Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Reserve Affairs Officers

Integrating Active and Reserve Components for a more Affordable and Efficient Force

Colonel Paul G. Shelton
U.S. Army Reserve AGR

The Department of Defense recognized more than five years ago the need to institutionalize the reserve components as an operational force.  In 2008 the DoD issued a directive to promote and support the management of the reserve components as an operational force. The Services followed with their own brands of implementation.  On September 4th 2012 Army Secretary John McHugh issued the Army Total Force Policy.  Total Force means all components (Active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve) working together, contributing their unique capabilities and characteristics to support combatant commanders’ requirements as an Army, not as a predominantly active or reserve force.  The expectation was a force balanced among various components so as not to over-tax one over another or retain force structure in one over another.  The Army is reducing the size of its active component relative to the size of its reserve components.  This is creating slightly greater parity between active and reserve components.  The increased parity calls for greater integration of the Active force, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

The wall of the fiscal cliff is passing in front of our faces as the Services plummet through this drawdown.  We’ll all have to find more efficient ways to meet requirements and sustain ourselves and the DoD.  Rather than sitting back and merely allowing it to happen, the Services need to take the long view and approach this challenge analytically.  Many possible courses of action include reinvestment and regeneration through the reserve components.  This comes with many political implications both within and outside the Services and cannot be accomplished quickly.  It must be done incrementally and begin with transforming the way we organize, train and equip our respective Service.

The Department of Defense recognized more than five years ago the need to institutionalize the reserve components as an operational force.  In 2008 the DoD issued a directive to promote and support the management of the reserve components as an operational force. The Services followed with their own brands of implementation.  On September 4th 2012 Army Secretary John McHugh issued the Army Total Force Policy.  Total Force means all components (Active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve) working together, contributing their unique capabilities and characteristics to support combatant commanders’ requirements as an Army, not as a predominantly active or reserve force.  The expectation was a force balanced among various components so as not to over-tax one over another or retain force structure in one over another.  The Army is reducing the size of its active component relative to the size of its reserve components.  This is creating slightly greater parity between active and reserve components.  The increased parity calls for greater integration of the Active force, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

Creating a Reserve Affairs officer personnel category along the lines of the Army’s officer functional area system would be a great start.  My proposal is the creation of a cadre of officers uniquely experienced to lead the Army in its transition to a total force.  The Reserve Affairs Officer should be adopted as a functional area of the United States Army Officer Corps.  This officer will have a better understanding of our reserve components, the challenges they face and most importantly the efficiency gaps they may fill.  From apportioning long-range planned operations to reserve component formations to planning and execution of phased mobilization for contingencies, having officers with specialized knowledge, skills and experience could change the way operational commanders approach mission accomplishment.  Creation of the Reserve Affairs functional area would play a significant role leading the DoD closer to a “total force” approach, bringing to fruition a “continuum of service” and streamlining administration across components of the various Services to create yet more efficiency.

The following is a description of this officer and his or her professional knowledge, skills, abilities and development.  The framework used is the same as is used in the February 1, 2010 Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-3.  Much of its actual descriptive text has been adapted to create the following description.

Reserve Affairs Officers

Reserve Affairs (RA) is an element of command policy and decision-making that provides trusted advice and counsel on the appropriate utilization and management of reserve component resources (individuals, formations, equipment and facilities).  Across the Services, on the Joint Staff and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs officers develop strategies and plans complimentary to operational and installation staff plans.  The Reserve Affairs officer’s principle role is to advise and counsel the commander or staff he or she serves on how the organization’s operations may be enhanced using reserve component resources.  The RA officer accomplishes this by preparing staff estimates maximizing organizational depth or capability through reserve component integration (using RC personnel, units, equipment, facilities or other resources).  Because the use of reserve component resources brings with it specific community impacts, RA officers assist the commander and staff in addressing these impacts and mitigating them to facilitate operations and mission accomplishment while maintaining the linkage between the Army and the American people it serves.  RA officers provide expertise in the utilization of reserve component force to preserve active component forces for immediate, unanticipated international  employment.  The proponent for the Reserve Affairs functional area should be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASA-M&RA).
Reserve Affairs fulfills the Army’s obligation to provide a force capable of conducting required operations in peacetime as well as during conflict and war.  This obligation includes the responsible management and allocation of resources consistent with not simply national military strategy but also state and federal, whole of government goals and objectives.  Reserve Affairs officers coordinate closely with Army public affairs to establish the conditions that lead to confidence in America’s Army and its readiness across active and reserve components by effectively integrating reserve component forces and their unique capabilities and characteristics into operational plans.  This mission includes conducting strategic communications of reserve component postures relative to active component counterparts.  This transparency of organizational depth through the open and deliberate integration of reserve forces provides a deterrent effect to likely adversaries.  This accomplishes the “prevent” objective of Army engagement and “shaping” the mobilization environment in the event engagement escalates.
Effective Reserve Affairs requires the application of professional, technical and experiential skills from the military and civilian sectors.  Reserve Affairs officers should be personal staff officers or principals who lead reserve component integration, advise senior commanders and leaders, command and lead reserve component units and organizations or serve on higher-level staffs as needed.  They would serve on the personal staff at division and higher.  They would serve as staff officers at the United States Army Reserve Command, the office of the chief, Army Reserve, the National Guard Bureau and State HQs and serve as instructors and staff officers at Army training centers of excellence.  RA officers could conduct reserve affairs coordination at all levels of command by:  providing advice regarding reserve component integration and employment and counseling commanders and staffs as to strategies to achieve maximum benefit from assigned, attached, apportioned or otherwise available reserve component forces, participating in boards, work groups, cells and advisory groups, contributing to the engagement and preservation of public support from constituent communities, contributing to the preservation of the operational depth of the command and finally, advising the commander on any other reserve component considerations
As a reserve affairs planner, the RA officer would continuously assess operational situations for reserve component employment opportunities in lieu of active component forces.  RA officers would participate as a member of the staff in the Military Decision Making Process through the preparation of reserve affairs estimates, participation in planning cells and the coordination of reserve affairs with others staffs and agencies.  They would:  1) advise the commander and staff on community and legislative impacts to reserve  component availability  2) develop reserve affairs courses of action, risk assessments, policies and programs  3) develop opportunities and foster increased interaction between AC and RC elements within the command  4) prepare for alerts of RC resources for upcoming mobilization  5) facilitate post-mobilization and pre-deployment training  6) ensure tracking of mobilized reserve component personnel, units and resources to maximize efficiency and optimize AC and RC integration and finally, prepare for and facilitate demobilization activities

