Characteristics of Deployed Reserve Component Personnel

Reserve Component personnel have played a significant role in deployments to Kosovo, Bosnia, and the Persian Gulf, providing specializations not found in active duty units. Although a substantial percentage of deployed Reservists served as backfill for Active Component personnel in other locations, many were assigned to duty in the three theaters of operations. Reservists’ primary areas of support for the missions include civil affairs, psychological operations, medical, engineering, military police, transportation, intelligence, air traffic control, strategic airlift, air refueling, and fighter support. The Reserve Components also provide helicopter crews, maintenance and equipment, as well as other combat personnel who work with analogous Active Component units.

Gender

The breakdown of gender for deployed Reserve Component enlisted personnel, shown in Table 8.8, indicates that a larger proportion of deployed Reserve Component personnel was male than the proportion of males in the total force. The difference among enlisted personnel was relatively small; males made up 87 percent of deployments and 84 percent of the total force. The difference among officers was more substantial; there was less than half the proportion of females among deployed Reserve Component officers (7 percent) than in the total force (18 percent). As was the case with Active Component deployments, the differences seem to be primarily related to the occupations of deployed personnel.