If the Navy has been selling the Total Force concept recently, then why have the midshipmen at the Naval Academy gotten only a peek at the professionalism and the capabilities of the Naval and Marine Corps Reserves?
I had been flying in a P-3B from Glenview Naval Air Station (NAS) outside of Chicago to Willow Grove NAS in Pennsylvania. Being a midshipman at the U. S. Naval Academy, I received a lot of attention from the reserve crew. As the flight progressed, I was invited into the cockpit. Since I had had some flight training, the crew was soon explaining the ins and outs of flying a multi-engine propeller airplane. By the time we approached Willow Grove NAS, darkness had fallen. The illuminated runway drew closer, and we prepared to enter the landing pattern. The pilot passed me an extra set of headphones so I could listen to the control tower.
I was excited to witness a landing from the cockpit. But excitement soon turned into apprehension. The control tower repetitively transmitted, "You are 20 feet below flight path, please come up. You are 20 feet below flight path, please come up." My eyes riveted on the runway. The aircraft seemed to be diving into it. The runway lights grew brighter, and that same whining voice kept repeating, "You are 20 feet below flight, please come up."
I was thinking, "I am going to watch myself die. Here I am in a cockpit that this reserve pilot is going to bury into the runway. Why was I flying with a reserve pilot? Was I stupid? This guy probably hasn't flown a mission in a year."
But before I knew it, the nose pulled up smoothly, and we set down easily on the runway. "Perfect," I thought.
I asked the crew how much flight time they saw. To my surprise, I learned that the pilots flew a variety of aircraft every month, and both worked for commercial airlines. I did not know these guys were as good as any active-duty P-3 pilot. I was somewhat disgusted that my ignorance of the quality of the reservist commands cost me much undue anxiety.
I found that I was not alone, however. Many midshipmen at the Naval Academy have a limited knowledge of the reserve forces. A midshipman swears upon entering the Naval Academy that he will "well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which he is about to enter." What are these duties? They are simply to progress morally, mentally, and physically, to develop in mind and character. Ignorance contradicts the oath of office and the mission of the Academy; a lack of knowledge of the Naval Reserve symbolized a grave deficiency in the professional competency of the brigade of midshipmen.
With increased joint maneuvers between active and reserve forces, and an updating and expanding of the Naval Reserve, the need to understand who and what the Naval Reserve is has become increasingly more important.
Within the walls of the Naval Academy, the reserve force is hardly mentioned. It is when a midshipman gets into the fleet that he encounters reservists. Under these circumstances, a midshipman's ignorance is exposed. For example, during the summer of 1983, I was traveling on space available flights from Andrews Air Force Base in Washington. While I was waiting for a flight, I began talking with a Marine Corps Reserve officer, who also happened to be a Naval Academy graduate. At first, I was not aware that he was in the reserves; we were both absorbed in trading Academy stories. I was immediately struck by his dedication to the service and love of the Marine Corps. Finally, he mentioned that he was a reserve officer, and I was somewhat surprised that a man so dedicated to the Marine Corps would have left active duty. I was beginning to realize that the reserve forces are very much a part of the Total Force picture.
In subsequent conversations during our trip, I was amazed to learn that he continued to work out and maintain many of the tough daily disciplines that are characteristic of the Marines. I knew he was ready to support our country in arms at a moment's notice. Throughout this experience, I realized how ignorant I was of the reserve forces. In fact, at one point, I was embarrassed by my ignorance. The Marine officer asked whether the reserve commitment out of the Academy had changed since his graduation day. My only response was that I had no idea what my reserve commitment was!
An informal poll of approximately 100 Academy midshipmen revealed that they were only vaguely aware that they have a reserve commitment. Also, once the midshipmen were reminded they did have a reserve commitment, they had many guesses as to how long it was. Few knew that they owe one year in the Standby Reserve (S-1) following the fifth year of active duty. I felt less alone after finding that other midshipmen were equally ignorant. Unfortunately, this did little to lessen my embarrassment at not knowing some of the basics of my career.
Little exposure to the Naval and Marine Corps Reserves is offered at the Academy. The Naval Academy formerly devoted one lesson of a Plebe's Weekly Professional Book to the reserves. The scope of the lesson outlined the different categories of reserve officers and mentioned the mission and headquarters of the Naval Reserve. Today, even this one lesson no longer appears in the book.
Recently, a lesson about the reserves was added to a plebe's first-semester leadership course. The lesson emphasizes the different groups of the reserve force. The extra lesson also lists the material force percentages of the reserve force.
This single lesson is a weak substitute for a genuine understanding of the reserves. Perhaps a handful of midshipmen will be able to distinguish the difference between Ready, Selected, Standby, and Retired Reserves. But besides this and the little information to supplement the text, this is all the formal instruction about the reserves that a midshipman receives in four years at the Academy. Why is this so? For one thing, the Leadership Department consists entirely of active-duty line officers and a small portion of civilians, none of whom are in the reserves. There is not a single primary source of reserve information. Reserve activities are only infrequently discussed.
A midshipman can learn about the reserve through interaction with the Selected Reserve officers stationed at the Academy. Unfortunately, few midshipmen realize that there are more than 20 reserve officers at the Academy. Despite the small number, their influence as professors can be strongly felt.
For example, I took a professional writing course that was taught by a reserve officer. My first reaction upon learning that the professor was a reservist was that military protocol would go out the window. I also thought that, at best, he would be a marginal example of an officer. I was mistaken. He proved to be demanding of military protocol and professional behavior. He led the curriculum so that all our discussions focused on the pertinent issues of the Navy. He set an outstanding example of how an officer should pursue knowledge.
