Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1970

VI.

Reserve Forces

Organized into eight combat divisions and twenty-one combat brigades, the Army Reserve Components are the initial and primary source of the additional units and individuals required to reinforce and support deployed active Army forces and the Strategic Reserve when a mobilization occurs. Consisting of the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, the components provide forces needed to expand the training and support base in emergencies. Support units are included to round out active Army forces and provide the necessary balance in the Reserve Components.

The Army Staff develops contingency plans that govern the structure and the priorities assigned to the Reserve Components. This program currently reflects the exigencies of brush fire wars of recent experience at the expense of planning for general war. In 1968 a reorganization eliminated a number of units and concentrated their resources in units specifically cited in these contingency plans. In the interest of bringing all Army National Guard (ARNG) and Army Reserve (USAR) forces to roughly equal levels of readiness, the Department of the Army in September 1969 dropped the priority system prevalent under the selected reserve force (SRF) concept and incorporated the Reserve Components structure into the Department of the Army's master priority list.

The fiscal year also saw the release from active duty of all units that had been mobilized in May 1968. Of seventy-six Army National Guard and Army Reserve units mobilized, forty-three served in Vietnam. The last of the forty-three units was released from active duty on November 26, 1969. The remaining thirty-three, which were assigned to the U.S. Strategic Army Forces (STRAF), were released by December 12, 1969. A total of 19,874 Army National Guardsmen and Reservists were mobilized, 17,415 as members of units and 2,459 as individuals from the Individual Ready Reserve.

Readiness

The readiness of the Reserve Components improved during the year, although at a less than acceptable rate because of the lack of adequate modern equipment, the shortage of tactical training areas near home stations, and a paucity of qualified personnel. Among

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efforts to resolve some of these problems was a test program which should determine the maximum readiness feasible before mobilization.

Since the primary concern of the reserve force is to respond quickly to a call for mobilization and make units available to the active Army as speedily as possible, the Department of the Army also initiated late in the fiscal year a series of ten projects to investigate the maximum level of preparedness under austere budget conditions. The study was continuing as the year closed.

Personnel

A detailed study of officer personnel policy conducted in 1968 produced several recommendations for improving the management of the Reserve Components' officer corps. By 1969 many of these recommendations had been introduced and were fully effective; others were to be incorporated gradually to insure equitable treatment of officers of long standing in the reserve forces and-those of more recent membership. A few of the recommendations required additional study or the enactment of legislation before they could become part of the procedure designed to produce, promote, and retain highly qualified reserve officers.

The Army has recognized the need for equity between the enlisted reservist called to active duty and the inductee or regular Army dischargee who has a remaining reserve obligation. Enlisted reservists who were ordered to active duty in the 1968 mobilization and who served in Vietnam or had at least two years of active duty, including active duty for training, were authorized to apply for transfer to the Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of their statutory obligation. The applications of Army National Guardsmen remained subject to the approval of state governors.

To provide adequate active duty training for individuals entering the Reserve Enlistment Program (REP) , the Army allotted part of the Army training base, including every military occupational skill category, to the Reserve Components. This move reduced the time between enlistment and the beginning of training to an acceptable level, except in a few special skill areas or for training that requires a security clearance.

The fiscal year 1970 Defense Authorization Act prescribed an average paid drill strength of not less than 393,298 in units of the ARNG and 255,591 in units of the USAR. This strength permits Reserve Component units to be manned at over 90 percent of wartime (TOE) strength. The following table depicts the status of the paid drill strength of the Reserve Components as of June 30, 1970.

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ARNG

USAR

Total

TOE

438,300

272,700

711,000

Authorized average

393,298

255,591

648,889

Actual average

392,388

257,490

649,878

Enlisted accessions in Reserve Component units during fiscal year 1970 are shown in the following table.

 

ARNG

USAR

Total

Nonprior service

104,464

44,459

148,923

Prior service

14,725

9,643

24,368 a

Total

119,189

54,102

173,291

a Does not include 3,179 ARNG and 5,310 USAR re-enlistments.

The following table depicts the individual training status of both components at the end of the fiscal year.

 

ARNG

USAR

Total

Assigned strengths

409,192

260,654

669,846

REP awaiting training

34,941

17,281

52,222

REP in training

42,508

20,167

62,675

REP training completed in fiscal year

53,454

46,607

100,061

Trained strength

331,743

223,206

554,949

Percent of assigned trained

81.1

86.0

83.0

The following table depicts the status of technicians in the Reserve Components as of June 30, 1970.

