Rapid advancements in communications, . nucleonics, missilery and the utilization of speed itself, have all served to compress time. Today the time available for mobilization of reserve forces in the event of a national emergency has been compressed to such a degree that the usefulness of the reserve forces of the Armed Services, as we knew them in past wars, is highly questionable.
Critics who have written off the value of the reserves in modern warfare fail, for the most part, to realize the progress which has been made in modernizing at least a portion of our reserves to meet current conditions. They use examples of the reserve forces as they existed several years ago in reaching pessimistic conclusions as to reserve force effectiveness. Fortunately, some reserve forces today are being organized and trained according to requirements dictated by current situations, weapons and equipment. Their experience indicates that, if the Armed Forces are expected to utilize their reserve personnel in modern warfare, there is possibly only one solution, and a difficult one—that of immediate response of a trained, ready reserve. The Navy thinks it has accomplished this with its new Selected Reserve
Just as the Minuteman, circa 1775, worked with a musket at his side, ready to join forces against the Redcoats, the Navy’s new Selected Reservist is ready and alert to respond immediately if the need arises. These modern day citizen-sailors are only a phone call or a radio or television announcement away from active duty. The Selected Reserve concept is a bold departure from the past, and the legion of original skeptics is rapidly dwindling. The Navy was the first to initiate this concept and other services are now rallying to duplicate it. Defense Department officials and members of Congress have spoken kind words about the Navy’s ambitious Selected Reserve program. Now, in its third year of existence, this precocious child is fast maturing.
What is this new team the Navy is fielding and what kind of game is it playing? The team is the same and they are playing the same kind of game. Only the rules have been changed. The Selected Reserve is actually a part of the Ready Reserve, an organization in existence for many years. It is an elite corps of dedicated inactive Naval Reservists who take pride in their streamlined concept of immediate response. Responsiveness is the keynote of all Selected Reserve administration and training procedures.
By directive, the mission of the Selected Reserve reads: “.. . to maintain Selected Reserve Forces in a state of training, readiness, and availability for employment in the active forces as may be directed by the Chief of Naval Operations in order to increase the capabilities of the active forces upon the outbreak of hostilities or declaration of an emergency.”
Essentially, this is the first time in history that the Naval Reserve has had a mission. For the first time, Naval Reserve ships, aircraft and personnel appear prominently in D-Day Force Tables.
In Congressional Hearings on 14 January 1960, the Chief of Naval Operations outlined the specific purpose for the Selected Reserve to be:
1. Increase the responsiveness of the Naval Reserve.
2. Provide specific augmentation that will be urgently needed upon the outbreak of war.
3. Provide fully operational ships and aircraft squadrons to join the fleet on the first day ofi hostilities, and
4. Make optimum use of available resources by concentrating training on those reservists who are urgently needed in the early days of the hostilities.
The evolution of the modern day Selected Reserve from George Washington’s “citizen- sailors” was not an orderly, smooth progression of laws and events. Thomas Jefferson tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation establishing state naval militias. Other attempts were made subsequently. The first reserve bill was passed in 1915 and modified twice before the Reserve Act of 1938 was signed. This Act literally carried the Navy through World War II and Korea. More than three-and-a- half million reservists served during World War II. At the height of the war, only 10 per cent of the Navy’s personnel were “regulars.”
The Universal Military Training and Service Act (Draft Law) was passed in 1951, and the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952 brought about the 8-year reserve enlistments. The significance of the 8-year enlistment was that no active duty was required to the enlistees except two weeks of active-duty-for- training each year. The personnel represented a large, but untrained, Reserve Force.
In his State of the Union address to the Eighty-fourth Congress in January 1955, President Eisenhower referred to the Reserve Forces as a “mess” and made several recommendations to solve the problem and develop an “adequate reserve.” Later that year, Congress passed the Reserve Forces Act which amended the 1952 Act and the UMT of 1951 and authorized changes in the reserve concept—the constitution for the Selected Reserve. After long, concentrated study and preparation, the Chief of Naval Operations established the Selected Reserve within the Ready Reserve by directive signed on 13 February 1958. Emphasis was to be on a mobile, ready force. The Selected Reserve concept is undoubtedly the most significant thing that has happened to the Naval Reserve throughout its entire history. It is now an actual force- in-being, considered as an integral part of the Navy in the event of hostilities.
