RECORD VERSION
STATEMENT BY
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JODY J. DANIELS
34TH CHIEF OF ARMY RESERVE AND
9TH COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY RESERVE COMMAND
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SECOND SESSION, 117TH CONGRESS
ON THE 2022 POSTURE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE:
AMERICA’S GLOBAL OPERATIONAL RESERVE FORCE
JUNE 7, 2022
The United States Army Reserve
Ready Now! Shaping Tomorrow . . .
Meeting the challenges of a complex global security environment requires an agile and adaptable force committed to our Nation, its people, and its ideals. In cities and communities across America, these Soldiers and leaders are the men and women of the U.S. Army Reserve.
The Army Reserve provides quick access to trained, equipped, and ready Soldiers and units, with the critical enabling capabilities needed to compete globally and win across the full range of military operations. The Army provides the bulk of sustainment and enabling forces to the other services, and most of those capabilities reside in the Army Reserve. Simply put, the Joint Force cannot deploy, fight, and win without the Army Reserve.
Citizen Soldiers leverage their professional skills while serving in uniform, adding substantial value and depth to the force, with skills, education, and expertise acquired in the private sector. They provide operational flexibility and strategic depth indispensable to the Total Army. They are doctors, lawyers, academics, scientists, engineers, cyber specialists, first responders, transportation specialists, and administrators at the top of their fields.
In the two decades since September 11, 2001, more than 420,000 Army Reserve Soldiers were mobilized. Currently, nearly 8,000 Soldiers are deployed to 23 countries in direct support of Geographic Combatant Commands—more than 16,000 since the start of the pandemic.
Present in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, the Army Reserve provides critical capabilities that enable operational support to Joint Force campaigns in priority theaters bolstering positional advantages against any potential threat.
These capabilities—critical during major combat operations—are also crucial at home. The Army Reserve provided vital support from the first weeks of the pandemic, rapidly mobilizing in support of the largest sustained domestic mobilization in history. More recently, over 1,500 Army Reserve Soldiers supported Department of Defense (DoD) efforts to resettle Afghan evacuees in the United States and other countries as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
By the Numbers
As both a component and command, the Army Reserve has a congressionally authorized strength for 189,500 Soldiers and 11,000 civilians, and it is present in all 50 states as well as five U.S. territories. This year’s budget supports the end strength, all rate adjustments to include basic pay raise and basic allowances for housing and subsistence. It also includes special pay incentives to recruit and retain talent into the Army Reserve to sustain the quality all-volunteer force.
The Army Reserve provides nearly half of the Army’s maneuver support and a quarter of its force mobilization capacity. At a cost of just 6% of the total Army budget, the Army Reserve supports the Total Force—with just 13% of the component serving as full time support.
Although the Army Reserve constitutes nearly 20% of the Army’s personnel, it provides a significant portion of key support units and capabilities. These include over 50% of its quartermaster and medical formations, over 80% of its civil affairs, legal, psychological operations, and religious units, and over 40% of its chemical and transportation forces. Some of the Army Reserve’s critical enabling capabilities include petroleum distribution, water purification, port opening, and railroad operations.
This year’s budget also funds 24 Geographic and Functional Commands, four Readiness Divisions, 947 USAR Facilities including three installations and two sub-installations. It increases Full Spectrum Training Miles (FSTM) (tactical vehicle training) and supports Collective Training Events. It increases support to over 10,000 civilian full-time employees in over 1,100 communities, funds OPTEMPO to meet readiness requirements and increases the Army Reserve flying hour program. On average, the Army Reserve annually supports the mobilization and deployment of more 12,000 Soldiers and Civilians through Mobilization Force Generation Installations located in Texas at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss.
The Army Reserve is a highly motivated, educated, and experienced force. Thirty-three percent of all Army Reserve Soldiers hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the officer ranks, 10% have master’s degrees and 3% have doctorates. Soldiers in the enlisted ranks are also pursuing higher education. More than 13% hold bachelor’s degrees, and nearly 4% have a master’s or doctoral degree, many of which are leveraged in civilian sector career fields that include investment banking, business management, and technology sciences.
The Army Reserve also builds on the strength of its diversity. African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans make up nearly half of the force, while women make up 25% of all Army Reserve Soldiers and 22% of its general officers.
People
People remain the Army Reserve’s number one priority, and a focus on Soldiers, Families, and DoD Civilians is essential to readiness and modernization efforts. By investing in and prioritizing people, the Army Reserve makes the Total Force stronger and more lethal.