For example, after we had discussed gender bias in fitness reports for a week, the female officers at the Academy happened to be giving a brief on this very subject. He attended that brief. He was, in fact, the only male officer at the Academy to attend. Somehow, I never expected a reserve officer to take his job as seriously as this professional did. He always had our papers graded and returned within the next class period. Never before had I been in a writing class where this has happened. These are the types of examples midshipmen need to see from the reserve force.
The Assistant Academic Dean for Faculty and Finance, the Chairman of the Chemistry Department, and the Associate Chairman of English are all reserve officers. Reserves serve as officers in charge of yard patrol craft during the summer. They also participate in the offshore yawl professional development cruises. Unfortunately, few midshipmen are aware of any of this. The reserve officers are also active in extracurricular activities, such as the Masqueraders and the Churchill Society. The positive influence reserve officers have had at the Academy is significant when compared with their small numbers.
The brigade of midshipmen should know more about the reserve. It is unprofessional to be ignorant about any aspect of the Navy. In wartime, every ship in the Navy will receive a reserve contingent. The Naval Reserve makes up a large portion of the Navy wartime forces, some of the most significant being 86% of ocean minesweeping and 14% of tactical carrier air wings. These forces are significant contributors to the Navy's wartime effort.
A midshipman should also know about the reserves because 40% of the midshipmen will one day be reserve officers—some for a short time, others as career reservists. But the predominant reason a midshipman should learn about the reserve force is that, no matter what his specialty, he will one day work with reserve officers. In recent reserve maneuvers, a Dallas-based unit conducted operations with the Sixth Fleet. Fighter squadrons VF-201 and VF-202, with only two-and-a-half weeks' notice, flew several missions from the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) off the coast of Sicily, just east and west of Sigonella. In addition, all the gear was carried and all the refueling done by reserve squadrons VR-59 and VAK-208, respectively.
The surface reserves have responded with equal success. For instance, recently about 235 naval reservists reported to the New Jersey (BB-62), stationed off the coast of Lebanon, to give her crew a well-deserved Christmas holiday break. The reservists stepped into regular fleet operations on short notice and successfully got the job done.
A midshipman could be taught about the Naval Reserve in many ways. The first involves increased exposure to reservists. Reservists at the Naval Academy are employed only in nonmilitary departments, such as English, history, chemistry, and economics. But Selected Reserve officers have not been employed as instructors in the academic departments under professional development, that is, leadership, naval law, and navigation. Because reservists are absent from the Professional Development Department, their leadership influence is indirect, and their impact as role models is severely weakened. If both reserve and active-duty line officers were included in the Professional Development Department, midshipmen would learn more about the reserve forces than they ever could from reading good articles on the subject. The reservists could tell their sea stories and talk about what they know best—reserve activities.
The Naval Academy administration seems to believe that reserve officers in the Professional Development Department would be casual role models at best. This may have been true in the past, but with increased emphasis on the reserve force, the professional caliber of its officers is equal to the best of the active-duty officers. The administration also seems to fear that the reserve role model will be of one who has left the Navy. Granted, this is true, but it probably will not have a negative effect. A strong military bearing and example can mean even more from one who has left the service than from one remaining in the service. The Marine officer mentioned previously demonstrates this point well.
Midshipmen at the Academy can also learn about the reserves from briefs on reserve activities. All the active force communities—surface, submarine, aviation, Marine Corps, and restricted line—hold briefs from 1900-2000 on weekday nights a couple of times a week. Why not the reserve force? Let some outstanding reservist give one reserve brief each semester, and the midshipmen's awareness of the reserve will grow.
Similarly, reserve officers should be brought to speak at the Forrestal Lectures—a series of lectures given about once a month each academic year by prominent people in the country. Many reservists fit into this category, yet they have rarely spoken at the lectures.
Midshipmen can also learn about the reserves during their second-class summer. During this summer, midshipmen spend three to four days in Norfolk, Virginia, learning about the surface community. The Naval Reserve Force (NRF) is obtaining many front-line frigates. Increase the number of days the midshipmen spend in Norfolk by one and put them on board an NRF ship. Some of these reserve frigates could also visit the Academy during a weekend the reserve component is on board.
Finally, a midshipmen can be exposed to the NRF by bringing Selected Reserve officers to the Academy as company officers. There is not a more direct or effective way to solve the problem. Because a company officer's influence is so great, the officers must be of exceptional quality. These reserve officers are becoming increasingly easier to identify as a result of recent joint maneuvers. Although the brigade is divided into 36 companies, only one reserve officer would be necessary to influence the brigade. Company officers stand watches over the entire brigade; word quickly flies among the midshipmen as to the caliber and standing of each officer.
It is often said that one must know his enemy to defeat him. If this is true, how much more true is it that one must know his comrades? The Department of the Navy has strived to incorporate the Total Force concept into the Navy. Its success is yielding returns every day. Unfortunately, the Naval Academy was not included in the concept. Midshipmen have had little exposure to the reserve. Fortunately, it is not too late to integrate the Naval Reserve into the Naval Academy and complete the Total Force picture.
Midshipman Francis is a first-class midshipman studying mechanical engineering at the Naval Academy. He plans to join the submarine force. During the summer of 1984, he was an assistant division officer at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes Naval Base, and he was commanding officer of an Academy yard patrol craft.