How has the Navy built in this responsiveness? For all practical purposes, the Selected Reservists are already mobilized. They carry their mobilization orders at all times. These orders are wallet-sized cards which indicate where the individual is to go and to whom he is to report. In some cases, the card tells him exactly what job he will have. These orders also give the individual a transportation priority which will expedite his arrival.
What is expected of him once the Selected Reservist reports aboard? The Selected Reservist is, by-and-large, a trained specialist. His time spent in his training center and two weeks of active-duty-for-training afloat is devoted to practical and classroom training in his primary job. He must be able to perform his duties immediately when reporting aboard.
There are two categories within the Selected Reserve. Category A is the D-Day Augmentation Forces in a condition of material and training readiness which will permit their immediate employment in the event of a mobilization, either full or partial. All Naval Reserve personnel in drill pay units are in Category A forces, and carry pre-cut mobilization orders for automatic execution.
Category B includes the Phased Augmentation Forces which can be placed in active service in a minimum of time in event of mobilization. Category B personnel are also in the Ready Reserve and are pre-selected but not pre-ordered as are Category A personnel.
Category A forces are organized into five components. Perhaps the most dramatic and the boldest concept of Reserve responsiveness is the Antisubmarine Warfare Component which has a mission to provide trained forces capable of deploying immediately at full wartime complement. There were until recently 40 destroyer and escort ship types participating in the ASW Component, plus 65 ASW aviation squadrons. Aircraft in these squadrons are the P2V Neptune, S2F Tracker, and helicopters. All of the destroyers and 18 of the aircraft squadrons have been called to active duty and are now demonstrating their responsiveness.
The ships are classified as either Group I or Group II, being “In Commission” or “In Service” respectively. The destroyers—all in Group I—each have a regular Navy crew of nine officers and 124 enlisted men. In addition to operating one weekend a month and a two-week period during the year with their own Reserve crews, they are used extensively to train other Reservists who are on their two weeks’ active-duty-for-training. The Reserve crews bring the ships to full wartime complement.
Most of the DE’s are in Group II and are manned by two active duty officers and 39 enlisted men. These ships “belong” primarily to their reserve crews which cruise one weekend a month and two weeks during the year.
The crews of the Selected Reserve ships and air squadrons live within the immediate proximity of the home port or air station so that they are available for immediate call.
The ASW Component is an excellent example of how the Selected Reserve is geared to the needs of the Navy. The Soviet Union has the largest submarine fleet ever assembled. The active fleet ASW forces will need immediate assistance in the event of hostilities.
One of the distinct advantages of the ASW Component is that the ships and aircraft are active. They are being used. And in the event of national emergency, they can immediately join the active fleet. Otherwise, the ships and aircraft would be in a mothball status, which is an expensive proposition, both in de-activating and activating them. In addition, that all-important commodity—time—is involved in activating ships and training personnel.
Selected Reservists are proud of the ASW Component. It is the most interesting and appealing of the Selected Reserve components. It is making favorable progress. Co-ordinated air, surface, and antisubmarine exercises are becoming more frequent in the areas where these reserve units exist.
Morale is high. Personnel are in reserve crews primarily because they like to go to sea and just plain like ships. Competition is sharp and crews like nothing better than occasionally to twist the tail of their counterparts in the Fleet. In the summer of 1960, two Group I destroyers requested the “full treatment” for their Operational Readiness Inspection and Refresher Training Battle Problem instead of the “watered down” version usually scheduled for Reserve ships. Both destroyers were graded “Good,” a feat not too common with regular fleet destroyers. Group II DE’s spend six days in Refresher Training and some have been graded “Satisfactory” in ORI and Battle Problems, using the same standards as applied to Fleet DE’s which use the 6-week schedule. Such performances are the product of hard work and enthusiasm.
