Reservists now play central, not backup, role

Thousands of US National Guard and Reserve troops mobilized after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks now face up to two full years of involuntary duty – the longest since the Vietnam War – underscoring the central role of the reservists in a US military sharply downsized during the 1990s.

Yet the extended use of so-called "weekend warriors" in the open-ended fight against terrorism is placing major strains on their families, incomes, and employers across the country. Doubts over whether the Reserve can meet the need for increased security and military operations in the long run has led to calls by some experts and officials for increasing the active-duty ranks – a plan the Bush administration has resisted as too costly.

"There is no question that the active force has become quite dependent on the Reserves, not just for major conflicts, but for performing normal peacetime missions," says Robert Goldich, a national defense specialist at the Congressional Research Service here. The 1.2 million Guard and Reserve personnel now make up nearly half of all US military forces, compared with 1.4 million men and women on active duty.

"If we find ourselves conducting military operations of various intensity over the years – excluding Iraq – we may find it very difficult to provide the manpower we need just by calling up [the] Reserves," Mr. Goldich says. A US military invasion of Iraq would likely require the call-up of more than 100,000 additional Reserve and Guard members, he says.

One chief concern is that overtaxed reservists may burn out and leave the armed services completely, say defense and military officials. Currently 75,000 National Guard and Reserve troops are performing involuntary active duty. Of those, at least 14,000 from the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, including nearly 6,000 security personnel, face a mandatory stint of as long as two years.

"There is a possibility that a higher number than normal will leave the services at the first opportunity," says Col. Jim Martin, director of personnel and training for the Air National Guard. "We are watching the attrition rate closely" and offering reenlistment bonuses.

Mobilized guardsmen and reservists often make important sacrifices in the form of pay cuts and lost career opportunities, as well as less time spent with their families.

Ordered into active duty last November, Staff Sgt. John Hunter of the Air National Guard took a 40 percent pay cut from his civilian job and can no longer save for retirement.

"The timing couldn't have been worse for me," says Sergeant Hunter, who was running a successful contracting business from his seaside ranch home in Long Branch, N.J. when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks drastically altered his life. Forced to abandon several lucrative projects, Hunter faces an additional year of active duty along with about 120 other members of the 108th Security Forces Squadron stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

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