Today's U.S. Army Reserve:
A Ready Force
Role Within The Army
Stats at a Glance
A Ready Force
Army Reserve Soldiers form the backbone of our nation's military, applying specialized-skill rich services and civilian work experience to America's national security mission.
- The Army Reserve provides a highly skilled, flexible force that supports the Army when and where it is needed with:
- Combat Support
- Combat Service Support
- Peacekeeping
- Nation-building
- Civil Support
- Since 1908, Army Reserve Soldiers have trained and served with excellence through World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Iraq War and most recently, the Global War on Terrorism.
- Since 1990, the Army Reserve has been deployed to support every American military operation, including peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.
- Army Reserve Soldiers-or citizen soldiers-bring specialized civilian-acquired capabilities to the operational force. Some civilian careers include medical professional, lawyer, teacher, community planner, elected official, business owner, coach, engineer, law enforcement officer, civil affairs specialist and student.
- Up to half of the Soldiers who join the Army Reserve each year have prior Active Duty experience in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines.
The Army Reserve is composed of three groups of Soldiers-the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) and the Retired Reserve.
- Women are eligible for the vast majority of the jobs in the Army Reserve, and almost one quarter of Army Reserve Soldiers are women.
- Nearly half of Army Reserve Soldiers are between 17 and 29 years of age, and 49 percent are between 30 and 49 years of age.
Role Within The Army
- The Army cannot function effectively without the Army Reserve, which provides about half of the Army's combat support and a quarter of the Army's mobilization base expansion capability.
- At 5.3 percent of the Army's budget, the Army Reserve provides a cost-effective solution to the Army's need for specialized capabilities.
- Two-thirds of the Army's medical capabilities come from the Army Reserve.
- 96 percent of all civil affairs forces in the military reside in the Army and 93 percent of those are in the Army Reserve.
- 66 percent of all psychological operations forces in the military are in the Army Reserve.
- The Army Reserve contributes to the Army's total force by providing...
- 100 percent of the Army's:
- Internment Resettlement Brigades
- Judge Advocate General Units (Legal Support Organizations)
- Medical Groups
- Railway Units
- Training & Exercise Divisions
- More than two-thirds of the Army's:
- Civil Affairs Units
- Psychological Operations Units
- Combat Support Hospitals
- Medical Brigades
- Theater Signal Commands
- Expeditionary Sustainment Commands
- Internment Resettlement Battalions
- Petroleum Battalions
- Petroleum Groups
- Military History Units
- Nearly half of the Army's:
- Movement Control Battalions
- Chemical Brigades
- Chemical Battalions
- Adjutants General Units (Personnel Service Delivery Redesign)
- Transportation Command
- Terminal Battalions
- Public Affairs Units
- Army Bands
- Finance Units
- Chaplains
- Water Purification Companies
- 160: The number of doctors who started the Army Reserve in 1908.
- More than 26,000: The total number of Army Reserve Soldiers serving on active duty today in support of current operations.
- More than 19,000: The number of Army Reserve Soldiers currently serving abroad.
- 7,000: The number of Army Reserve Soldiers supporting homeland defense missions at training centers, mobilization sites and medical centers.
- Approximately 170,000: The number of Army Reserve Soldiers mobilized in support of the Global War on Terrorism since 9/11.
- 98: The percent of Army Reserve units that have provided mobilized Soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and 18 other countries.
- Approximately 42,000: The number of Army Reserve Soldiers who have served on multiple deployments.
- More than 140: The number of Army Reserve Soldiers who have lost their lives during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- 100th: The Army Reserve Anniversary being commemorated across America on April 23rd, 2008 - marking a century of service by America's citizen-soldiers.
Additional information about the Army Reserve's 100th Anniversary can be found on-line at www.armyreserve.army.mil.
