REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RESERVE FORCES POLICY BOARD

I am pleased to have this opportunity to present a brief summary of the Reserve Forces Policy Board's (Board) observations and recommendations of the past year. The annual report of the Board will provide a comprehensive review of all aspects of Reserve component programs and include a summary of the Board's positions and recommendations on specific issues.

Two of the Board's areas of interest have been jointness and the increasing reliance on Reserve components as the active component is downsized. Joint operational readiness is the key to our ability as a nation to respond to threats to U.S. security and international stability, to deal with national and international emergencies, and to conduct activities that contribute to the national welfare. Joint readiness is the ability of all our forces to be prepared, trained, fully manned, interoperable, and supportive across Service and component lines.

In last year's Report of the Chairman, at the request of the Secretary of Defense, the Board assessed the Report on the Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces (CORM). The CORM brought into focus a number of issues revolving around jointness, as well as increased use of Reserve forces. The willingness of the Services to take up the issues of the CORM has been excellent. This was aided inestimably by Secretary of Defense Perry. The results of the Board's study of the CORM report identified three themes that are essential elements for continued growth and evolution of the Reserve component's contribution to the National Military Strategy: integration, jointness, and increased Reserve and Guard participation in peace operations and Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW).

As the United States has moved toward a smaller military establishment, reductions in the active force have necessitated heavier reliance on the Reserve components. The Board knows that the Reserve components are both cost-effective and capable. The Reserve components stand ready to accept additional responsibilities. However, the Reserve components must be adequately resourced, given greater flexibility in providing personnel support to MOOTWs, as well as more timely recall notification when possible.

The Joint Staff has been strong, solid, and inventive in dealing with joint issues. It has been involved well beyond the strategic level and has effectively used mechanisms such as Process Action Teams (PAT) to resolve joint issues that involve Services, commanders in chief (CINCs), and the Joint Staff. The problems encountered during Operation Joint Endeavor, the U.S. involvement in the Implementation Force in Bosnia, resulted in the Joint Staff sponsoring a PAT to resolve the issues identified with the Presidential Selected Reserve Call-up (PSRC). The PAT consisted of representatives from the Joint Staff, the United States European Command (USEUCOM), the CINCs, and all the Service components. This PAT led to a major redesign in Reserve force inclusion in CINC contingency plans. The CINCs will identify forces in contingency plans to allow more timely notification. The emphasis on general rather than specific numbers of mobilized Reservists will provide more flexibility to the CINCs, Services, and Reserve components.

The Reserve component now works closely with the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to resolve cross-Service requirement issues and to assist the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in carrying out his responsibility to assess military warfighting capabilities. The JROC also directs assessment of specific joint military capability areas, examines key relationships and interactions between joint warfighting capabilities, and identifies opportunities for improving warfighting effectiveness. This council is necessary to support joint issues from a Total Force perspective. The Reserve component's effort alongside the JROC has been successful for both Active and Reserve components. Unquestionably, Reserve membership in the Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment (JWCA) is essential. Reserve participation will provide the CINCs and Joint Staff with a better understanding of Reserve capabilities. Participation in this process will result in the inclusion of appropriate Guard and Reserve forces in contingency operations and war plans. Participation in this activity is a logical step in making the Reserve forces joint.

At the urging of Secretary Perry, Board and staff representatives observed how Reserves were doing in Operation Joint Endeavor. The field study started with visits to Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Dix, New Jersey, during the winter of 1996 to observe the PSRC announced December 8, 1995. The Services achieved the difficult but appropriate balance necessary to fill the CINC's requirements for this operation while maintaining the nation's ability to respond to any rapidly developing major regional conflict. The Guard and Reserve leaders and members anticipated a call-up, using their resources to man and equip their lower tiered units to bring them up to the necessary level of readiness. Despite the lack of early warning, the Guard and Reserve came to the colors. Some were mobilized and some volunteered, but all were well-motivated and fully prepared to accomplish their mission. Observations made during the visit indicated the Active, Guard, and Reserve came together as a team; there was a greater degree of mutual acceptance among components; the mobilization stations were well organized; installation commanders showed great interest in soldier support; and deploying Reserve component members received the same intense training as deploying active component members. The Reserve components were in good physical condition; approximately one percent were nondeployable due to medical conditions. There were some issues noted: education protections are not as well established as those for employment; certain elements of the PSRC, such as more timely notification, need fine-tuning; and modern technology could eliminate the requirement for the reissuance of the military ID card. In early calendar year 1996, Board representatives visited Germany, Hungary, and Italy to talk with senior leaders, planners, and Reservists in the field supporting Operation Joint Endeavor. Bottom line: in the field, Total Force is working.

In August 1996, the Board traveled to Fort Dix, New Jersey, to welcome home returning Reservists from Bosnia and to observe first-hand the demobilization process. Field studies provide the Board one of its primary means to identify issues/problems that can be further studied and resolved. Although it is unsure what effect the PSRC and MOOTW will have on Reserve recruiting and retention, the Board is carefully monitoring the issue. Minor problems identified by the Board to the Services were dealt with quickly and expeditiously. Larger problems were identified, worked, and resolved as a result of the Joint Staff PAT.

While Operation Joint Endeavor demonstrates the important contributions Reserve component members are making, it also affords the Board an opportunity to deliberate on issues to improve upon the readiness of the Reserve components: a single joint Total Force identification card; government fares for Reservists traveling to their duty site; physical exams for Reservists at military treatment facilities, hospitals, and clinics; foreign employer support; joint facilities; compatible equipment; family support to Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) and Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) members; equal opportunity to earn the Soldier's Medal; joint billet/joint unit creation; and Reserve participation in MOOTW.

World events and the post-Cold War period have brought uncertainty, significant change, and transition. The first half of the 1990s has shown increased use of the Reserves in every major operation involving American forces: Desert Shield/Storm, Restore Hope, Support/Uphold Democracy, and Joint Endeavor. Trends are developing -- more reliance on combined operations, decreased defense budgets, increased reliance and integration of Reserve components, and a shrinking military. The Board thinks all the Services should be included in this joint venture. To ensure that nobody is left out, the Services must be challenged to be responsive, inventive, and evolutionary in their approach to jointness. The Board, with its diverse membership, will continue to make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on the effective integration and efficient use of the Reserve components in sustaining many of the missions we now have and will have in the future. The Board has been making a difference since its inception in 1952. The Services have lived with the Total Force Policy for approximately 25 years. As DoD nears the end of the present downsizing of its military force with the potential of additional cuts in the future, partnership, trust, and increased integration will be the key ingredients to move successfully into the 21st century.

The Reserve Forces Policy Board's annual report entitled, Reserve Component Programs, Fiscal Year 1996, is scheduled for publication in March 1997. It will provide more detailed information regarding Reserve component programs and issues.

Forwarded to the Secretary of Defense /signed/ Terrence M. O'Connell Chairman /signed/ Deborah R. Lee Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs