Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1973

VII.

Reserve Forces

The Army's Reserve Components, consisting of the Army National Guard of the United States (ARNGUS) and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), have the mission of providing trained units and qualified individuals for active service in time of war or national emergency and on such other occasions as the national security requires. The Army National Guard has the additional mission of providing for the internal protection of life and property and the preservation of peace, order, and public safety under the competent orders of federal or state authorities. Army National Guard on-site air defense units also participate with Regular Army units in protecting the United States on an around-the-clock basis.

Force Structure and Organization

Major changes made in the ARNG organization and structure during fiscal year 1973 were as follows: reorganization of two Special Forces groups, which completed the conversion of all Guard units to the G and H series of the tables of organization and equipment (TOE) ; activation of one engineer battalion headquarters, three engineer construction companies, one engineer utilities detachment, four medical detachments, and one helicopter ambulance detachment; and the inactivation of four data processing units, two maintenance detachments, two engineer float bridge companies, and one military police detachment. Also, the Hawaii Army National Guard reorganized so that the 29th Infantry Brigade could round out the 25th Infantry Division.

At the close of the fiscal year, the ARNG force structure contained 3,263 units, an increase of eighteen as compared with fiscal year 1972. Major organizations in the structure were

The reorganization of U.S. Army Reserve units to the G and H series of tables of organization and equipment had been completed, with few exceptions, during fiscal year 1972. Major emphasis in 1973 was placed on moving units from G to H series status. Toward the end of the reporting period, a brigade from each of seven training divisions was inactivated in order to provide the spaces required to set up maneuver training

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commands in seven of the nine newly organized readiness regions. Maneuver training commands in the other readiness regions will be formed from the two existing maneuver area commands.

The USAR troop basis, as of 30 June 1973, consisted of 3,279 company- and detachment-size units. Major organizations in the structure were

Personnel

Attaining authorized strength in a near-zero draft environment proved to be an elusive goal for both the National Guard and the Army Reserve. Paid drill strength of the Reserve Components at the end of the year was as follows

The shortfall exists mainly in the enlisted ranks. An oversupply of officers in the Army Reserve has permitted the discontinuance of mandatory assignments of nonvolunteer officers and warrant officers to unit vacancies. Officer strength in the National Guard registered a gain of 1,042 and at the close of the fiscal year was at its highest level in recent years.

In order to narrow the gap between authorized and actual strength, the National Guard started a revitalized recruiting and retention program at the beginning of fiscal year 1973. The program emphasized the employment of trained, part-time recruiters who engage in unit recruiting and retention activities for from two to eight days each month. Over 7,000 unit recruiters participated in this program during the year. The USAR recruiting and retention effort was marked by significant gains in the number of women and blacks in the ranks of the U.S. Army Reserve. The strength of the Women's Army Corps more than tripled, from 483 at the end of fiscal year 1972 to 1,617 at the close of fiscal year 1973. The participation of blacks in the Army Reserve increased from 6,869 to 13,099 over the same period.

Both Reserve Components employed recruiters and career counselors at major Army installations in what continues to be a successful program in attracting persons whose active duty tours are near an end into the Reserve Component troop program. A new program designed to reach persons with no former service was begun in January 1973. It provides for the assignment of USAR and ARNG recruiters to main recruiting

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stations on a full-time basis. This effort brought 1,432 individuals into the Reserve Components during the first three months of its operation. The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) of the U.S. Army Reserve comprises officer and enlisted personnel who are either not required, do not desire, or are unable to join a Reserve Component troop program unit. The Ready Reserve was screened, and its strength was reduced by 301,389 during the course of the year, from 1,059,064 at the close of fiscal year 1972 to 757,675 at the end of fiscal year 1973.

The number of ARNG and USAR technicians employed on a full-time basis to perform essential administrative, supply, and maintenance functions continued to rise, but the number of technicians authorized remained between 82 and 83 percent of the requirements. A total of 27,516 ARNG technicians were employed at the close of fiscal year 1973, an increase of 618 during the course of the year. USAR technician strength rose to 7,583, an increase of 651 for the year.