 

ARNG

USAR

Total

Required

26,519

6,838

33,357

Authorized

24,328

6,127

30,455

Percent of required assigned

89.5

87.8

89.1

Percent of authorized assigned

97.5

98.0

97.6

The number of active Army advisers assigned to the Reserve Components as of June 30, 1970, is given in the following table.

 

ARNG

USAR

Total

Authorized
     

Officer

902

804

1,706

Enlisted

1,227

1,305

2,532

Total

2,129

2,109

4,238

Assigned
     

Officer

604

595

1,199

Enlisted

1,186

1,147

2,333

Total

1,790

1,742

3,532

Percentage of authorized assigned
     

Officer

67

74

70

Enlisted

97

90

92

Total

84

83

83

The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) of the USAR is comprised of Ready Reservists who are not members of units. They are assigned to five categories of control groups: annual training, mobilization designation, reinforcement, delayed, and officer active duty obligor. Control group annual training consists of nonunit Ready Reserve personnel who have a remaining training obligation. Most have two or more years of active duty, and are required to participate in annual active duty training (AT) when directed. Control group mobilization designation consists of nonunit officer personnel who are assigned to authorized key augmentation positions of mobilization tables of distribution and allowances. They are considered to be available upon mobilization or national emergency, and are required to participate in twelve days of annual

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training, exclusive of travel time, to prepare them for their assignments.

Control group reinforcement is composed of Ready Reserve personnel not in units who have completed the required training portion of their statutory obligation, and also includes members of the Women's Army Corps for whom no appropriate vacancy exists in units. These reservists are not subject to mandatory training requirements.

Control group delayed consists of obligated enlisted personnel who do not enter upon active duty concurrently with their enlistment. They are not authorized or required to participate in any form of training unless specifically directed. Also in this category are Ready Reserve enlisted personnel whose initial entry on active duty or on active duty for training is delayed and who are not required by law or regulation to participate in training in an attached status with a USAR unit. Finally, control group officer active duty obligor consists of officers with active duty obligation who do not enter upon active duty concurrently with their appointment.

As the fiscal year closed, the Individual Ready Reservists in the control group categories described above were assigned as shown in the following table.

 

Officers

Enlisted

Total

Annual training

15,864

680,492

696,356

Mobilization designation

4,557

0

4,557

Reinforcement

26,665

184,806

211,471

Delayed

0

7

7

Officer active duty obligor

19,323

1

19,324

Total

66,409

865,306

931,715

In a partial or full mobilization, Individual Ready Reservists would be selected for active duty on a priority basis. Priority group I would consist of individuals with twelve months or less of active duty or active duty for training. Those with no active duty or training would be trained when mobilized and before deployment overseas. Priority group II would consist of those with twelve to twenty-four months of active duty or active duty for training. Priority group III would be those whose active duty and training exceeded two years. Priority group IV would consist of individuals who during their active service were assigned to a hostile area.

Individual members of control group delayed and control group mobilization designation are not available for involuntary order to active duty as reinforcements except when specifically authorized under separate instructions by Headquarters, Department of the Army. During fiscal year 1970, 47,500 officers and enlisted men of the Individual Ready Reserve received training, primarily as fillers

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for ARNG and USAR units during active duty training and in school and mobilization designation assignments.

Materiel and Supply

Since 1966, annual budget computations of equipment requirements have taken into account the full Army Reserve Components requirements. However, the expansion of the active Army to meet Vietnam demands and the subsequent modernization of Vietnamese forces required the diversion of much of the equipment that would otherwise have been issued to the reserves.

The Reserve Components do not require full allowances of equipment to conduct effective training prior to mobilization, and, consequently, separate requirements for training have been developed. At the end of fiscal year 1969 the Reserve Components had on hand a considerable amount of materiel suitable for training purposes—contingency and training assets—which did not meet operational requirements and would not be used by the reserve units if deployed. However, it was planned that equipment of active Army units that would move to prepositioned equipment overseas would become available to the Reserve Components.

The monetary value of equipment deliveries to the reserves substantially increased during the past few years, from $62 million in fiscal year 1966 to $133 million in fiscal year 1967 and $191 million in fiscal year 1968; in fiscal year 1969, however, the total dropped to $150 million. Equipment deliveries during fiscal year 1970 amounted to $300 million. There have been some concurrent withdrawals to meet Southeast Asia requirements, and the disposal of old equipment further reduced actual stocks.

