Are active duty and national guard units interchangeable? Troops?

Having served in the Marines and the National Guard and Active Army, the active army needs to pull its collective head out of its ass and see that the National Guard and Reserve are an asset not a hindrance to their mission.

I'm in the Guard and I've been Regular Army.&nbsp; I agree that Reserve Components frequently aren't interchangeable with our active forces.&nbsp; We're a tremendous augmentation for them.&nbsp; But we can't replace them in total without a quality train-up.&nbsp; To say that we can is a case of ego, denial, or both.&nbsp; We're very good at a lot of stuff.&nbsp; But we are part timers.&nbsp; This is the only job I know of in which part timers angrily state that they're "just as capable".&nbsp; Just because you aren't "just as capable" doesn't mean that you're not of value.&nbsp; If we were just as capable, the USGOV would save a lot of money by making the whole DoD a reserve force.&nbsp; To get pissed at the CSA over this begs the question "don't you have something more important to worry about?".&nbsp; We have strengths and limitations.&nbsp; Everybody has limitations.&nbsp; Especially when you don't do this stuff constantly.<br>

SFC (Join to see)

I was an active duty officer for almost 30 years and have very strong opinion about the Reserve Components and their value to the Army.

My feelings about the Reserve Components (RC) took a dramatic change of course during Operation Desert Storm. Prior to that, the only experience I had with the RC was as a young captain/company commander at Ft Benning, Georgia, in the mid-70’s, and that experience was anything but good. However, my experience with the RC during Desert Storm and thereafter has been nothing but positive and I have become a big supporter of the RC.

At Ft. Benning in the mid-70’s, I was tasked with evaluating several Army National Guard MP companies during their Annual Training (AT). Almost without exception, the companies did not want to go to the field for tactical training and were only interested in performing garrison MP law enforcement duties and partying. I insisted they follow their training plan, which was mostly tactical training, and they openly resisted me. What they did accomplish in the field was unacceptable and that is how I evaluated them. I “failed” three of the four companies I evaluated and gave the other one a barely passing evaluation. That rankled a few feathers with the folks at the Reserve Components Training Division and I was asked to change the ratings, which I refused to do. It went all the way to the CG, USAIC & Ft Benning and I stuck to my guns. Needless to say, I had a bad taste in my mouth about the RC for years thereafter.

Flash forward to Desert Shield/Desert Storm. As a battalion commander, I had four active component companies and six National Guard companies (one each from Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia and Georgia and two from Puerto Rico). From the very beginning I saw how much the RC units had improved from my last experience with them. The soldiers were well trained, well equipped, professional and had outstanding NCO and officer leadership (with the exception of one company, which I quickly rectified). Although some of my sister battalion commanders did not do so, I assigned my RC companies the same missions and areas of responsibility as I did my active duty companies. They never let me down (OK.. one did, once … hence the leadership change mentioned above).

Another distinct advantage I found with having RC units assigned, which is a real plus when you are deployed, is that, besides being good soldiers, NCOs and officers, most of them had another profession that they brought with them. I had lawyers and judges, barbers and beauticians, heavy equipment operators, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, brick masons, social workers, corrections specialists, policemen, accountants, etc., etc…. What a great asset!!! There was nothing that I had to do that I did not have a ready-made cadre of people who could accomplish it; regardless of what it was. I became a big believer in and supporter of the Reserve Components and have told folks over the years that I hoped to always have them available if I had to deploy units again.

Following Desert Storm, I told my brother, who, at the time, was the two-star commander of a US Army Reserve Regional Support Command (RSC), about my change of heart. He asked me to write an article about it, which I did, and it was published in the Army Reserve magazine. I also gave several briefings about my experience, as I had an opportunity.

When I retired and became an executive in a large corporation, I continued my support of the RC by becoming involved in the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) and was very vocal about the change I had seen over the years and the value of such a dedicated and selfless cadre of people who make up the RC.

The Reserve Components are critical to the success of our military. We need to ensure they get the funding, the equipment, and the training they need to stay at an acceptable level and not revert back to what I saw in the early to mid-70’s.