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DOD plans to 'rebalance' missions

03/06/03 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- The events of Sept. 11, 2001, did more than change how Americans view the world; the terrorist attacks altered how the U.S. military protects the country.

As of March 5, more than 176,500 members of the reserve components have been mobilized to support the war on terrorism at home and abroad, according to Department of Defense officials. This buildup of forces is placing a strain not only on reservists, families and employers but also on the country's ability to maintain so many people on active duty for extended periods.

To help ease the burden, DOD is laying the foundation to "rebalance" the workload shared between the reserve and active-duty components.

Rebalancing is at the forefront because DOD cut the active force 34 percent and the reserve components 25 percent after the Gulf War, according to Thomas Hall, assistant defense secretary for reserve affairs.

"We structured the forces to face what we thought the world would look like," Hall said. "Then suddenly, 9/11 (happened) and the enemy was at the doorstep, and the world was never going to be (the same)."

One mission likely to come under scrutiny is security forces in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command. After Sept. 11, most activated reservists were allowed to get off active duty after serving one year. However, thousands of Guard and Reserve security forces were extended into a second year, and some of them are just getting off active duty as 9,000 Army National Guard soldiers begin providing security at Air Force installations.

Hall is aware of the strain repeated call-ups place on reservists, and he knows many critical specialties are concentrated in the reserve components, which cause the same units to be called up repeatedly, he said.

"We cannot have a situation where we call you, as a guardsman or reservist, every year for three or four years," Hall said. "You won't stay in the Guard and Reserve, and employers might worry about employing you."

No date has been set for the rebalancing to go into effect. The plans must be reviewed, proposed and approved, as with any defense proposal.

Officials in the directorate of plans and programs at the command's headquarters here say they have not received any instructions from the Air Force or DOD to review current programs.

"Force rebalancing, like all other DOD proposals, will be dependent on budget submissions, legislative changes and policy adoption," said Lt. Col. Bob Stone, assistant for public services in the office of the assistant secretary of defense. "Think of it as a process and that the concept is now moving toward budget and legislative initiatives." (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)