The Department of the Army does not issue all authorized equipment to the Reserve Components prior to mobilization. The burden would overtax the ability of the units to use, store, and maintain the equipment. Accordingly, the equipment posture of the Reserve Components must be examined under two distinct situations, one for premobilization requirements and the other for postmobilization requirements.

Premobilization training requirements are those equal to or less than full TOE which are considered sufficient to support unit training at home stations during weekend training and at annual training sites. Postmobilization requirements include the remainder of the equipment needed to bring Reserve Component units to full TOE strength and to sustain the Army's approved Reserve Component force when mobilized according to current war and contingency plans.

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In the event of a mobilization, the Reserve Components would draw upon three primary sources to bring their equipment to full strength. Located in the United States and in certain oversea areas are equipment stockpiles which would serve partially to supply the ultimate requirements of the Reserve Components. Should active Army forces deploy to their prepositioned equipment sites, the materiel they leave behind would also be available to the activated reserve units. Finally, the reserves would draw directly from factory production for the equipment authorized to them as newly mobilized units.

The high demand for Army aircraft in Southeast Asia will continue to diminish as American forces withdraw and the Vietnamese requirement is satisfied. During the peak war years it had been Department of Defense policy to hold aircraft procurement to levels that would compensate for attrition and anticipate postwar force requirements. While this avoided building excess stocks, it delayed distribution of aircraft to the Reserve Components. As the active Army continues to phase down in Vietnam, the reserve air fleet will undergo a complete modernization.

A portion of the total Reserve Component materiel requirement is for equipment which has only recently been standardized and introduced into the Army supply system. Limited availability of these modernization items permitted issue primarily to the active Army and, with the exception of familiarization training quantities, they were not issued to the Reserve Components during the fiscal year. A pilot program was developed to improve the visibility of requirements for familiarization training in selected, high priority Reserve Component units. This program exercises a management-by-exception technique to override selectively the distribution priority system and meet the familiarization training requirements for the preferred items. Examples of this equipment are combat engineer vehicles, night vision devices, and communications equipment.

During the year the Reserve Components received about $185 million in selected equipment, including helicopters, radar sets, rifles, tanks, and wheeled vehicles, along with enough new communications equipment for familiarization training. Approximately 25 percent of the $185 million was for new items from production.

Consistent with Defense Department instructions to separate active Army and Reserve Component repair and maintenance programs, the Reserve Component backlog in this area was analyzed and budget planning was undertaken with a view to eliminating

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the arrears by fiscal year 1976. Plans visualize fund allocations that would permit the issue to the Reserve Components in fiscal year 1972 of some $200 million in equipment from depot and maintenance overhaul programs, followed by another $800 million worth during the 1973-76 fiscal year period.

Progress was made during the year in the Mutual Support Training Program, designed to improve training and equipment readiness; to integrate the capability of active and reserve elements; to promote support between active and reserve elements; to facilitate implementation of common systems and organizations; and to familiarize. Reserve Component units with new equipment, methods of supply, and techniques. A list of Reserve Component service support units which can be integrated into such a program has been developed and provided to the Army Materiel Command (AMC) for appropriate inclusion in the AMC depot program. The Reserve Component reservoir of trained personnel and the transfer to it of some of the tasks routinely performed by the active Army would help the active Army accomplish its mission. Such arrangements would also increase the readiness of the units of the Reserve Components.

During the fiscal year, a logistic readiness study resulted in the allocation of essential equipment that markedly enhanced the training effectiveness of certain reserve units. These units (primarily combat brigades) received about ninety items of new equipment in sufficient quantity for familiarization training.

Installations and Facilities

Existing Reserve Component facilities, which range from permanently constructed armories and training centers to leased structures of varying adequacy, are used to the maximum extent possible. The current Reserve Component real property inventory is valued at $881.8 million, of which $632.4 million is in Army National Guard facilities and $249.4 million in the Army Reserve. The long-range military construction plan of the Reserve Components provides for replacement of inadequate facilities, expansion of existing facilities to meet space requirements, and replacement by government-owned facilities of leased or donated buildings that are hard to maintain or inadequate for training purposes.

Inventory and stationing plans based on the reorganized structure were reviewed and updated and facility requirements determined. New construction, as well as expansion, alteration, or rehabilitation of existing facilities, was required to provide the plant that is needed for effective operation and training in the Reserve Components.

