The Army Reserve’s mission, under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, is to provide trained, equipped, and ready Soldiers and cohesive units to meet the global requirements across the full spectrum of operations. The Army Reserve is a key element in The Army multi-component unit force, training with Active and National Guard units to ensure all three components work as a fully integrated team.
Here are 7 Neat Facts about the Army Reserves:
1. The Army Reserve runs on 5.3% of the Army’s Overall Budget: That’s right! Only 5.3% of the Army’s budget supports one of the most cost-effective way to resource specialized capabilities.
2. Army Reserves make up only 20% of the Army’s organized units: This, to me, was shocking. In fact, with that 20%, the Army Reserves provides almost half of the Army’s combat support and roughly 25% of the Army’s mobilization capability.
3. Army Reserves contributes 100% to the Army’s:
- Chemical Units
- Internment Units
- JAG Units
- Medical Groups
- Railway Units
- Training & Exercise Divisions
- Water Supply Units
4. Army Reserves contribute 2/3 of the Army’s:
- Civil Affairs Units
- Psyops Units
- Transportation Units
- Motor Battalions
- Chemical Battalions
- Hospitals
- Theater Signal Commands
5. Army Reserves contribute almost 50% of the Army’s:
- Petro Battalions
- Adjutant General Corps
- Terminal Units
- Public Affairs Units
6. The Army Reserves has over 1 Million Soldiers in Boots at any time. Again, this was shocking as I always believed that the National Guard had the biggest Soldier strength.
7. The Army Reserves Major Commands Consist of:
- 108th TNG CMD
- 11th AVN CMD
- 1st MSC
- 200th MP CMD
- 335th SIG CMD
- 377th TSC
- 3rd MDSC
- 412th TEC
- 416th TEC
- 63rd RSC
- 75 MCTD
- 76th ORC
- 79th SSC
- 7th CSC
- 807th MDSC
- 80th TNG CMD
- 81st RSC
- 84th TNG CMD
- 85th SPT CMD
- 87th SPT CMD
- 88th RSC
- 99th RSC
- 9th MSC
- ARCD
- ARMEDCOM
- ARRTC
- 1st Army DIV EAST
- MIRC
- USACAPOC
- USAR LEGAL CMD
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the Army Reserves has a very important mission. Without these “Citizen Soldiers” our Active Duty Army would have a tough time accomplishing its mission. Which one of these facts do you find most interesting? Leave a comment and let us know.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Suggested Resources
Our Books & Training Courses
Recommended Reading List
I didn’t know that there are “1 million Army Reservists in boots” at any one time.
That’s quite a bit of manpower.
This whole article was shocking to me! Clearly, the Army reserves does not receive enough credit for the immense amount of work they do! I always believed they were more of a support staff, in case of emergencies. I had no clue they had so many soldiers in boots at a time. Also, how amazing that they only use 20% of the army’s budgets. Without the support, active duty would obviously not be able to do their job to the capacity that they do now. Thanks for sharing the facts! I learned so much!
Yeah, they definitely have a very important role.
I found it amazing that the Army Reserves has so many soldiers in boots and provides so much to the Army’s specialized departments, yet takes up such a small percentage of the Army’s overall budget. As a civilian, I had always thought that the Army Reserves was a much small organization that we only tapped in the event of an emergency. I am learning so much from your site.
After 9/11 the U.S. learned that its reserve component force mix, which dated from the Cold War, was no longer appropriate. Particularly acute were needs for psyops and civil affairs units, and Reserve units of this type saw numerous and frequent call-ups. The force realignment has been gradual, and affected the National Guard as well; for example, the Cold War model placed a substantial number of field artillery units in the Guard–appropriate for a massive conventional ground war but not much else. Restructuring the force has been a combined effort across the active component, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard.
I do wish that the ARNG had civil affairs, it is right up my alley. That is the one thing I am envious of the Reserves for…
I do agree that things need to be restructured.
I found it fascinating that the Army Reserves contributes 100% of several of the Army’s major units, especially JAG and its Chemical Unit, and has 1 million “soldiers in boots” at any given moment. Like you, I did not realize it was bigger than the National Guard. When I was with Emergency Preparedness for the Healthcare System in Wyoming, I went through CBRN and HAZMAT training and exercises where we worked side-by-side with the National Guard, but I did not realize the Army Reserves were the primary. Interesting. I’m going to have to go back and read up on the relationship and what that would look like in an actual fullscale emergency. I’m not so sure something wasn’t left out…
Think of the Army Reserves as training and combat service support, whereas the National Guard has combat, combat support and combat service support.