Army Reserve needs skilled soldiers to support major combat

The Army Reserve is looking to direct commissions and better technology to find the right fit for soldiers who’ll serve in the Reserve.

Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of the Army Reserve, wants the service to have its own data-centric approach to identifying individuals who may offer the Army a longer commitment if they can do that job in the Reserve.

The active Army met its recruiting mission this past fiscal year for the first time in two years, bringing 55,000 new soldiers into the ranks. Next year’s goal is 61,000 new troops, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth announced Monday.

The Guard plans to add 1,000 soldiers to its end strength mission annually from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2029, said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, Army National Guard director, at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference Tuesday. If successful, that will bring Guard end strength up from its current 325,000 soldiers to 329,000 soldiers over the next five years.

Meanwhile, as the Reserve aims to improve recruiting and retention, it is also seeking out more direct commissions for civilians with critical skills. The Reserve holds much of the strategic capacity that the Army is going to lean on should it face large-scale combat.

Some of those positions, such as medical doctors, chaplains, experts in artificial intelligence or big data and machine learning, fit niche but crucial roles for the service as it supports the active force’s global mission.

The command’s personnel experts have been looking at ways to speed up the commissioning process for potential soldiers with such skills, said Brig. Gen. Kelly Dickerson, Army Reserve deputy chief of staff for strategic operations.

Much of that is simply filling gaps.

“What Army schools do they need?” Dickerson noted. Once those areas are covered, a direct commission soldier can plug right into a Reserve unit and start contributing.

Those specialties, whether from civilian experience or through Army training, are necessary for the Reserve to achieve its mission of providing the bulk of major combat operations support to the active duty Army.

Nearly 100% of the Army’s theater opening capability, from bulk fuel to theater engineers and theater tactical signal brigades, reside in the Reserve, Harter said.

Between 70% and 80% of the Army’s medical, water purification and interrogation capabilities are also in the Reserve.

For reservists, this means that if the active Army is going somewhere in bulk, they are as well.

“You go, we go,” Harter said.

An active duty counterpart on the same AUSA panel Tuesday shared the perspective from his end.

“We want all of that, because we don’t have all of that forward,” Maj. Gen. Gavin Gardner, commander of 8th Theater Sustainment Command, said of Reserve-specific capabilities.

And the reservists that do join or stay in uniform will have more chances to work with the active duty.

One example comes from U.S. Army Pacific, which is where Gardner’s unit, the 8th TSC, resides. Nearly 4,000 Army reservists deployed this past fiscal year across 26 exercises in the Pacific supporting active units, he said.

That figure is expected to rise to 5,000 forward-deployed reservists in 25 Pacific exercises this fiscal year, Gardner said.