The Mine Warfare Component is the newest of the afloat elements of the Selected Reserve. There are presently 11 minesweepers programmed for this component and dispersed along the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. There are high expectations for this program. It is appealing to “small boat” civilian sailors and youngsters looking for adventure. This component, too, is based on need. It can be remembered that, as recently as the invasion of Wonsan, Korea, in 1950, the Amphibious Task Force was delayed from making an assault landing for five days because of a heavy North Korean mining campaign. This prompted Rear Admiral Allen E. Smith, then Commander, Task Force 95, to send the following classic message to the Chief of Naval Operations:
“WE HAVE LOST COMMAND OF THE SEA TO A NATION WITHOUT A NAVY, USING WEAPONS THAT WERE OBSOLETE IN WORLD WAR I AND LAID BY VESSELS THAT WERE UTILIZED AT THE TIME OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST.”
This, of course, was in reference to old-type, moored contact mines being laid by sampans.
The Soviet Union is reported to be “mine conscious,” and almost all her ships are equipped to lay mines.
Naval Reservists have played prominent roles in mine counter-measure forces in the past. During World War II, the Navy employed more than 800 minesweepers. Ninety- six per cent of the personnel in those ships Were Reservists.
Atlantic and Pacific Fleet Mine Forces do not have sufficient ships to counter an appreciable mining threat on our coasts and meet global commitments. Hence, the Mine Warfare Component. These Selected Reservists might become the “iron men in wooden ships” and demonstrate to other components the meaning of the Mine Force motto: “Where the Fleet goes, we have been.”
The next three components are centralized around the 450-odd training centers and facilities scattered throughout the country. The largest component in the Selected Reserve—65 per cent of the personnel—is the Active Fleet Augmentation Component, which provides trained personnel for immediate active duty to raise the manning level.
Ships in the fleet are presently operating at their peacetime allowance, which is roughly 80 per cent of what is needed to fight the ship on a continuing basis. The Fleet Augmentation Component represents the extra 20 per cent which is available immediately to bring the Fleet to full strength.
The individuals drill, for the most part, one night a week for 48 weeks a year, plus two weeks’ active-duty-for-training each year. Some units, air and surface, have found it more convenient to drill one weekend a month.
Activities within this component include: Air Wing staffs; VF, VA, VP, HS, HU Squadrons (without aircraft); VR, HU Squadrons (with aircraft); Air Intelligence Reserve Training Units; Enlisted Training Units (Air); Surface Divisions; Fleet Divisions; Training Divisions (Surface); Submarine Divisions; Electronics Divisions, and Hospital Corps Divisions.
The Fleet Support Activities Component provides personnel for immediate active duty for urgently-needed, but limited, augmentation of various activities supporting the Fleet. These include: Naval Air Reserve Maintenance Units (NARMU’s—formerly FASRON’s); Advance Base Command Divisions; Amphibious Beach Group Divisions; Construction Battalion Divisions; Harbor Defense Divisions; Military Sea Transportation Service Divisions; Ship Activation, Maintenance and Repair Divisions, and Ship’s Supply Officer Divisions.
The Shore Establishment Component provides personnel for immediate active duty for urgently-needed, but limited, augmentation of activities of the shore establishment. It comprises Bureau of Naval Weapons Air Reserve Training Units (BARTU’s); Communications Divisions; Intelligence Divisions; Marine Terminal Management Divisions; Mobilization Team Divisions; Naval Security Group Divisions; Selective Service Divisions; and Telecommunications Censorship Divisions.
An interesting division within this component is the Mobilization Team. As teams, these personnel study and train in procedures for mobilizing the rest of the Naval Reserve, including Selected Reserve Category B personnel. They respond immediately to the highly essential task of activating all Reservists, a job which should last only a few months. Their task completed, they will then “mobilize” themselves and be assigned to other duties in the fleet or shore establishment.
