Reservists juggle heavier load since 9/11

Reservists juggle heavier load since 9/11

By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday May 17, 2009 9:09:58 EDT

Never before has the military used the “total” all-volunteer force on the kind of sustained basis that is the norm these days.

And the reserve component plays a critical role supporting wartime operations abroad.

National Guardsmen and reservists make up more than a quarter of the 1.9 million service members who have deployed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“The reserve component — the National Guard and federal reserve — has saved the country from a draft,” said retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, executive director of the Reserve Officers Association.

Reserve forces have been called to action throughout the nation’s history, from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf War. Indeed, the Guard — the “organized militia” of the states — prides itself on being the nation’s oldest military component and the only one with a dual state-federal mission.

But the high pace of activations today has spawned newfound appreciation for the contributions of the country’s 1.1 million “part-time” warriors, advocates say.

“Before 9/11, there was much more of a ‘first-team, second-team’ attitude, and a question of doubt — can these guardsmen, can these reserves, really perform at the level that we need them to?” McCarthy said. “That doubt has largely been put to rest.”
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Reservists juggle heavier load since 9/11