Army Reserve Soldiers serve, on average, 39 days a year during battle assemblies and annual training to meet individual and collective readiness requirements. To succeed, the Army Reserve must support all aspects of a Soldier’s life—families, civilian employment, and education goals—integrated with a rewarding uniformed experience that delivers the training, confidence, and skills that employers seek.
In order to maximize the time available for training, shaping, growing, and retaining the future force, the Army Reserve is focusing on reducing and removing unnecessary administrative burdens. Junior leaders are empowered with the direct authority required to successfully lead and train their Soldiers.
Recruiting and Retention
Notably, members of the Army Reserve’s winning team include an Olympic Gold Medalist and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut. Citizen Soldiers, though, come from all walks of life. They include neighbors, teachers, and first responders, as well as service members who have transitioned from active duty and the Army National Guard.
In an extremely challenging recruiting environment, the Army Reserve is tackling mid-grade officer and enlisted deficits. The Army Reserve is investing in 3,000 full-time Soldiers to provide direct support to recruiting and retention programs and has adopted innovative recruiting practices to help achieve end-strength objectives. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic limiting face-to-face recruiting efforts, the Army Reserve is adapting to close the gap by boosting accessions and retention rates.
The DoD Enlisted Bonus Program will help the Army Reserve to meet its end strength objectives, as will the new Priority Unit Bonus provision, intended to retain critical occupational specialties. The Army Reserve is piloting an automated readiness model to specifically target critical vacancies, in addition to high-priority specialties to ensure the organization is competitive today and remains so well into the future.
The Army Reserve wants to retain Soldiers for Life. The “AC2RC” program allows the Nation to retain the valuable talent of its service members, while providing them with the opportunity to pursue a civilian career. The Army Reserve must continuously adapt the way we recruit and retain talent in order to sustain the all-volunteer force.
Quality of Life
The Army Reserve is putting people first by promoting programs that improve the quality of life for the Army Reserve while making it easier to integrate family, work, and military life. Programs that help families with housing, health care, childcare, spouse employment, and PCS moves are essential for taking care of our people and maintaining our readiness. Readiness relies upon both the families who support and sustain our Soldiers and the employers who enable them to serve the Nation.
Family programs deliver services to approximately 184,000 Soldiers and more than 240,000 family members. Leadership and commanders across the force ensure Soldier and Family Readiness Groups have easy access to resources that help families in times of need. Likewise, the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program is conducted virtually and in-person to ensure Soldiers and families know about support programs and services during deployment cycles.
Additionally, our volunteer Army Reserve Ambassadors are engaging with key stakeholders in communities across America to build a cadre of supporters and advocates for Soldiers and families.
With more than 87% of the force integrating military service with civilian careers and advanced education, the Army Reserve is increasing its efforts to help Soldiers connect with civilian job opportunities. The Private Public Partnership Office (P3O) is leveraging technology, relationship management tools, social networking platforms and hiring events—in collaboration with military and veteran service organizations such as Vet Jobs, Recruit Military, and others—to connect Soldiers and Families with employment, internship, and mentorship opportunities. By collaborating with organizations able to assist Soldiers with job opportunities, and a nationwide network of corporate, profit/non-profit and academic partners, the Army Reserve can offer robust programs to improve the quality of life for those serving our Nation.
Harmful Behaviors
The Army Reserve is addressing harmful behaviors, such as sexual harassment and assault, extremist activity, racism, and domestic violence, that break trust with Soldiers and the American people. A large focus remains on adopting the Army’s “This is My Squad” philosophy by implementing Foundational Readiness training, and ensuring people feel valued as members of cohesive teams that are highly trained, disciplined and fit teams. Foundational Readiness sessions give leaders time to conduct counseling, strengthen trust, build esprit de corps and underscore the Army Values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, while ensuring inclusion and equal opportunity for all. Reducing harmful behaviors is integral to building and sustaining a positive command climate at scale.
Suicide Prevention
Suicides are devastating to families, units, and readiness, and the Army Reserve is committed to identifying and providing services and support to vulnerable individuals to let them know that every life is a life worth living.
Suicide remains one of the Army’s most complex challenges, and prevention requires a comprehensive approach. During 2020 and 2021, the Army Reserve saw a slight increase in suicides. However, in 80% of suicide ideation cases, Soldiers actively sought help, or leaders intervened upon recognizing changes in behavior. The Army Reserve continuously expands strategic partnerships with behavioral health networks and local providers to increase timely access to care and to ensure Soldiers are mentally fit.
