Seapower/Reserves

Sea Power, Jan 2002 by Prina, L Edgar

Naval Reserve she Naval Reserve Force (NRF) has been called upon once again to augment the U.S. Navy in time of war. This time it's for the war against terrorism.

A few days after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001, and slammed a fuel-laden jet airliner into the Pentagon that same tragic morning, President Bush proclaimed a state of national emergency and authorized the secretary of defense to call up the ready reserves of the armed forces.

By year's end, more than 5,400 Naval Reservists had received orders, as individuals, to report to active duty-- for law-enforcement and base-security missions primarily, but also for medical, supply, intelligence, and other specialized duties.

Vice Adm. John B. Totushek, commander of the NRF, told his staff, and the overall NRF community, that terrorism is a cancer that could not be excised with one operation.

"It will be surgical, but we will have to go deep and it will take time," he said. "We are in the early stages of mobilization. Individuals, primarily in the force-- protection ratings, have been called up. Units will come later, as the need arises."

As an integral part of "One Navy," the NRF has maintained readiness for immediate augmentation of the activeduty Navy. Its key component, the Selected Reserve (SELRES), drills throughout the year and has a strength of just over 71,000-17,000 officers and 54,000 enlisted personnel.

In addition, there are more than 15,000 full-time support Reservists (TARs) on active duty. The Individual Ready Reserve totals 94,000 personnel, the Standby Reserve 7,200, and the Retired Reserve 462,000.

The NRF has two major operational components-the Naval Surface Reserve Force (NSRF) and the Naval Air Reserve Force (NARF). The commanders of these components administer their forces in conjunction with the active-force commanders under whom the Reservists drill and to whom they would immediately report upon mobilization.

The current seagoing assets of the NSRF consist of the following ships: eight guided-missile frigates (FFGs); five Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships (MCMs); 10 Osprey-class coastal minehunter ships (MHCs); one mine countermeasures control ship (USS Inchon); and one landing ship tank (LST).

There are no submarines assigned to the NRF, but more than 4,000 Reservists are on active duty with the fleet submarine forces. They are assigned to tenders, maintenance facilities and drydocks, squadron and group staffs, and fleet submarine control centers. They also serve on various NATO command and control staffs.

The Naval Air Reserve Force (NARF) consists of one carrier air wing of eight squadrons, one seven-squadron maritime patrol wing, one fleet logistics support wing of 14 squadrons, and one helicopter wing of five squadrons. The NARF flies 50 F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, eight E-2C Hawkeye early warning radar planes; four EA-6B Prowlers for tactical electronic warfare; 45 P-3C Orion land-based maritime patrol aircraft; 26 C-9 Skytrain medium-lift transport aircraft; 20 C-130 Hercules transport aircraft; 23 F-5 Tigers (used for air-to-air adversary training); and five types of helicopters.

Collectively, the ships, aircraft, weapons, and specialty forces of the NRF make it the fourth largest sea power in the world, and one of the most lethal.

Two of the Naval Reserve Force's highest funding priorities remain the same as they have been for several years: the upgrading of aircraft (particularly the F-18) and of informationtechnology (IT) systems.

A number of the Navy's most critical missions can be accomplished only by Naval Reserve surface and air assets. For example, the NRF provides: all of the Navy's fleet support airlift (people and hardware); all of the service's inshore undersea warfare assets (people and hardware); and 100 percent of its "adversary" flight hours (in which the F5s simulate enemy aircraft in "combat" exercises against fleet aviators preparing for deployment).

In addition, the NRF provides 99 percent of the Navy's control of shipping assets (personnel); 93 percent of all its cargo-handling capabilities (people and hardware); 100 percent of its embarked naval advisory teams; 53 percent of its intelligence-mission capabilities (people); and 40 percent of all of the Navy's fleet hospital resources (people and facilities).

Among the most essential combat-- support units in the Naval Reserve Force are four fleet hospitals, four EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) mobile units, and nine harbor defense commands.

The NRF and the active-duty Navy traditionally share two major manpower concerns: recruitment and retention. The NRF has not attained SELRES enlisted end strength for the last two years. The overall goal for the end of fiscal year 2001 was 86,000 personnel (including TARs).

But with the war on terrorism still in its early stages, recruitment may trend upward, perhaps substantially, as it already did for the active forces in the first three months of the war against terrorism. President Bush presumably could solve the retention problem by ordering extended tours of duty "for the duration." Here, too, the problem might solve itself. Early indicators suggested (as of late December) not only that more personnel are volunteering for recall but also are willing to stay longer on active duty. Time will tell.