Responsibility for readiness and training of the Selected Reserve (other than air) rests with Commander Naval Reserve Training Command, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. He reports directly to the Chief of Naval Operations. He has military command of all Reserve personnel, facilities and ships which he exercises through the cognizant Naval District Commandants. In some respects, this is the largest field command in the Navy, with some 87 ships and approximately 450 training activities in all 50 states. Within the Commander’s staff is the National Naval Reserve Inspection Board. The Commander and his Inspection Board travel extensively, inspecting and supervising training and administration of Reservists. It is considered to have accomplished much in standardizing methods and effectiveness of training.
The Chief of Naval Air Reserve Training, with headquarters at NAS, Glenview, Illinois, is responsible for the Selected Reserve air branch, the well-known “Weekend Warriors.” He reports to Chief of Naval Air Training at Pensacola.
The Selected Reserve is an all-volunteer Organization. Drilling reservists are only bound by a sense of duty and dedication. Some just love the Navy; others find it to be an interesting and engrossing hobby. Officers in responsible positions well know that the work involved is much more than can be accomplished in a 3-hour period each week or one weekend a month. In most cases, it is a soul-searching, time-consuming job, but a rewarding one.
A good percentage of officers in the Selected Reserve billets are World War II and Korean veterans. They are being slowly replaced by NROTC, ROC, OCS and NAVCAD graduates who are returning to civilian life after a tour of active duty. There is also a sprinkling of Naval Academy graduates who have decided in favor of a civilian career. It is considered imperative by all concerned that more young officers returning to civilian life must be persuaded to affiliate with a Selected Reserve unit. Their experience is needed and the organization must grow with them. World War II veterans are beginning to be phased out, having achieved 20 years of service and becoming eligible for Reserve retirement.
Records indicate an abundance of young Reserve officers in large industrial areas and nearby training centers have a list of applications for affiliation. This is not true in isolated areas where talents of college-educated men cannot be readily utilized.
Enlisted billets are filled by men from four categories: Regular Navy veterans who have had four or more years of active duty; 8-year Reserve enlistees who have not had any active duty other than two weeks a year; the Reservist who has returned to civilian life after two years of active duty on a 6-year Reserve enlistment (commonly referred to as the “Two-by-Six”), and the Two-by-Six recruit who drills at the training center before going to the Fleet for his two years of active duty.
A part of the public information program recently initiated by Commander, Naval Reserve Training Command, is that of educating and reminding the young men of America concerning their military obligations to help alleviate some of their lethargy in fulfilling these responsibilities. It has been found, through interviews conducted on the extensive travels of the Commander and his staff, that youngsters of today are just as patriotic as in the past. However, they are reluctant to understand that, in order to make a contribution to their country in event of national emergency, they must be trained to perform their job now. Youngsters must be taught that if World War III should occur, we will not have the 2-year “warm-up” period we experienced before the two previous great wars.
Each year, the Selected Reserve sends 20,000 or more enlisted personnel to the Fleet for two years’ active duty. These are mostly the Two-by-Six enlistees. (It should be noted that there have been more than 75,000 officer and enlisted Reservists on active duty over the past few years and this average will increase in the years to come.) These youngsters are allowed to enlist when they are 17 years old and still in high school. Normally, upon graduation from high school, they go to active duty in the Fleet. Every effort is made to channel the individuals into one of the approved Selected Reserve ratings and have the man report aboard ship as a qualified striker. If this fails to occur, the man is often shunted off into another rating for which there is no allowance at his hometown training center or air station.
In a letter dated 20 April 1960 to Commanding Officers of Fleet ships, the Chief of Naval Operations described the Selected Reserve program and urged co-operation and understanding when Reservists cruise in their ships. Commanding Officers were asked to pay particular attention to the Two-by-Six Reservist when he reports aboard for two years’ active duty; to guide as many of these youngsters as possible into the Selected Reserve rating; to insure training and advancement opportunities for them while in their ships and to encourage continued active participation in the Naval Reserve when they return home.