Equipment and Maintenance

During fiscal year 1973 the logistics status of the Reserve Components continued to improve notably in terms of equipment modernization, net inventory gain, and final implementation of management programs started in part years. Equipment issues decreased to $682 million as compared to $1.059 billion in fiscal year 1972. Nevertheless, net inventory gain and percent of equipment fill increased at a higher rate because deliveries made in fiscal year 1972 were not included in asset reports until fiscal year 1973. A comparison of requirements and inventory in billions of dollars at end of fiscal year 1972 and 31 March 1973 illustrates these improvements.

Critical equipment shortages continued to exist principally in self-propelled artillery, radars, tactical bridges and radios, and standard medium tanks.

Early in the year, USAR and ARNG units completed the changeover to open requisitioning and the transfer of organizational equipment held in pools to unit property books. This changeover greatly improved unit mobilization readiness.

At the end of fiscal year 1973 the Reserve Components had a total of 2,353 aircraft on hand; 1,919 were assigned to the National Guard and 434 to the Army Reserve. This represented 80 percent of the total authorization, which was 2 percent ahead of the target for fiscal year 1973.

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Ninety percent of these are first-line models and substitute twin-engine aircraft. Sixty-two U-3 twin-engine utility aircraft were transferred to the Reserve Components during the year which provided improved command and control efficiency. An insufficient number of twin-engine aircraft continues to be one of the major problems facing the National Guard and the Army Reserve. It is hoped that reconfiguration and repair of excess active Army RU-8 airplanes during fiscal year 1974 will bring some relief.

The fiscal year 1973 Dedicated Maintenance Program was funded at $100 million and is expected to provide a return of $400 million in overhauled major items. Delivery of equipment under this program will continue in fiscal year 1974; however, the bulk of equipment delivered through 30 June 1973 was used to support AT-73 OSD tests. Major improvements made in the reporting and management of this program during the year include separate reporting identification in the quarterly issue, a separate account to handle equipment for distribution to only Reserve Component units, and coding of depot work directives to properly reflect the priority of the customer scheduled to receive the equipment after overhaul. Maintenance performance of ARNG and USAR units in the year compared favorably with worldwide averages in all areas. A shortage of installation units and antennas hampered full use of tactical radios.

Facilities

Early in fiscal year 1973 the Assistant Secretary of the Army delegated minor construction project approval authority to the Chief of the Office of Reserve Components. This authority was subsequently delegated to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and to the Chief of the Army Reserve. This action added flexibility in the programing and accomplishment of Reserve Component construction plans, reduced the administrative work load borne by the Army staff in handling projects of limited work and cost, and resulted in an increase of minor construction for the Reserve Components from $4.4 million in fiscal year 1972 to $5.8 million this year. It is anticipated that the minor construction programs will be established at between $5 and $10 million annually, a level that will allow expeditious renovation and expansion of facilities not programed for replacement.

The fiscal year 1973 Reserve Component military construction program totaled $78.2 million, an increase of $15.7 million over the fiscal year 1972 authorization. Coupled with $23.7 million in carry-over appropriations from prior year programs, a total of $101.9 million was available for obligation, of which $66.3 million was obligated and $35.6 million carried over into fiscal year 1974. During the first three years of a ten-year Reserve Component construction plan 370 projects have

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been developed, all of which are in varying stages of design, contract award, or under construction. These projects comprise about 19 percent of the Reserve Component construction requirements.

The current Program Objective Memorandum provides for construction programs between $75 and $94 million annually. The total requirements have increased from $639.4 million at the end of fiscal year 1971 to $708.0 million. Besides continued construction cost escalation, this large increase is the result of additional items needed: aviation facilities to support an expanded air fleet, maintenance and storage areas to house the voluminous equipment in the Reserve Components inventory, training and troop support accommodations at weekend and annual training sites, and construction requirements for home stations based upon improved building criteria.

The large influx of equipment has enabled Reserve Component units to conduct better home station field training but has also emphasized the shortcomings of many field training sites. Because the majority of Reserve Component units are located near large population centers, suitable training areas near these centers are at a premium. Surveys have confirmed that 73 out of the 402 combat and combat support battalions did not have adequate training sites.

Efforts during the past year have resulted in the acquisition of new training areas. One of the best sources for training area acquisition is property declared excess to the needs of the active forces and other federal agencies. Excess reports are closely screened, and areas that could satisfy requirements are reported to the General Services Administration for transfer to the requesting agency. At the close of the fiscal year more than ten excess facilities were in the process of being acquired for use by the Reserve Components. Acquisition of additional training areas will be a continuing action until all requirements are met.

