Research for Reservists

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Alternative Concepts for Employing Navy Reservists: Making an Impact on Force Capabilities
August 1, 2002
Abstract:D6584 The latest Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) tasked the Department of Defense to perform a Comprehensive Review of Active/Reserve Force Mix, organization, priority missions, and associated resources. To support the review, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) (Reserve Affairs, Manpower and Personnel) asked CNA to identify and develop examples of concepts that could improve capabilities and/or alleviate high-demand/low-density constraints in the Navy and Marine Corps. The concepts could be ones that the Navy is already experimenting with-as long as they highlight the contributions that the Reserves can potentially make to overall capabilities. This report describes seven concepts for using reservists and reserve units to extend the capabilities of the Navy; one also applies to the Marine Corps. The seven concepts are (1) augmenting selected carrier flight deck and ordnance ratings, (2) augmenting carrier aviation intermediate maintenance within the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD), (3) using reservists to increase ship's time in areas of operations (AORs), (4) staffing ships during nondeployed periods, (5) having the reserve EA-6B squadron train with Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), (6) moving workload off ships, and (7) filling emerging skill niches. The report discusses each concept's feasibility and the need for further research.
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The Role of the Reservist in Maritime Homeland Defense
August 1, 2002
This white paper analyzes and draws conclusions about Department of Defense (DOD) support for homeland security (HLS) and homeland defense (HLD) in general, and maritime homeland defense (MHLD) specifically. It was requested by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA) as part of that office’s comprehensive review of the reserve component (RC) as directed by the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). OASD/RA’s original question was, “What is the appropriate mix of forces between the active component (AC) and the RC to accomplish the MHLD mission?” However, initial research quickly revealed that as yet there are no official definitions of HLS, HLD, or MHLD, no definitions of service MHLD roles and missions, and no official organizational structure in which to manage the HLS missions and forces. These issues are being considered in ongoing discussions about the establishment of U.S. Northern Command (NORCOM). Until official decisions are made, there is no way to determine the appropriate AC/RC force mix. Those limitations notwithstanding, this paper presents a general overview of the HLS and HLD missions, and provides a framework and a methodology for determining the appropriate AC/RC mix in the MHLD mission area when key decisions are reached.
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