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Military construction funding available during fiscal year 1970 was $36.2 million, of which $16.7 million was obligated. The President's Construction Reduction Plan did not affect the construction for the National Guard since it is a federal grant-aid program. Army Reserve construction was reduced from a programed expenditure of $11.3 million to approximately $4 million, which drastically affected construction planned for the fiscal year. The remaining projects were scheduled for early fiscal year 1971. Based on current costs, unfilled construction requirements for the Reserve Components are estimated at $627 million, which includes construction, expansion, conversion, or rehabilitation of 1,553 armories or centers. Funds available to the Reserve Components for military construction in fiscal year 1970 were as follows:

 

ARNG*

USAR*

New obligation authority

15.0

10.0

Prior-year funds available

6.3

4.9

Funds available

21.3

14.9

Funds obligated

15.0

1.7

Carryover for fiscal year 1971

6.3

13.2

* In millions of dollars

The fiscal year 1970 program called for construction of thirty-eight National Guard armories at a cost of $9.64 million. The Army Reserve program provided for twelve new center facilities and one center expansion at a cost of $9.3 million. The status of armory facilities at year's end was as follows:

 

Required

Occupied

Adequate

Requirements a

ARNG

2774

2774

1953

821

USAR

1019

1019

287

732

a 1,553 existing armories and centers require expansion, conversion, or rehabilitation to meet revised space requirements.

In connection with administrative and logistical support facilities, twenty-four nonarmory projects were finished for the National Guard at an estimated cost of $2.84 million. The Army Reserve does not fund separately for this type facility, since it is constructed as part of a reserve center. Of the 2,200 nonarmory (administrative and logistical) facilities that support the National Guard, 1,906 are considered adequate. The remaining 294 require replacement, expansion, or alteration to correct current deficiencies at a cost of $42.9 million.

Because of the large backlog of inadequate armories and centers required for home station training, the 1970 budget emphasized construction of this type facility. Programed construction for field training facilities at four state-owned or -controlled camps amounted to $1 million in the National Guard program. Insufficient training areas in proper locations for annual training and for local needs to support training continued to be a problem

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which has an adverse effect on unit readiness. An inventory of all training areas in the continental United States was analyzed and evaluated at all levels of command. The Department of the Army and the Continental Army Command were acting to delete the least desirable areas and to acquire additional field training areas.

Training

The Reserve Components made progress in training during fiscal year 1970 despite equipment shortages and inadequate training facilities in some areas. Training problems deriving from the 1968 reorganization were overcome in 1970, and retraining of enlisted personnel in new occupational specialties was largely completed; only some hard skill positions whose occupants require over twenty weeks of training remained unfilled.

Participation in unit training continued at a high level during fiscal year 1970. Attendance at unit training assemblies was as follows:

Fiscal
Year

Percent
ARNG

Percent
USAR

1968

97.3

91.8

1969

96.9

91.5

1970

96.6

91.9

The training objective for fiscal years 1969-70 was basic unit training, which includes training through company level. Generally, this objective was met. Several units completed battalion level training. A ten-point Reserve Component improvement program and a program to improve Reserve Component readiness have resulted in improvements in training and will result in more as these programs continue. The round-out concept, a part of the latter program wherein Reserve Component units conduct training as components of major active organizations and receive assistance from them, proved to be of great value to the affected units.

Many personnel of the Reserve Components participated in the Army's educational programs. The following list shows the significance of this individual training effort.

 

Participation

School or Course

ARNG

USAR

Army War College Non-Resident Course Correspondence

22

131

Branch Officer Basic and Advanced and Command and General Staff Correspondence Courses

8,181

7,062

USAR schools

17,710

34,948

Army service and Army area schools

10,481

14,552

State officer candidate schools

2,265

118

Civil Disturbance Orientation Course

97

11

Technician New Equipment Training Course

115

0

Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Security Management Course (two years)

USAR at USAR school—3,645
USAR in RTU—301

In fiscal year 1970, the Army National Guard air defense force consisted of twelve battalion headquarters and thirty-eight fire

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units located in fourteen states. These units represented over 50 percent of the Nike-Hercules groups within the U.S. Army Air Defense Command. Manned by approximately 3,800 National Guard technicians, they were located around selected population and industrial centers and were operational around the clock.

This fiscal year, these Guard units enjoyed the best operational performance record since entering the air defense program in 1954. Two of the units in Los Angeles had perfect scores at the short notice annual practice (SNAP), a feat unprecedented in air defense.

