Research for Research Memoranda

One seldom considered dimension in examinations of active-reserve force tradeoffs is our historical experience in calling up and using Naval Reserve Forces in circumstances and crises short of general war. The fact that Naval Reserve Forces have not been called in a host of conceivable recall situations, coupled with the sparse but mostly troubled experience when reserve forces were in fact recalled involuntarily, add useful perspective to the ongoing debate about the active-reserve force mix in the Navy. This memorandum examines that experience from the early days of the Korean War to the present. It includes a discussion of lessons from past experience which seem germane to current considerations.

The Center for Naval Analyses has been examining current issues and future prospects in the Western Alliance since June 1984. The aim is to better inform U.S. Navy policy initiatives and long-range planning for the European theater, by helping to define the planning environments, opportunities, and limitations the Navy may have to face in the decade ahead. While affairs of Alliance are of prominent interest, the examination has not been confined to NATO per se. On the theory that politics among nations begin with politics and related developments within nations, the study has also considered influences on, and frames of reference for, the evolution of national defense policies in individual Alliance member countries. This research memorandum, part of a series of CNA papers on future directions of the Western Alliance, is concerned with these national policies. This particular report looks at six European allies in terms of their own defense aspirations, domestic constraints, and policy choices in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The focus is on those key factors most likely to influence the security priorities and postures of each of the six. The six are France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Spain.

The specialized skill training load in A-, C-, and F-schools for Navy enlisted personnel from 1979 through 1985 is described. The training load for each of these types of schools is broken down by instructional and supernumerary time, by first-termers and careerists, and, in some case, by rating. Changes in definition, such as F-schools becoming C-schools, are documented. From 1979 through 1985, almost 70 percent of the increase in the total specialized skill training load came from the C-schools. Moreover, although the C-school training load increased over 50 percent in the period, increased efficiencies in use of time for instruction meant an even sharper increase in the instructional load.

In the 1960s, French defense policy emphasized the protection of French territory rather than the collective security of France and her European allies. This began to change in the late 1970s. The French contribution to European security is now a matter of considerable debate within France. This memorandum examines the issues and the options that are involved.