SEAPOWER/RESERVES

Naval Reserve

The Naval Reserve has been called upon once again to augment the U.S. Navy in time of war--this time for the global war on terrorism.
A few days after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001, and slammed a fuel-laden jet airliner into the Pentagon that same morning, President Bush proclaimed a state of national emergency and authorized the Secretary of Defense to mobilize the ready reserves of the nation's armed forces.

By year's end, more than 10,000 Naval Reservists had received orders, mostly as individuals, to report to active duty--for law-enforcement and base-security missions primarily, but also for medical, logistics, intelligence, and other specialized duties.
Vice Adm. John B. Totushek, commander of the Naval Reserve Force (CNRF), told his staff, and the overall Naval Reserve community, that terrorism is a cancer that could not be excised with one operation.

"It will be surgical, but we will have to go deep and it will take time," he said. "We are in the early stages of mobilization. Individuals, primarily in the force-protection ratings, have been called up. Units will come later, as the need arises."

As an integral part of "One Navy," CNRF has maintained readiness for immediate augmentation of the active-duty Navy. CNRF has two major operational components--Commander Naval Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC) and Commander Naval Air Force Reserve (CNAR). The commanders of these components administer their forces in conjunction with the active-force commanders under whom the Reservists drill and to whom they would immediately report upon mobilization.

The Naval Reserve is made up of 88,000 Reserve and active-duty Sailors throughout the United States. The command maintains the personnel and equipment assigned to it in a state of advanced readiness and availability, permitting rapid augmentation into the fleet upon partial or full mobilization.
Subordinate commands reporting to the Forces Command include the following: Naval Reserve Intelligence Command; Naval Reserve Security Group Command; eight Naval Reserve Readiness Commands; five Naval Air Station/Facility Commands; Naval Support Activity New Orleans; six Naval Air Reserve Commands; the Naval Expeditionary Logistic Support Force--consisting of 12 Naval Reserve Cargo Handling Battalions and two Naval Supply Support Battalions; 156 Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Centers; and seven Naval Air Reserve Centers. The 12 Reserve Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) are under operational control of the fleets via 1st Naval Construction Division, and the Naval Reserve Fleet Hospitals report to the Bureau of Naval Medicine (BUMED).

There also are 23 Naval Reserve Force ships under operational control of the two Navy fleet commanders, as well as two Naval Coastal Warfare Groups --composed of nine Harbor Defense Command Units, 22 Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Units, and 14 Inshore Boat Units--under the operational control of Amphibious Groups Three and Two.

CNAR supports the U.S. combatant commanders with fully combat-ready aircrews and aircraft capable of flying missions throughout the full range of operations from fleet support to full mobilization in time of war. CNAR consists of one carrier air wing of eight squadrons, one seven-squadron maritime patrol wing, one fleet logistics support wing of 14 squadrons, one helicopter wing of five squadrons, and two integrated Fleet/Reserve helicopter squadrons.
CNAR flies 103 F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters; eight E-2C Hawkeye early warning radar planes; four EA-6B Prowlers for tactical electronic warfare; 48 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft; 23 C-9B/DC-9 Skytrain and six C-40A medium-lift transport aircraft; 19 C-130 Hercules transport aircraft; 36 F-5 Tigers (used for air-to-air adversary training); and 44 helicopters of five types.

CNAR also provides critical manpower--almost 300 TAR (Training and Administration of Reserves) and Selected Reserve aircrew officers--and RPN (Reserve Personnel, Navy) funding to Chief of Naval Air Training's (CNATRA's) 16 training squadrons and has established Support Augment Units at six TACAIR fleet replacement squadrons.

Collectively, the ships, aircraft, weapons, and specialty forces under CNRF make it the fourth largest sea power in the world, and one of the most capable and lethal.

Naval Reserve Force's highest funding priorities remain the same as they have been for several years: the recapitalization of aircraft (including continued procurement of the C-40A Clipper transport aircraft) and the upgrading of information-technology (IT) systems.

A number of the Navy's most critical missions can be accomplished only by Naval Reserve surface and air assets. For example, CNRF provides: all of the Navy's fleet support airlift (people and hardware); all of the service's inshore undersea warfare assets (people and hardware); and 100 percent of its "adversary" flight hours (in which the F-5s simulate enemy aircraft in "combat" exercises against fleet aviators preparing for deployment).