Management

As reduction of the active structure began, increasing reliance was placed on the Reserve Components to fill contingency requirements. Accordingly, a great deal of top management and staff attention was devoted to the problem of the reserves.

A management plan was initiated in the fall of 1969, referred to as the Ten Point Improvement Program for the Reserve Components. Some of the points are directed to the units, some to individuals, and some to the Army Staff. The program is dynamic and is used as a management tool to focus attention on current activities contributing to the readiness of National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve units. A brief description of the ten points follows.

1. Equipment. Included are efforts to increase the flow of equipment to Reserve and National Guard units for essential training. Monthly meetings are held by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and the Chief, Office of Reserve Components, to resolve problems related to equipment distribution and maintenance support.

2. Home Station Facilities and Training Areas. Included is assessment of requirements for more secure storage areas for the additional equipment, adequacy of nearby training areas—particularly for combat units—and provision of adequate home station facilities, either by expansion of present armories and centers or construction of new buildings.

3. Personnel Recruitment and Retention. Emphasis is on re-enlistment of the well-trained, competent citizen-soldier, particularly the young leaders.

4. Personnel Qualifications. Additional professional and technical training requirements are determined and means are sought to permit Army Guardsmen and U.S. Army Reservists to receive personal and unit training.

5. Technicians and Advisers. The key role in unit readiness played by the full-time technician, normally also a member of the

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unit, and the adviser, an active Army officer or enlisted man, is recognized.

6. Aviation. Included is a program to increase the number of Reserve Component aviators who have had Vietnam experience as well as to increase the number of modern aircraft available to Guard and Reserve units.

7. Improved Readiness. Various tests and experiments are conducted to explore additional means of increasing the readiness of Guard and Reserve units.

8. One Army Concept. The Army Staff in particular is to include consideration of Reserve Component requirements in Army plans. Also included are plans to insure more active Army participation with Reserve Component units in the field.

9. Public Affairs Program. The objective is to improve the image of the Reserve Components in the eyes of the local communities as well as on a national scale.

10. Management. An effort is made primarily to consolidate the activities listed above, insure balance in the efforts being made, and seek funds to support the program.

The ten-point program was initiated in September 1969 and progress in each of the ten areas is assessed on a monthly basis and reported to the Chief of Staff. Copies of the report go to the U.S. Continental Army Command and Department of the Army staff agencies.

Military Support to Civil Authorities

The ability of the Reserve Components to conduct operations to control civil disturbances was increased during fiscal year 1970; 375,000 National Guardsmen and 14,000 Army Reservists had been trained in riot control as the year closed.

The Army National Guard conducted, at the expense of regular training, sixteen hours of refresher civil disturbance training. Some states also carried out civil disturbance command post exercises in conjunction with local and state civil authorities.

The Army Reserve now has three infantry brigades which are part of the federal military contingency force for the control of civil disturbances. These units also conducted sixteen hours of refresher civil disturbance training at the expense of primary training.

This additional responsibility of the Reserve Components calls for their immediate availability in times of natural disasters, civil disturbances, and other emergencies. The Army National Guard bears the brunt of these requirements because of its responsibility to the respective state governments. From July 1, 1969, to June 30,

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1970, individual National Guard units were called in by state governors on ninety-two different occasions in thirty-one states and the District of Columbia. These included civil disturbances at Chicago, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Charleston, South Carolina; Berkeley, California; and Columbus and Kent, Ohio. Guardsmen were also called in during natural disasters, including a forest fire in Carson City, Nevada, a hurricane in St. Petersburg, Florida, a tornado in Mobile, Alabama, a blizzard in Nebraska, and floods in California, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. A sampling of the variety of general emergencies that required National Guard assistance includes explosions and fires in Noel, Missouri, a search for a missing person in Tofte, Minnesota, train derailments in Piedmont, West Virginia, and Glendora, Mississippi, the war moratorium in Washington, D.C., snow emergencies in Vermont and New York, and avalanche control in Stevens Pass, Washington.

When a crisis exists affecting the welfare of the nation, the federal government assumes control and may call on the Army Reserves as well as National Guard forces, as in the case of the postal strike in New York City. On that occasion, the Army Reserve furnished eighty-seven units with an assigned strength of 10,300 troops and the National Guard ten units with an assigned strength of 10,912 troops, of which 5,175 Army Reservists and 6,839 National Guardsmen were assigned to postal activities on the peak day of operation. This action was fortunately short-lived; the strikers returned to their duties in a matter of days.

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