Reserve Affairs officers would be tactically proficient because of their basic branch training and assignments.  This grounding in the tactical and operational Army is vital to success and credibility as staff officers.  Because their roles and duties require them to interact with a wide range of external and internal elements and staffs, RA officers would be required to maintain a keen situational awareness and sound grasp of Army and joint doctrine and warfighting knowledge throughout their careers.  Reserve Affairs processes occur throughout the levels of mission command as well as across the spectrum of peacetime and conflict in joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational contexts.  Because of this Reserve affairs officers would require security clearances and access to programs to perform their duties at the level to which they are assigned.  RA majors typically would be assigned at division and higher and should begin processing TS-SCI requests immediately upon receiving orders.  All operational functional area lieutenant colonel assignments would require TS-SCI access and officers selected for those positions should immediately process requests upon release of their respective functional grouping’s lieutenant colonel promotion list.

Reserve Affairs officers form a pool of highly qualified officers capable of supporting tactical, operational and strategic level requirements in peace and war.  Reserve affairs officers should be required to display a wide range of skills, knowledge and attributes.  These would enable them to:  develop RC training plans that compliment those of the AC, develop mobilization plans to provide total force solutions, possess a mastery of RC readiness metrics and leverage experience with mobilization processes and RC training strategies.  Unique attributes would have to include:  the ability to exhibit intellectual honesty with superiors and be unafraid to state and defend their convictions.  They might often be required to provide unwelcome or minority view options and persuade superiors to approve or accomplish challenging or seemingly unattractive courses of action.  A reserve affairs officer would also need to possess a deep respect for the principles of constitutional democracy.  No officer can effectively perform as an Army reserve affairs officer without a thorough knowledge of the United States Constitution, particularly those sections governing state and federal roles in defense and homeland security.  They must also realize they represent the Army and the commander first and have a specific mandate to assist Army leaders in applying the appropriate forces to the mission at hand and those planned for the future.  As any staff officer, the reserve affairs officer would be comfortable and confident working in the joint, combined, interagency and multinational (JIIM) environment alongside active and reserve members of other service components and agencies.

RA Officer Progression

Development of this uniquely skilled and experienced officer must not merely happen by chance.  The goal of the Reserve Affairs functional area is to provide the Army with a knowledgeable, experienced subject matter expert advisor to the commander and provide the individual officer a successful career within their respective functional category.  All reserve affairs officers would begin their careers in one of the Army’s accession branches and attend branch basic and advance courses.  Officers who have served successfully in company grade positions might seek designation to the Reserve Affairs functional area in their eighth year of service.  A small number of officers would be provided the opportunity for early functional designation at their fourth year of commissioned service following CCC.  Designation is based on needs of the Army, officer preference, military experience and in some cases, civil schooling.  Most officers wouldn’t receive a reserve affairs assignment until selection to major or upon completion of 36 months as a drilling reserve component member.  Attendance at a  Reserve Affairs Qualification Course should be mandatory for all RA officers prior to their first reserve affairs assignment regardless of rank.  This training would provide the baseline knowledge and skills required to perform entry-level reserve affairs officer duties.  It would also serve to align the perspective of officers of disparate backgrounds, with a common operating picture of their new role as a reserve affairs practitioner.