The Reserve Components are programing construction projects to satisfy training needs at installations in which long-term use is anticipated. In fiscal year 1973, nineteen training facility projects were included in the military construction program. With the continuing efforts to acquire land areas and increased funding for training facilities, a permanent training base can be developed that will meet the expanded training programs.

Training and Readiness

Generally, Reserve Component units are approaching company-level proficiency, which has been established as the minimum standard. In a time of stability, Reserve Component units can be expected to progress three weeks in the Army training program each year. However, the conversion to the G and H series of the tables of organization and equipment, the changeover of several brigades from infantry to mechanized,

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and the reorganization of certain units have slowed the training progress during the past year to an average of two weeks.

The integration of active Army and Reserve Component activities has reduced the demands made on the active Army to support Reserve Component training. At the same time, it has advanced unit training. Considerable attention has been directed toward reducing barriers between the components and improving relationships to promote productivity and mission training.

The first Reserve Components Enlisted Military Occupational Specialty Training Requirements Conference was held in May 1973. It introduced a new program directed at providing Reserve Component guaranteed training spaces by military occupation specialty (MOS) /by month in certain specialties for fiscal year 1974. These spaces, which represent about 63 percent of fiscal year 1974 training requirements, were allocated to the National Guard and the Army Reserve. Now, individuals in most MOS's will know at the time of enlistment the month they will enter training, and units will know in advance for a full fiscal year the number of spaces in the training base by MOS/by month for which enlistments can be guaranteed.

Multilevel training has been introduced into the Reserve Component program in an effort to break up the "company-level syndrome." Under this condition, all levels of command and staff have focused on the training of companies to the detriment of developing expertise appropriate to the functions of higher levels, and developing the increased readiness levels now required of the Reserve Components has been inhibited. In multilevel training, each level of command within an organization begins the training cycle at the same time. In addition to supervising training at lower levels of command, higher headquarters provide the training necessary to perform their own command and staff functions.

Army Reserve Component units and individuals participated in the large-scale logistics command post exercises LOGEX 73 and LOGEX/ RC 73 at Camp Pickett, Virginia, in which the operation of a Theater Army Support Command was played. These exercises, conducted annually, help to insure that commanders and key staff personnel of the participating commands remain current in Army logistics doctrine and techniques.

The Reserve Components Unit Readiness Reporting System was revised in fiscal year 1973. A general dissatisfaction had existed with the previous reporting requirement, due primarily to its subjectivity and complexity. In late September 1972, representatives from all major commands met at a worldwide Readiness Conference to address merging the present Army Unit Readiness Reporting System with the JCS Force Status and Identity Report (FORSTAT). The conference unanimously

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supported the DA staff proposal that a single reporting system applicable to both the active Army and the Reserve Components be established and that the current readiness reporting systems be merged with FORSTAT.

The transition to the new system was to be effective 1 July 1973 with approximately 2,262 company-size Reserve Component units reporting exclusively under the FORSTAT system.

Support to Civil Authorities

The Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve support civil authorities in times of domestic emergency and national disaster. During fiscal year 1973, 31,089 National Guardsmen from thirty-nine states were called to state duty a total of 155 times by their governors to assist civil authorities. Natural disasters, such as tornados, floods, forest fires, snowstorms, and hurricanes, accounted for 104 call-ups, and eleven were for civil disturbances. The remaining forty call-ups were for other types of emergencies, including searches for missing persons, hauling water, natural gas explosions, enforcement of traffic safety, and furnishing ceremonial troops for burial of two presidents.

The largest call-up of National Guard units during the year was to combat the ravages of Hurricane Agnes. The states of Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York called a total of 14,141 Guardsmen to perform emergency missions of search and rescue, evacuation, security, traffic control, clearance of debris, and other relief assistance, such as providing food, housing, medical services, and distribution of material to flood victims. More than 1,000 Army Reservists from thirty USAR units located in Pennsylvania and New York also participated in Hurricane Agnes rescue, recovery, and restoration operations. (For additional coverage of emergency operations, see Chapter XII. )

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