Army Reserve striving to boost recruiting, retention
November 5, 2004
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 5, 2004) - The Army Reserve Command sent out notices last week to about 400 of its full-time Soldiers transferring them to recruiting duty.
In some cases, these Active-Guard-Reserve or AGR Soldiers were ordered to report Nov. 7 to a recruiting course at Fort Jackson, S.C.
"I know this is a challenge to units and the individuals involved, but this is a `must not lose' mission," said Brig. Gen. James A. Kelley, chief of staff for the Army Reserve Command, in a note to the field about units losing their full-time support.
The recruiting mission for Army Reserve Soldiers is up from 21,000 this past year to 22,175 recruits for fiscal year 2005, and USARC officials said the Recruiting Command will need the added support to meet the objective.
Lt. Gen. James Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve and USARC commander, told Reserve Soldiers at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting Oct. 26 that the Global War on Terror requires a new way of doing business.
"Sometimes we lose the sense of energy and urgency associated with war," Helmly said, adding that all should expect "profound change" in the Army Reserve.
"We've got to learn to put some orderliness to a bumper car track," Helmly said, "because we're not going back to a world of symmetry."
Helmly said Army Reserve Soldiers historically expected to work in secure rear areas, but said that every convoy in Iraq today is a potential combat operation.
Sixty-two Army Reserve Soldiers have given their lives in the Global War on Terror, Helmly said. A total of 120,091 have been mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001, with 51, 245 mobilized Soldiers still on active duty.
Army Reserve Soldiers must be an integral part of the joint expeditionary Army, Helmly said. In fact, he said the word "reservist" should not be used in the future.
"Calling yourself a reservist is like calling someone in the active component an 'activist,'" said Command Sgt. Maj. Michelle Jones to a group of NCOs at an earlier AUSA session the same day.
"Everything is changing," said Jones, "(We're undergoing) the biggest transformation in Army Reserve history in 50 years."
"We need more types of smaller units," Jones said, "and we need every Soldier in those units to be able to deploy."
In order to enhance the readiness of units, soon trainees will no longer become members of Army Reserve units until they are qualified in their military occupational specialty and thus able to deploy. Jones said a special account for trainees, transients, holdees and those in schools will be established, known as TTHS.
The active component has long had a TTHS account for trainees and medical holdovers.
Until now, however, Army Reserve Soldiers attending initial-entry training have been on their unit's roster, holding down a slot, even though they were not available to be deployed.
A pilot program for TTHS is being tested by the 81st Regional Readiness Command, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. An Army Reserve official said plans call for TTHS to be implemented across the Army Reserve next year.
The Army Reserve is working 23 initiatives to boost retention and recruiting, Helmly said. Some will need Congressional approval, he added, but most would just be changes to Army policy.
One benefit just approved by Congress was enhanced Tricare medical benefits for reserve-component Soldiers and their families. The 2005 Defense Authorization Act, signed Oct. 28, makes RC families eligible for medical care up to 90 days before a deployment. Upon return, RC Soldiers are now eligible for one year of Tricare Standard coverage for each 90 days of active-duty service. RC Soldiers pay 28 percent of the cost and agree to stay in a Reserve unit while they are covered.
For more information on the RC Tricare benefits see "Act Authorizes, Extends, Adds Medical Benefits for Guard, Reserve."
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