European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse By George c. Wilson Washington Post the nations military reserves now being activated Are an untested Force whose performance in the coming months will help determine the kind of armed forces the United states will build for a Post cold War world defense manpower specialists Pentagon has restructured the military to put More Reliance on Reserve and National guard units to flesh out the standing military in Case of major mobilizations. Quot its a real test for the whole future of the reserves Quot said Martin Binkin a senior fellow at the Brookings institution who has specialized in military manpower issues. How the Reserve units perform will go a Long Way toward answering Quot whether this unprecedented dependence on Reserve forces is a reasonable option for protecting our National Active duty military leaders especially those within the army and Navy have Long been sceptical of the ability of part time warriors to perform adequately when they Are sent either to the Battlefield or in a support role behind it. They Point to National guard outfits that fought poorly in Korea and army reservists who sued the government rather than go to Vietnam. Quot our service is literally choking on our Reserve components Quot maj. Gen. Robert e. Wagner wrote Gen. Carl e. Vuono now army chief of staff decrying investing so much of the military budget in the National guard a run by state governors in peacetime a and the army Reserve units which train about 38 Days a year. Quot our Reserve components Are not combat ready particularly National guard combat units Quot Wagner complained in his 1986 letter to Vuono then head of the army a training and doctrine come. Quot a round out is not working Quot said Wagner then commander of the army Roth Cadet comd., he assailed the practice of making the third of an army divisions three brigades a Reserve outfit. Quot these forces will not be prepared to go to War in i a a a s crisis in she i a amp. T5t i Al a it 1 Lif we a 1 l. Synchronization with their affiliated Active duty Wagner is but one of Many who Challenge the so called total Force concept to put so much military capability in the reserves that the Active duty forces cannot go to War without them. Gen. Bernard w. Rogers former supreme Allied commander Europe the general accounting office and congressional budget office Are among others who have warned that shortcomings in the Reserve units make it questionable whether front line forces could stay in the fight. Congress Over the last decade has insisted that the Pentagon invest heavily in Reserve forces earmarking billions of dollars to Purchase first line planes Tan Sand guns for the National guard for example. The prevailing argument has been that reserves provide the most bang for the Buck if they Are equipped with modern weaponry. Before the United states ended the draft in 1973 a switching to an Alt Volunteer army Navy air Force and Marine corps a the president could sent a Strong signal to the world by mobilizing the reserves. To achieve the same Impact on the civilian sector today manpower experts said president Bush would have to reactivate the draft a a step he is not expected to take. Quot we always seem to be fighting the last War Quot said Lawrence j. Korb former Pentagon manpower chief in agreeing that Bush Scall up of reservists will not have the political Impact of past mobilizations when the draft was in effect. The Pentagon has not identified which units will comprise the 46,703 reservists who will be activated As units not individually. Most Are expected to play a supporting role not go out on front line patrols on the saudi desert. Doctors lawyers in civil affairs units cargo handlers truck Drivers mechanics and technicians who know How to run water desalinization plants Are among the most sought after reservists defense officials said. Part of the Pentagon a War plan for the persian Gulf Calls for the army a 24th inf div Mech to go to the v trouble zone with two Active duty brigades and a third Quot round out Quot brigade of reservists. But rather than rely on the reservists Many army leaders have pushed for rounding out the 24th with a brigade from the 101 is airborne div air assault according to Pentagon officials. Quot this is a vote of no Confidence in the round out concept Quot said Binkin. If reserves Are not going to be used for front line duty in this Call up and the army no longer has to dedicate existing Active duty divisions to the soviet threat to Europe he contended the restructuring of the military for the Post cold War period might be Best accomplished through shifting around within the Active duty Force. This would mean a reduced role for the reserves in the next Century a a trend