Since the onset of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the reserve has been “utilitized as an operational force,” but the Army mandates that its “base budgets still be built around a strategic force,” Stultz told reporters at a breakfast in Washington.
Reserve budgets are constructed to give units 39 days of training and drill time each year. But often more training is needed for the kinds of missions the organization’s forces have been asked to perform in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places in recent years, Stultz said.
Senior Army and military leaders “want the Reserve to show up trained and ready,” Stultz said. “We can do that,” but additional training days — and the funds for them — might be required, he added.
Ground units might need up to 14 additional training days, while aviation units might require even more, Stultz said.
It is unclear where the Army might find the funds to pay for more Reserve training. The Pentagon is already working to stave off additional weapons program cuts and troop reductions."
NATO 3.0
The Atlantic Alliance resets for the 21st Century.