In addition, Commanding Officers were asked to insure proper and effective training of reservists who come aboard for two weeks’ active-duty-for-training. Of significance is the following quotation from the CNO letter:
How well you train the Reservists that come to you in peace time will determine how well they will serve you in war time. All personnel of our fleet ships must bear in mind that the Reservists they are helping to train today may relieve them after a long mid-watch when the chips are down in war.
There is a personnel ceiling of 252,000 put on the Selected Reserve; 135,000 in the responsive Category A components. There are approximately 450,000 other Reservists in various degrees of readiness to back up the Selected Reserve. Within this manpower pool is a wealth of experience and know-how. Whether or not they will be called to follow their Selected Reserve brothers, is a question which can only be answered when the situation arises. The Navy has geared its mobilization procedures to include those individuals if requirements dictate.
There are many problems confronting officers charged with the administration and training of the Naval Reserve, but a study of the over-all situation reveals that the Naval Reserve is much more effective today than at any time in the past.
The primary problems confronting the Selected Reserve, other than those connected with training, are what are referred to as “Four R Problem Areas.” The four R’s include Recruiting, Re-affiliation, Retention and Re-enlistment.
Recruiting—The input into training centers and air stations must be above the Fleet requirements of 20,000 per year to insure an adequate number of personnel to train and to allow for any slippage numberwise. The Selected Reserve surface program is the only one in the Armed Forces which has not embraced the 6-month-active, 8-year-enlistment-program. Even the Naval Air Reserve has a 6-month program in effect on a trial basis. The Navy considers that it would be folly to attempt to train a man in basic seamanship in less than two years. Services employing 6-month programs are concerned about the readiness of their personnel and, oddly enough, are faced with identical recruiting problems. Even though a 6-month program may appear to facilitate recruiting, it is considered that there is nothing to be gained at this time and much to be lost by resorting to it.
Re-affiliation—This represents the Two-by- Six Reservist returning from two years’ active duty to reaffiliate with his “old unit.” Approximately 10 per cent of Two-by-Six personnel ship into the regular Navy. Of those returning home, about 55 per cent re-affiliate. The return of these 2-year trainees to the Selected Reserve is the life-blood of the program. It is essential that they continue their training and advance in rate to become the leading petty officers in tomorrow’s Selected Reserve. There are some regular Navy enlisted men who have completed four years of duty and return home to affiliate with the Selected Reserve. They are a most welcome addition to the program.
Retention—The Selected Reserve, being an all volunteer organization, must develop training and leadership programs to maintain the duty obligation, he does not have to affiliate with a Selected Reserve unit. He can fulfill his remaining years of obligation by other means or by merely being assigned to the Ready Reserve in a non-drilling capacity. Retention is perhaps the most challenging factor in the entire Selected Reserve program, because it entails extraordinary leadership and execution of an interesting, productive training program.
Re-enlistment—This has not been too great a problem as yet. A large number of 8-year obligors are re-enlisting in the Selected Reserve. The Two-by-Six program was started in 1955, so 1961 has been circled as the year to concentrate on re-enlisting this group. A good percentage of the Two-by-Sixes must be retained to insure the strength of the Selected Reserve program.
Vice Admiral H. T. Deutermann, U. S. Navy, formerly Commander Naval Reserve Training Command, once commented, “Training is all-important, for to be a responsive organization, the Selected Reserve must be a ready one, and when dealing in readiness, one deals in time and the time is always right now. To ‘gun-deck’ training in the face of the current world situation, would be an invitation to disaster. The dedicated Selected Reservists are under constant supervision to determine that artificialities do not occur and that they can respond when needed.” During the lowest ebb in the morale and fighting spirit of the 1776 Continental Army, Thomas Paine wrote:
These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the thanks of man and woman.
The Navy’s Selected Reservists are proving themselves capable of “standing it now.”