deployed force to a force based largely in the United States that has a limited forward presence. Even with that shift, the Army's mission remains unchanged: deter the enemy. The key to successful deterrence is credible force projection.

Our military personnel are being deployed today with greater frequency than at any other period in our history. In the 39 years from 1950 to 1989, our Nation participated in 10 major deployments. Since 1990, the number of deployments has almost tripled. The lessons learned from these numerous deployments demonstrate that we need to be able to move combat power faster than we have ever done before.

The Army Reserve provides units in all three deployment phases of force projection: fort to port, port to port, and port to foxhole. Though the Army Reserve plays a vital role in each phase, it is during the first phase—fort to port—that Army Reserve organizations serve as key enablers in getting the required force to the theater of operations. Moving the force to the port and loading it out within the required timelines are critical to meeting the timelines for the last phase of a deployment. There is little we can do to make up for lost time during the port-to-port phase, so if we lose time during the fort-to-port phase, the effects will be seen in the port-to-foxhole phase.

Decisions to use Army Reserve assets must be made early in the planning process in order to meet critical force projection timelines. To ensure that the Army Reserve's perspective is represented when such decisions are made, the Chief of the Army Reserve has committed to fill positions on the staffs of the combatant commanders in chief with Reserve personnel. These authorizations are part of the Joint Reserve Unit Program and are designed to enhance the Army leadership's focus on joint experimentation while also providing dedicated support to the combatant commanders.

A soldier of the 1198th Direct Support Battalion (USAR) attaches chains to railcars to secure vehicles for shipment home after Exercise Roving Sands at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Force projection typically begins at a power projection platform. There are 15 designated power projection platforms within the continental United States (CONUS). As combat units prepare for departure from these installations, Army Reserve units such as deployment support brigades assist the combatant commanders in preparing equipment for shipment to a port of embarkation. At the port, other Army Reserve entities—transportation terminal brigades and battalions—are positioned to process and plan the loading of that equipment onto Military Sealift Command vessels for the second leg of deployment (port to port).

The additional work load created by Reserve units mobilizing at power projection platforms can disrupt a garrison's peacetime operational structure. However, the missions of various Army Reserve units can enhance an installation's capability to process an influx of soldiers and equipment. One of the key expanders at each power projection platform is the Army Reserve garrison support unit. This unit's primary purpose is to provide administrative, intelligence, operations, and logistics base operations support to the installation commander. Expansion of power projection platform medical facilities during a deployment is achieved by using a combination of Army Reserve expansion hospitals and installation medical support units (IMSU's). The IMSU's perform soldier readiness processing in support of installation medical activities during call-ups. Depending on the type of contingency, it may be necessary to use Army Reserve divisions (both institutional training and exercise) to expand the Army's training base and evaluation capabilities.

The Army deploys individual soldiers as well as units. There are six CONUS replacement centers designed to perform individual soldier processing by providing refresher training in military occupational specialties as well as training in common soldier skills. Army Reserve replacement battalions and companies are the primary organizations used to perform this mission.

To achieve rapid force closure, the Army Reserve is refocusing its efforts and reorganizing its structure to meet the challenges that Force XXI will pose. Based on lessons learned in Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait in 1998, the deployment support brigades are expanding their mission capabilities to include aerial ports of embarkation. To achieve a seamless force, the Army is creating multicomponent organizations composed of both active and reserve component entities. Initiatives by the Army Materiel Command have created the USAR Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) Support Unit (see related story on page 51). As we continue to increase the speed at which we deploy our forces, the concept of simultaneously using two seaports of embarkation has planners looking at using reserve component heavy equipment truck companies to move combat equipment in conjunction with rail and commercial surface assets.

A sergeant of the 1397th Terminal Transportation Brigade (USAR) inspects vehicle weights and fuel capacities before the vehicles are loaded for shipment to Exercise New Horizon in Guyana.

In the final leg of deployment—port to foxhole—the Army Reserve provides units ranging from transportation and quartermaster to military police in support of force projection. The key Army Reserve role in this phase is to provide the majority of movement control assets for echelons-above-corps operations.

The substantive challenge of expanding the power projection platforms is accomplished with Army Reserve organizations, like the garrison support unit, that are tailored to provide the services required at those sites. Deployment support brigades meet the deployment challenge head-on for the combatant commander by providing direct support at installations, while terminal transportation brigades and battalions provide the expertise to load out in the second leg of deployment. In the final leg of deployment, the Army Reserve has postured itself to meet the Army mission by providing early-entry modules and units to deploy rapidly to any theater in support of port opening. Future success in deploying our force projection Army clearly depends on the capabilities found in the Army Reserve. ALOG

Major Hilda Martinez is an Active Guard/Reserve officer assigned to the Total Force Integration Office at Fort Eustis, Virginia. She is a graduate of the Combined Arms and Services Staff School.

Major Lisa Tepas is an Active Guard/Reserve officer serving as the Chief of the Total Force Integration Office at Fort Eustis, Virginia. She is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College.

Army Reserve Role in Force Projection

by Major Hilda Martinez and Major Lisa Tepas