Military Review English Edition March-April 2016 | Page 105

RESERVE COMPONENT

that provide integrated learning with the aim to
“provide tough, realistic multiechelon home-station
training using a mix of live, virtual, and constructive
methods that efficiently and effectively build soldier,
leader, and unit competency over time, contributing to
the effectiveness of the current and future forces.”15
The Army provides land forces for homeland defense
and defense support of civil authorities (DSCA), a requirement that could also be better accomplished through
integrated ATF training. The Army Capstone Concept
states that the “ARNG plays a unique role in homeland
defense and DSCA, whether under the mission command
of a state governor or federalized in a Title 10 status under
the mission command of the president, secretary of defense, and supported combatant commander.”16
DSCA support provides additional AC and RC
integrated-training opportunities with civilian partners at the local, state, and federal levels. This training
would enhance the capabilities of each component
while demonstrating interagency unity of effort.
Further integrated-training opportunities lie in converting RTCs to the same network caliber as the CTCs.
The RTCs have sufficient maneuver space to support both
AC and ARNG brigade combat team formations, which
will allow RC sustainment, engineer, military police, and
medical forces an increased scope for support that will
deliver realistic training. This will also provide additional
geographically dispersed training venues that may reduce
transportation cost and time. An example of cost savings
is the 10th Mountain Division conducting CTC-like
training at the RTC at Fort Dix, New Jersey, rather than
the national training center at Fort Irwin, California. The
reduced transportation costs alone will provide significant
savings. Each RTC has an equipment concentration point
that can expand to include additional maneuver equipment
that returns from Afghanistan, which will in turn provide a
solution to the excess equipment issue the Army is facing as
it departs theater. To manage these new opportunities will
require fully integrated multiple-component headquarters.

Create Additional Multicomponent
Headquarters
The Army must change the way it thinks about the roles
of the RC by creating additional multicomponent headquarters. As the size of the AC force continues to decline,
the RC can provide the additional personnel necessary to
create more multicomponent headquarters, allowing for
MILITARY REVIEW  March-April 2016

better utilization of the capabilities inherent to each component. The USAR and ARNG can staff vacant positions
with RC Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) or mobilized
personnel; this will not affect the USAR or ARNG end
strength as the increase will come from accessions of
current personnel. The Army Posture Statement details an
increase in the AGR force in the following excerpt:
Although we are making reductions in the
overall end strength of the Army National
Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, we have
continued to invest in higher full-time
support levels, including Active Guard and
Reserve, military technician, and civilians.
This budget supports 82,720 full-time support positions in FY16 as compared to 68,000
in FY01. This level of full-time support constitutes a 20 percent increase since 2001.17
Future multicomponent headquarters will use the
First Army force structure as the template. A current
First Army unit, the 189th Infantry Brigade (Training
Support) is a multicomponent unit stationed at JBLM.
The unit is comprised of ten subordinate units including a headquarters and headquarters company and
nine battalions, three of which are AC units. The subordinate units provide warfighting function capabilities in
movement and maneuver, fires, and sustainment. The
following approach to more comprehensive integration
may provide additional solutions to mitigate the effects
of future force reductions.
An opportunity exists to replace the headquarters
element of 2nd Battalion, 358th Armor Regiment
(AC), a subordinate command of the 189th, with the
81st ABCT (ARNG) to integrate additional RC units
under the brigade headquarters. This would allow AC
soldiers the opportunity to fill positions within maneuver units throughout the AC force structure. This
would also provide ARNG integration at the battalion
level while maintaining current state and corps alignment. Assigning the 81st ABCT as a subordinate unit
would provide a similar structure and full-time support
while increasing capabilities to provide training and
support to DSCA operations.
RC soldier integration into key positions within the
brigade headquarters also would act as an incentive for
retention and growth, and it would provide stakeholders
in the USAR and ARNG commands. Assigning AGR
or mobilized RC soldiers to key staff positions would
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