U.S. Army Reserve Command

Abstract

Abstract : Representing over 70 percent of the United States Army's medical capabilities, units of the United States Army Reserve (USAR) provide critical support on the battlefield. The American soldier and the American people entrust Army Reserve medical units to provide the best possible medical care to the sick and wounded. High quality medical care is a morale building factor to soldiers and may be the intangible element that bond soldiers to succeed in the face of adversity and danger. The National Military Strategy of the United States requires that the US Army Reserve medical units be prepared to provide support for two near simultaneous Major Theater Wars (MTW). Maintaining ready Army Reserve medical units that are capable of deploying in support of wartime missions and current operations continues to be a challenge. To meet this challenge Army Reserve leadership must understand the interlocking relationship among recruiting, retention, training and mission accomplishment. While Army Reserve medical units prepare to be ready for two MTWs, they continue to receive additional Military Operations Other than War (MOOTW) missions that further strains resources and personnel. As Army Reserve medical units move into the 21st century, it will be imperative that the USAR leadership develop innovative ways and means to meet the medical unit readiness issues. This paper examines the history of Army Reserve's readiness issues. It argues that the essential issue for defining the success of Army Reserve medical units is in how they are organized in peacetime, and that this will define how they perform the broad range of missions in the 21st Century. It proposes an organizational structure that reorganizes medical units from the current structure and places them into a single United States Army Reserve Medical Command (USARMC).