 Reserve affairs experience at the rank of captain should not necessarily be a requirement for promotion to major, but could enhance selection to Reserve Affairs during the Functional Board Designation process.  Reserve Affairs captain positions would be key developmental billets, but in a future Officer Personnel Management System (OPMS) would not be crucial to career progression in the functional area.  At this level, RA officers may still serve in command until completion of their tours but must be assigned to a reserve affairs position immediately upon availability.

 After selection to major, officers could be designated into one of the three OPMS Career Fields by a Functional Designation Board.  Reserve Affairs officers in the Maneuver, Fires & Effects functional category would serve primarily in operational reserve affairs assignments.  Reserve affairs majors should aggressively seek key assignments in which they are the principal staff officer for reserve affairs.  Other qualifying jobs could include nominative assignments to headquarters, DoD and joint staffs.  Majors who complete any developmental training and have served successfully for at least 24 months in a Reserve Affairs assignment could be considered qualified for promotion in the functional area.  They would compete against other officers in the MF&E, Operational Support (OS) and Force Sustainment (FS) functional categories for promotion to lieutenant colonel.  Majors who successfully serve as principal advisor to tactical or unit level commanders would be highly sought after for future senior leadership and staff positions at the highest levels of the reserve affairs enterprise.

Officers selected for lieutenant colonel from within the reserve affairs functional area should also seek assignments of greater responsibility as primary reserve affairs officer in operational units.  RA lieutenant colonels would generally be assigned to senior staff positions, where they could fully use their knowledge of the total force and their functional area.  Reserve Affairs officers who demonstrate high potential would also be assigned to flag-officer level commands and nominative positions on headquarters, DoD and joint staffs and would be encouraged to seek Reserve Affairs assignments within joint commands to gain the joint and combined command exposure and experience.

At any level of reserve affairs, an ideal officer development milestone should be a
Graduate  degree in a discipline exceptionally relevant to reserve affairs.  Business Administration, Public Administration/Affairs or Law would provide solid educational foundations for the reserve affairs officers with the added dimension of organizational management and constitutional law.  In addition, a graduate degree would encourage the additional dimension of critical thinking and quantitative analysis necessary to successfully operate in the complex environment of reserve affairs.  Finally, in pursuit of developing the exceptional characteristics of an ideal reserve affairs officer, I would propose reserve affairs officers be enabled through a comprehensive continuum of service, to serve alternatively in active and reserve statuses.  This would allow them to maintain situational awareness of inactive duty service and latent developments in reserve affairs.

RA Officer Assignments
Assignments provide the most important developmental preparation of a reserve affairs officer.  Reserve affairs assignments should last 36 months.  Tours could be longer in areas with a high concentration of RA positions.  OCONUS locations would be most sustainable if commensurate with tour lengths specific to the region.

The Reserve Affairs officers should not be considered functional area qualified as lieutenant colonels until they have served 48 cumulative months as a reserve affairs officer.  Key developmental assignments would include:  battalion S3/XO/SPO in an inactive duty status, Readiness or Mobilization branch and/or Division Chief at division or higher, Sustainment command staff in an inactive duty status, State/Joint command staff in an inactive duty status, Battalion command, Brigade XO/DCO, Sustainment command staff in an inactive duty status and State/Joint command staff in an inactive duty status.  All reserve affairs officers should have served a minimum of 18 months time in field grade operational or equivalent assignments, preferably as a primary reserve affairs advisor prior to consideration for promotion to colonel.  The least desirable aspect of the reserve affairs officer career field I propose is likely be that reserve affairs officers function primarily to inform the AC/RC integration process before and after mobilization/deployment.  For this reason, operational commanders may opt for reserve affairs officers to remain at home station in order to sustain contact with RC elements’ communities and employers or facilitate demobilization activities.  Despite this possibility, reserve affairs officers would be required to remain personally and professionally ready to deploy worldwide at anytime.
Reserve Affairs colonels should complete resident or non-resident Senior Service College.  As the senior practitioners of their functional area, they serve primarily on joint, ACOM, ASCC or HQDA staffs.  Key assignments for colonels would include combatant commands and ACOM or ASCC reserve affairs positions, director of mobilization or readiness for a 3-star flag officer command, state area HQ, HQDA, ASCC,  JCS or DoD staffs.  Other key assignments could include reserve affairs advisor positions on the staff of state and federal elected representatives and presidential cabinet agencies.
As outlined in the model above, reserve affairs officers must pursue an aggressive self-development program.  Membership in a relevant professional organization is strongly encouraged.  Professional reading and research is key to maintaining strategic and tactical skills and knowledge.  Reserve affairs officers must maintain currency with doctrinal developments, legislative policies and procedures as well as overall U.S. political, diplomatic, economic and military strategies.  Most importantly, all reserve affairs officers must be intimately familiar with the challenges and unique characteristics of reserve component service in order to provide for an integrated, resource-informed effective total force.  There is no panacea for accomplishing all the benefits mentioned previously in one, Service-specific administrative realignment.  But as the sequester proves, we won’t get anywhere without a changed perspective and the leverage of our total force.

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