Reserve Forces on the Front Line

I had the good fortune to attend a Change of Command Ceremony aboard the USS Intrepid two weekends ago in New York City.  My good friend and former neighbor in Fayetteville, COL (P) Jay Gothard, was assuming command of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command at Fort Wadsworth.  Good man, wonderful husband and dad, and everything this country can be proud about in a Reserve officer.

During his opening remarks, MG David Morris, Commanding General of the USA Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), shared some sobering facts regarding deployments, and I also spoke with Jay about the issue.  Civil Affairs is about 6,000 soldiers strong (out of 208,000 in the Army Reserve) and these soldiers are currently supporting every major contingency operation, not just Iraq and Afghanistan.  Civil Affairs soldiers are deploying about every 20-24 months for a year.  That is close to the Active Duty operational tempo of 18 months of dwell time.  The goal is to deploy for one year out of every five.  We can’t get there with our current force structure and the world situation.  Therefore our forces are strained and it is requiring a lot of creative effort on every leader’s part to meet the nation’s business requirements.  General Casey, the Chief of Staff, says our forces are out of balance.  The Army is working hard to get back into balance, with a goal of 2011 to reach some equilibrium.

The Army Reserve has had about 130 Soldiers killed in action.  Twenty-four of those Soldiers were Civil Affairs Soldiers, or about 20 percent of the KIAs.

Our Museum will definitely include the stories of Reservists and National Guard soldiers.  They serve.  They sacrifice.  They protect our freedoms.