Army Reserve Ambassadors are a powerful means of message delivery to the American people and they provide invaluable connections for our own centers of influence to engage local stakeholders.  They are known commodities in their state and local communities, and because of this, they have a level of access to local events that simply cannot otherwise be replicated.  Local decision makers need to know how we fit into their communities and our opportunities to tell the Army Reserve story to this population are extremely limited.  ARAs are relied upon to: (a) seek support from elected officials and engage stakeholders at the local levels; (b) forge and sustain enduring relationships between AR units and local communities; (c) open doors in business and industry and institutions of higher learning; (d) educate and inform the public/government/business/Military and Veteran Service Organizations about the value and positive return on investment of the Army Reserve; and (e) build a cadre of supporters and advocates from these important audiences that can be activated when necessary.  These capabilities, skills and talents are what make ARAs so unique and valuable. 

Candidates should be a leader in community affairs & linked in the local community and should be in a position to disseminate information about the AR to a broad cross section of the public and to prominent citizens in his or her area.  They should have an interest in military affairs and able and willing to devote reasonable amount of time to the activities of an Ambassador, and be proficient in Window-based products to include Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point and e-mail.  They are not employees of the Federal Government, a Federal, State or locally elected or appointed official, or any instrumentality thereof and not be a paid employee of any political party.

ARAs also provide the "continuity" over the long term; while local Army Reserve team leaders come and go, Ambassadors are vested in the community.  We ask that you have the mindset that ARAs are part of your Team.  Know and Use your ARAs!