Congress almost certainly will fight a both for philosophical and economic reasons. The guard and reserves approximate Tho Long cherished concept of citizen Soldier and Are far cheaper to maintain during peacetime. If past Reserve Call ups Are a guide Bush might encounter such problems As reservists and their families going on television to complain the wage earner was forced to leave Home Only to sit Idle at a military base or reservists going to court to contend their Call up was illegal or that they were not trained for their the Vietnam War for example 91 reservists stationed at fort Meade md., filed suit declaring they were too poorly trained by the army to serve in Vietnam that suit went to supreme court before it was rejected. A re x i Jyrl a s a re vy>1 / a a a. -. A l >2 .1 s. I u b a �/kessrvis�?~5 a the word by Peter Applebome new York times after More than a week of uncertainty thousands of military reservists throughout the United states began hearing Friday whether they were among the More than. 40,000 ordered to leave their jobs and Homes and report for Active duty. The Pentagon announced thursday the majority of. The reservists including physicians cargo handlers truck Drivers and flight Crews would be sent to the Middle East and Europe while others would fill support positions in the United states. The units will be called up gradually with the full complement to be in place by oct. 1. But a few reservists particularly doctors say they have already been notified and been ordered to report for duty. And some have already been sent to saudi Arabia where the United states is massing troops to counter iraqi forces in Kuwait. Robin Pomerantz 46, a Vietnam Veteran who is an infantry Captain in the army reserves and a diver and in civilian life is a lieutenant with the Dade county fire department in Florida said he had received orders to report to fort Bragg in North Carolina on saturday. His wife of three weeks an air Force surgeon had been sent to Abou Dahabi aug. 10, he said less than a month after she went on a regular tour of Active duty. Quot she has almost no military training Quot he said. Quot she does t know How to use a sidearm an m 16, she s totally incapable of defending in Houston or. John Haynes an emergency room physician at Hermann Hospital and a major in the army reserves said he was notified to Call an 800 Telephone number for his assignment. Haynes said he was Given the Oprien of where Heidi a chd Cihi or. E Quot a Wabl die w in lbs to i a u i waiting Tor the Catl reservists in Rockville my. Would like to serve. He said he wanted to stay in Texas and that to his Surprise the army agreed. He asked Iha he not be ordered to report until mid september because of a medical conference he. Wanted to attend another condition that he said the army agreed to. Quot at this t Ime they gave me a Choice which me frankly Quot he said. In Marietta a Calls to James Earl Hale superintendent of a detention Center for probation violators were met with the following message Quot in a sorry. He a in saudi Hale a Reserve technical sergeant with the 94lh consolidated aircraft maintenance so at Dobbins fab outside Atlanta left a week ago for saudi Arabia after receiving an unexpected Call from his Squadron. Quot wed been kidding him about learning How to ride camels and All that and All of a sudden it was a reality Quot said Hales Secretary Barbara Adams. Quot to was just in Shock about it Quot but for every one who knows that he has been called there Are thousands of other part time soldiers a doctors and prison guards sales clerks and pilots dentists and police officers a waiting for an order that most thought would never come a Call up to military action. In communities across the United states they Are grappling with issues As mundane As How to pay the rent or where to keep the cats and As profound As drafting wills and getting col. Blynn Shideler a general surgeon in Monterey calif., is wondering if his practice can survive if he were called to spend months on Active duty. Willie c. Fair a Home improvement consultant for Sears Roebuck amp co.,. Said his worry about what would happen to his Home life was compounded by the chemical warfare masks and body gear he was unloading on weekends As a reservist. Quot the mechanical part of War does t Bolher Rue Quot he said. Quot but chemical a because it s an unknown a that bothers Quot a lot of people went in the reserves with the attitude they would make a few extra Bucks to help pay for the car payments or pay for a fishing boat Quot said Louis Bottoms an Atlanta letter earner and sergeant in the Georgia air National guard who specializes in Parachute repairs Quot not Many expected something like saturday August 25, 1ss0 the stars and stripes aaa Page 17