This year, the Army Reserve initiated “Operation Well-Being Battle Drill,” which clarifies expectations and responsibilities of Army Reserve unit commanders—with the help of law enforcement—when accounting for Soldiers who fail to report for duty. As part of the Army’s “This Is My Squad” philosophy, the policy to care for Soldiers in their “squads” empowers both non-commissioned officers and commanders.
The Army Reserve also empowers Soldiers down to the squad-leader level to escort any Soldier in crisis to immediate life-saving care. The Army Reserve is conducting training sessions to help identify and address high-risk behavior earlier. The Army Reserve authorizes Soldiers to be placed in a paid duty status to perform critical lifesaving missions and to receive the care they need.
The Holistic Health and Fitness Program supports the entire force, not just people in crises. The H2F program focuses on ways to help Soldiers and others improve their overall readiness during demanding periods through teaching good physical and mental health practices.
Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP)
Every Soldier deserves a workplace free of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and personal fear. The results of a thorough internal analysis of the Army Reserve’s SHARP Program have enabled programmatic changes driven by the Secretary of Defense and the National Defense Authorization Act, including improved victim care, staffing, organization, reporting, and oversight.
The Army Reserve SHARP office is part of the Army’s Independent Review Commission implementation planning team, which ensures that there is an Army Reserve-centric approach to countering sexual harassment and sexual assault. This includes SHARP staffing redesign, independent oversight structure, and professionalizing the Reserve Component workforce.
Efforts also include adapting a regional approach to determine the appropriate number of professionals required to provide prevention, response, training, and intervention for Army Reserve formations. In coordination with the Army’s People First Task Force, the Army Reserve is testing a virtual fusion directorate pilot program that offers a virtual response team to provide advocacy and direct victim support.
The Army Reserve SHARP Program is inspecting and providing staff assistance to every major subordinate command’s program. These inspections have aided in developing solution-focused strategies for program improvement.
Extremism
The Army Reserve’s “People First” priority is helping to build unit cohesion by creating a foundation of strength, resilience, discipline, inclusion and trust that leadership will always take care of their Soldiers. While extremist activity is rare, any instance can have an outsized effect on the force and must be investigated and addressed appropriately.
Readiness
Since the onset of the pandemic, Army Reserve Soldiers have been a part of one of the largest sustained domestic mobilizations in history—supporting our fellow citizens across the Nation and allies overseas during times of great need. Thousands of Soldiers stepped up to the challenge with the skills and expertise needed to make a difference both at home and around the world, including Germany, Poland, and the Pacific Territories.
In support of Operation Allies Welcome, more than 1,500 Army Reserve Soldiers and Emergency Preparedness Liaisons mobilized to seven stateside and overseas installations at locations including Fort McCoy, Wisconsin and Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey, as an example. As part of the Army’s support to DoD, the Army Reserve assisted Afghan families and other at-risk individuals in finalizing their immigration processing safely. By providing logistics, protection, governance, medical, and morale support, the Army Reserve enabled Afghans to adequately resettle in locations inside and outside the U.S.
The Army Reserve continues to support U.S. Army North in COVID-19 response operations. Since the start of the pandemic, the Army Reserve has mobilized extensive medical capabilities. Currently, two 25-person Medical Care Augmentation Teams (MCAT) are preparing to reinforce civilian medical treatment facilities. The MCATs follow the initial response where more than 20 Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces, composed of 85 medical professionals, provided critical professional and expeditionary medical staff.
Army Reserve Soldiers supported Fort Hood in processing thousands of Soldiers from all components for mobilization and deployment during the pandemic. Additional support included Religious Support Teams, as well as Command and Control support by the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 416th Engineer Command, 807th Medical Brigade Operational Command Post, and overseas mission support from the 7th and 9th Mission Support Commands.
In addition to supporting USNORTHCOM and COVID-19 force protection measures, the Army Reserve continues to provide global support to Combatant Commanders. The Army Reserve remains committed to maintaining readiness as a fit fighting force that can deploy and communicate while building global partnerships and support to current missions. Oceania Engagement Teams are headquartered at the Army Reserve’s 9th Mission Support Command in Hawai’i, and are providing an opportunity for Soldiers from all three components to engage with host nation leaders and cultivate meaningful and lasting partnerships.
With Soldiers and equipment in more than 1,100 communities across the Nation, the Army Reserve is postured to deploy capabilities critical to Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities. In 2021, at the request of civil authorities, the Army Reserve Soldiers assisted in a search for missing persons in Haywood County, North Carolina. They also responded to two separate power outages in Houston and Huntsville, Texas by delivering 1,600 and 800 gallons of water, respectively.