In addition, CNRF provides 99 percent of the Navy's control of shipping assets (personnel); 93 percent of all of its cargo-handling capabilities (people and hardware); 100 percent of its embarked naval advisory teams; 53 percent of its intelligence-mission capabilities (people); and 40 percent of all of the Navy's fleet hospital resources (people and facilities).

Among the most essential combat-support units in the Naval Reserve Force are four fleet hospitals, four mobile EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) units, and nine harbor defense commands.

CNRF is proud to point out that the Naval Reserve provides 19 percent of the total "One-Navy" force, but costs only about 3 percent of the total Navy budget.

Marine Corps Reserve

Today's Marine Reserves are ready, willing, and able to support the active component and to serve both the nation and their state and local communities. Marine Forces Reserve (MFR) activated nearly 5,000 Marines, as part of units or individual augments, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
As in the past, Reserve units have filled critical roles in the nation's defense by carring out a number of OEF missions. Examples include Reserve KC-130s, which have deployed twice to support OEF operations in Afghanistan; Reserve CH-53 helicopters, which deployed with Marine Expeditionary Units to increase their heavy-lift capabilities; two reserve infantry battalions, which were tasked as ready-reaction forces to respond quickly to crisis situations; and Reserve provisional security platoons, which were assigned last year to guard the fence line around U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In addition to supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Marine Reserves continued to provide operations tempo relief to the active forces. Notably, more than 300 Reserves volunteered to participate in UNITAS 43-02, creating the first Reserve Marine Forces UNITAS. From August to December, the UNITAS Marines sailed around South America conducting training exercises with military forces from Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and other countries. Marine Reserves are expected to continue the UNITAS deployments every other year.

MFR support of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Kosovo is now in its seventh consecutive year. A 10-member detachment from 4th Civil Affairs Group is currently on a 6-month rotation in Operation Joint Guardian.

The MFR, individuals and units, also will participate this year in a number of major Marine Corps exercises. Following are some of the more significant exercises and training missions already scheduled:

(1) MFR Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) will conduct two combined-arms exercises in the desert environment of Twentynine Palms, Calif.
(2) MAGTF 25 will conduct expeditionary warfare orientation training in Southern California.
(3) F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters and 4th Force Reconnaissance Company will support the 3rd Marine Regiment's MAGTF training during Hawaii Combined Arms Exercises.
(4) Several MFR units will participate in six humanitarian operations in Central and South America--providing engineering, civil affairs, and medical and dental support, primarily.
(5) The 4th Combat Engineer Battalion will participate in Cornerstone '03, a multinational "Partnership for Peace" exercise in Eastern Europe.
(6) MFR medical and dental personnel will provide care in remote Alaskan regions during an innovative readiness training operation called Arctic Care.

Lt. Gen. Dennis M. McCarthy is the current commander of the Marine Forces Reserve. The MFR's major subordinate commands all welcomed new commanding generals in 2001. They are: 4th Marine Division, Brig. Gen. John J. McCarthy; 4th Marine Air Wing, Brig. Gen. Harold J. Fruchtnicht; and 4th Service Support Group, Maj. Gen. John W. Bergman.

The MFR's end strength at the beginning of fiscal year 2003 was 39,905 total in the Selected Reserve, with 33,097 assigned to units; 2,294 in the Active Reserve; and l,427 Individual Mobilization Augmentees. The Individual Ready Reserve strength stood at 58,039 Marines and the Retired Reserve at 5,218. The MFR budget for FY 2003 includes $554.0 million for Reserve Personnel Marine Corps (RPMC) and $187.5 million for operations and maintenance.

Three major missions have been assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve:

(1) To augment and reinforce the regular component during crises and national emergencies;
(2) To provide peacetime operational tempo and personnel tempo relief for the regular units; and
(3) To tell the Marine Corps story to the American people by being "twice the citizen" in their local communities.

