Senior Army Reserve leaders and partners emphasize that the U.S. Army’s success in future conflicts depend on a modern, ready, and fully integrated Reserve component.

Speaking at the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Lt. Gen. Robert D. Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, said the Army Reserve’s role is built into the nation’s warfighting core design.

“'You go, we go' isn’t just something we came up with; it’s something the Army designed,” he said. “Ninety percent of bulk fuel capability resides in the Army Reserve. Tanks, helicopters and tactical vehicles still need fuel, and that responsibility lives with us.”

That capability extends beyond fuel. The Army Reserve provides most of the Army’s sustainment, signal and medical forces, the units that enable combat formations to move, fight and endure. When the active component deploys, the Reserve follows immediately, not months later. The question Harter discussed is whether the Reserve is resourced and structured to meet that expectation in an era of large-scale combat operations.

“When I look at some of the war plans and see how many Army Reserve Soldiers are needed in the first 30 to 60 days of a major conflict, are we ready? We've just got to have those conversations.”

Maj. Gen. Jake Kwon, director of strategic operations for Headquarters, Department of the Army, G-3/5/7, said preparing for large-scale combat is not just about larger battles but faster, broader mobilization.

“We’re talking about a scale of mobilization and sustainment the Army hasn’t executed since World War II,” Kwon said. “The Army Reserve is the connective tissue that enables the Army to mobilize and sustain the next fight.”

That interdependence drives the central issue facing Army planners today: modernization and risk. As active-duty formations field new technology, Reserve units often receive those capabilities later through the equipment cascade. Kwon argued that the Reserve must be included earlier in the design and testing process.

“If we want a truly transformational Total Army strategy, interoperability has to be built from the start,” he said.

Brig. Michelle Campbell of the Australian Army Reserve added an international perspective. She noted that Australia’s Reserve component is fully integrated into its national defense strategy and trained to the same standards as its active force.

“Interoperability and partnerships don’t start when conflict starts. They’re built years before through exchanges, embeds and exercises,” Campbell said. Her comments underscored the value of allied models in shaping a more agile and integrated U.S. Reserve Force.

Private industry also plays a growing role in the Reserve’s modernization effort. Jason Atwell, a cyber strategist with Google Public Sector and a U.S. Army Reserve intelligence officer, said the Army can learn from the speed and adaptability of the technology sector.

“Industry moves fast because it’s willing to fail fast,” Atwell said. Atwell said. He added that the Army’s acquisition process must accelerate to deliver results in years, not decades.

Both Harter and Kwon agreed that culture, not just technology, is the greater challenge.

“If we could impose our bureaucracy on our enemies, we’d win without firing a shot,” Harter said, highlighting the need to streamline decision-making and acquisition.

Atwell echoed that sentiment, adding that the Army often starts with the process rather than the problem: “In industry, you start with the problem you’re trying to solve. In the Army, we start with the process and then build the product.”

Kwon emphasized that empowering leaders to take smart risks is essential to driving progress. “Innovators will be rewarded, not just those who hold the line and move the trains,” he said. He added that both the chief and the Secretary of the Army have expressed a higher tolerance for risk and have given field commanders considerable latitude to make decisions and act quickly in the field.

Despite the emphasis on modernization, Harter warned against losing sight of fundamentals. “We can’t innovate our way out of the need to shoot, move and communicate,” he said, referencing lessons from Ukraine and recent combat training rotations. “Soldiers survive because of camouflage, concealment, dispersion and 24 inches of overhead cover. But we tend to use technology as a crutch.”

To drive the point home, Harter recalled observing a Reserve brigade at the Joint Readiness Training Center that trained under conditions mirroring modern warfare. The unit cut all communications for eight hours before entering the training area. “They were a little disoriented, but the opposing force had no idea where they were,” he said. “When the OPFOR started pinging to locate them, they exposed their own position.”

The exercise shows that Soldiers who master concealment, dispersion, and movement are the ones who survive on today’s battlefield.

The balance between innovation and the discipline of soldiering is central to the Army Reserve’s future. Harter called for a reassessment of which capabilities belong in the Reserve and which might be better aligned to other components, as well as renewed focus on domestic readiness.

The discussion reflected a broader shift in how the Army views readiness, not just through equipment or training metrics but through integration across all components. For Soldiers, leaders and policymakers, the message was clear: the Army Reserve’s readiness is inseparable from the Army’s readiness.

Harter closed by connecting modernization to purpose. “The Army Reserve is the enabling capacity for the nation. Twice the citizen, combat ready,” he said. “We can’t all innovate all the time. Someone has to train Soldiers to defend the nation, and that’s what we do.”

The panel discussion captured a way ahead to balance the Army Reserve between transformation and tradition, a reminder that while technology will shape the future fight, it is leaders who articulate risks and disciplined Soldiers who will win it.

The entire panel is available to watch on video on the U.S. Army Reserve Youtube http://www.youtube.com/TheUSArmyReserve.