In fiscal year 2021, the Army Reserve returned to pre-COVID-19 collective training levels, rotating 35 units with approximately 1,800 Soldiers through the National Training Center and approximately 1,700 Soldiers rotated through collective training exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center and at the Warfighter Exercises.
Modernization
With the rapidly changing global environment, the Army acquisition process must provide the flexibility to leverage technological advancements. Ensuring interoperability of mission critical capabilities across all war fighter platforms, and addressing gaps identified by the Army in its ability to conduct Large-Scale Combat Operations in a Multi-Domain Operations environment remains a central challenge. It is essential that we continue to build on the readiness and modernization efforts that support survivability and lethality on the battlefield.
As a multi-year process, we must synchronize transformation efforts to always maintain sufficient readiness. Army Reserve Mission Force, or “ARM Force”, is part of the Readiness Way Ahead for the Army Reserve, which nests under the Army's Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM). Both efforts align units against regional priorities, while meeting modernization requirements by creating predictable windows to field new equipment.
ReARMM’s intent is to provide a flexible, predictable force generation processes by focusing on regional and functional support to the National Defense Strategy. ReARMM and ARM Force both align units against competition requirements, providing predictable mission cycles that allow for training and modernization. Unlike the active component’s two-year cycle, the transitional cycles for the Army Reserve consist of one year of modernization and three years of training, followed by a one-year mission. Personnel, equipment, and structures are evaluated and assessed for readiness, and updated based on mission requirements.
As the Army Reserve modernizes its existing facilities, it is also investing in innovation. This budget supports two major construction projects; a $46 million Army Reserve Center in Perrine, Florida, and a $24 million Army Reserve Center in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. It also includes $9.8 million for planning and designing future projects and $20 million for minor construction requirements.
On May 27, 2021, Fort Hunter Liggett, California conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for a $21.6 million electrical micro-grid, which will make it the first Army installation to achieve Net Zero energy efficiency for critical operations. That means it will be capable of generating and distributing electricity for 14 days of energy resiliency—an important first step in scaling this type of energy self-sufficiency throughout the DoD. The system will generate more electricity than Fort Hunter Liggett can consume over a 12-month period.
Shaping Tomorrow
Army Reserve units and Soldiers are shaping the future force by bringing innovation and depth to modernization efforts. Many Army Reserve Soldiers have Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics backgrounds, including those assigned to the 412th and 416th Theater Engineer Commands, the 335th Theater Signal Command, the Cyber Protection Teams, the Military Intelligence Readiness Command, and the 75th Innovation Command. All efforts directly support Army Futures Command—providing relevant technology scouting, critical subject matter expertise, and serving as the bridge between modernization objectives and private sector innovators and technology leaders.
As mentioned briefly above, the Army Reserve commissioned a NASA astronaut into the 75th Innovation Command, making a great example of how Citizen Soldiers bring critical job experience and skillsets to the Army that accelerate innovations and technologies. Areas of expertise in the Reserve Component include artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics, block-chain, cyber, medical, synthetic biology, and space. As the Army moves toward multi-domain operations, Army Reserve Soldiers will play a critical role in linking the private sector into the defense enterprise. By embracing emerging technologies, the Army Reserve will become a more effective and efficient force and enable our ability to prevail on the future battlefield.
In the face of growing cybersecurity threats, talent in areas like defensive cyber operations provide valuable capabilities. The Army Reserve has 25% of the Total Army’s Cyber Protection Teams aligned to the U.S. Cyber Command's Cyber Mission Force. Cyber Protection Teams conduct defensive cyberspace operations in support of the Army, Combatant Commands, the DoD, and Interagency operations worldwide.
The Army Reserve is currently preparing to conduct home-station defense cyberspace operations in support of Exercise Defender 22—designed to support mission partners and assist in real-world exercises.
In Conclusion
The Army Reserve provides trained, equipped, and ready Soldiers to meet the Nation’s requirements at home and abroad. Whether performing combat missions and contingency operations, or saving lives and protecting property in America’s communities, Army Reserve formations will continue to offer versatile, available and effective capabilities. Sustaining critical operational capabilities requires consistent, adequate, and predictable funding to ensure the Army Reserve can continue to meet the needs of the Army and Joint Force. The Army Reserve appreciates defense spending that positively impacts people, readiness, and modernization efforts that support survivability and lethality across the full range of military operations. In a rapidly changing, accelerating, and evolving global environment, the Army Reserve provides critical skills and depth for the Army, the Joint Force, and the Nation.