On the home front, Marine Reservists provide community service in many forms. Perhaps the best known is the heralded "Toys for Tots" program--which, during the 2001 holiday season, distributed 13.2 million toys to 6.1 million children. Also in 2001, many Reserve sites became home to the new Marine for Life program, designed to assist Marines leaving active duty with their transition to civilian life in communities around the country.
(For additional information see the MFR website: www.mfr.usmc.mil)

Coast Guard Reserve

The Semper Paratus "Always Ready" men and women of the Coast Guard Reserve were the first members of any of the nation's Reserve Components to be recalled to active duty in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Within hours after the attacks, Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, exercising his unique authority under 14 U.S. Code 712, authorized the recall of the entire Coast Guard Selected Reserve (SELRES) to provide enhanced port security, waterways, and commercial vessel protection in seaports throughout the United States.

Eventually, 2,771 Coast Guard Reservists (or about one third of the entire SELRES) were mobilized, proportionally more than any of the nation's other Reserve components.

The Coast Guard Reserve's mission is to provide qualified personnel to assist the active-duty force in meeting its national-defense responsibilities and to respond to domestic emergencies.

The Coast Guard's Port Security Units (PSUs) are staffed almost exclusively by Reservists. They support regional combatant commanders by providing force protection for naval and commercial ships and other high-value assets overseas in critical ports of debarkation. There are currently six such units in place: PSU 305 in Fort Eustis, Va.; PSU 307 in St. Petersburg, Fla.; PSU 308 in Gulfport, Miss.; PSU 309 in Port Clinton, Ohio; PSU 311 in San Pedro, Calif.; and PSU 313 in Tacoma, Wash. The PSUs operate Transportable Port Security Boats (TPSBs), rapidly deployable 25-foot craft armed with .5 caliber and 7.62mm machine guns.

An earlier response to another terrorist attack--the surprise bombing in Yemen that seriously damaged the Navy's Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and killed 17 of her crew--saw PSU boats and personnel deployed to the Arabian Gulf region to provide force protection for American ships in the area. The PSUs also are providing waterside security at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Reservists continue to perform a major role in most of the Coast Guard's peacetime missions, serving alongside active-duty personnel aboard cutters and at air stations, in maritime safety offices, and at other shore facilities.

Most Coast Guard Reservists are assigned to the same active-component commands to which they are expected to report upon mobilization. About 85 percent of Selected Reservists are assigned directly to active-duty Coast Guard commands. The remainder are assigned to PSUs, to combined Navy-Coast Guard Harbor Defense Commands and Groups, and to the Mobile Support Unit at the Coast Guard Yard. A number of Coast Guard Reservists also serve on the staffs of the U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Joint Forces Command. Several Coast Guard Reservists serve on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Since the 1980s, Reservists have performed the bulk of the Coast Guard work enforcing security zones for space-shuttle operations in Florida. An estimated 65 percent of the Coast Guard personnel employed in the massive cleanup following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1990 were Reservists.

Coast Guard Reservists also have taken a leading role in educating the public about preventing marine pollution. Sea Partners--a Reserve-manned outreach program sponsored by the Coast Guard Office of Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection --seeks to educate the public about marine pollution issues and to improve compliance with marine environmental-protection laws and regulations. Last year, these Reservists coordinated a number of beach and shore cleanups.

A new era for the Coast Guard Reserve began in 1994-1995 when all Reserve units were disestablished and the Selected Reserves were integrated directly into the service's active-component commands. Today's "Team Coast Guard" encompasses all elements of the multimission service--active-duty personnel, Reservists, civilian personnel, and members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The rapid call-up and deployment of Coast Guard Reservists following the terrorist attacks of September 11 is a testament to the success of the earlier Reserve integration.

In accordance with the recommendations included in several recent in-service and external studies, and as a result of the recall following the events of 9/11, it is expected that the authorized end strength of the Coast Guard Selected Reserve will be increased to 9,000 members, from the current 8,000, during fiscal year 2003.

Reservists also will be assigned to the newly commissioned Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs) during FY 2003. These valuable new domestic maritime law-enforcement teams, modeled after the PSUs, will man a new class of fast boats to respond to potential terrorist threats in U.S. ports and on the nation's waterways. The MSSTs will be manned by a combination of active-duty and Reserve personnel, and will be based at major ports around the nation. *

The preceding article is based largely on information provided by the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserve Component offices, whose generous assistance and professional expertise are hereby gratefully acknowledged.