By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Over the past week, Marine Gen. Peter Pace personally thanked thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for their service. Today he traveled to this German city to thank their spouses for the very real sacrifices they and their families make in the war on terror. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff began his remarks at Conn Barracks with a simple statement: "Thank you for your service to the country."
The post here has soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division deployed to Baghdad, and paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team deployed in Afghanistan. Both brigades will serve 15 months in combat.
Pace said the success of the soldiers is heavily dependent on the support the families give them.
"What I learned about families I learned most of all in my own kitchen," the general said. "When we deploy, you stay here and you pray we come home safe. You don't know when we're in trouble, therefore you worry every day.
"When we do come home safe, you stand in the background as we get our awards and you pretend you have nothing to do with it," he continued. "You had everything to do with it.
"When we get tired, you remind us of how important what we do is to you, to our families and to the nation. I've watched military families for 40 years. You serve this nation as well as anyone who has worn the uniform. I'm proud to stand before you and thank you for all you do to keep our nation free."
Pace said he owed them an explanation for why he recommended extending the deployment of the brigades from 12 months to 15. "If we had not extended your loved ones, they would be coming home much sooner than they are," he said.
The chairman traced the thinking that went into the decision. He said in January 2006, officials expected the number of U.S. brigades to drop from 15 to 10 by the end of the year. But in February, al Qaeda bombed the Golden Mosque in Samarra – a holy shrine to the Shiia branch of Islam.
Sectarian violence broke out and many Iraqis died in the unrest. By July 2006, it became apparent that the number of brigades would have to remain constant or even go up, Pace said.
Studies in September through November 2006 led to the decision to surge five brigade combat teams into Baghdad and its suburbs. He said the plan called for increasing the number of troops, along with the international community increasing economic development and the Iraqis making political progress.
"As we thought through how we were going to do that, we started to see that a brigade would be extended by 45 days, and another by 73 days and another by such and such amount of time," he said. "We were on a system where, about 90 days before folks were due to come home, we would then tell that unit that they were going to come home on time, or they would be extended X number of days.
"That just jerked people around," he continued. "It also did not let us plan long-term for the units coming in after that."
The right thing to do was to extend all active duty Army units going into the country to 15-month tours, he said. "So when you change the calendar on the refrigerator door, you did it once instead of every other week," Pace told the spouses. "You could have some kind of stability and knowledge of what was going to happen."
Their sacrifice has not been in vain, Pace told the spouses. The added troops have made a big difference on the battlefields of Iraq.
"We were walking the streets of Ramadi three days ago," he said. "Three months ago if you had told me I was going to be walking in the streets of Ramadi without fear of being shot at, I'd have told you that you were nuts."
In a question and answer session, Pace stressed the 15-month limit. One young wife wanted to know if the military was going to change its mind and extend the soldiers yet again.
"No more than 15 months. No more than 15 months," Pace stressed. "I'm dedicated to that; (Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates) is dedicated to that. Everybody in the Army leadership is dedicated to that, and we are focused on that."
The spouses were pleased with Pace's visit and remarks. "I'm surprised the general came here," said Clara Gaskins. "We're not exactly a crossroads of the world. He answered many of the questions that I hear people ask. We are all very concerned about the deployment length. Fifteen months is a long time. Some of the young families have babies and they'll be toddlers when the spouses come home."
Another spouse said she is willing to make the sacrifices, but wants to know if it is worth it. "We've lost many soldiers lately," Michelle Garner said. "We want to know if they are making a difference.(Pace) put that in perspective."
Pace said just having a chance to meet with the spouses was important to him.
"I told them that our families are as much a part of the defense of the United States as any of us who have the privilege of wearing the uniform," he said.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Some TRICARE Beneficiary Data Put At Risk
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Data for nearly 600,000 households enrolled in TRICARE stored on a government-contractor's unprotected computer server could have been exposed to hackers, defense officials announced today. "We take this potential data compromise very seriously," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director, TRICARE Management Activity. "The risk has been identified as low, but as a result of this unfortunate event, the Department of Defense is ensuring that steps are taken to keep affected beneficiaries informed."
Beneficiaries' names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, birth dates and some health information was stored on a computer server that was not using a firewall and did not have adequate password protection, TRICARE Management Activity officials said.
Officials disabled the server in May, and it is no longer used. Forensic analysis of the server found no evidence that any beneficiary information was compromised, said Leslie Shaffer, assistant privacy officer at the activity.
Science Applications International Corp. maintained the data in Shalimar, Fla., and used it to process several military health care contracts, including those for customers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The server allowed for File Transfer Protocol transmissions of the data to its contract customers.
This is the first time SAIC has violated Defense Department computer security procedures, Shaffer said.
The TRICARE security breach was discovered after contract customers reported non-secure transmissions of data. SAIC is investigating and some employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome, a company release stated.
"I can assure you that the individuals responsible for managing that server were not following standard operating procedures. DoD has very strict guidance on how we protect sensitive data," Shaffer said.
Since May, SAIC has been processing the data, matching it with contact information so the beneficiaries could be notified.
"We're taking precautions to do everything we can within DoD, Health Affairs and the TRICARE Management Activity to ensure that our beneficiaries are notified," Shaffer said. "We have been working closely with SAIC to ensure all our procedures are being followed."
DoD and SAIC are mailing letters this week to beneficiaries whose data was put at risk. An incident response center has been setup to field customer's toll-free calls and information is available through a Website for those who suspect identity theft, or who want to protect themselves from identity theft.
Beneficiaries who were put at risk are also being offered a free, one-year subscription to an identity restoration service, she said.
"I think anyone who receives a letter should take the protections that are necessary to ensure their data has not been compromised," she said. "Those numbers are available. I would recommend that the beneficiary use those numbers."
The incident response center can be reached toll free within the United States at 1-888-862-2680, or collect at 1-515-365-3550 from outside the United States.
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Data for nearly 600,000 households enrolled in TRICARE stored on a government-contractor's unprotected computer server could have been exposed to hackers, defense officials announced today. "We take this potential data compromise very seriously," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director, TRICARE Management Activity. "The risk has been identified as low, but as a result of this unfortunate event, the Department of Defense is ensuring that steps are taken to keep affected beneficiaries informed."
Beneficiaries' names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, birth dates and some health information was stored on a computer server that was not using a firewall and did not have adequate password protection, TRICARE Management Activity officials said.
Officials disabled the server in May, and it is no longer used. Forensic analysis of the server found no evidence that any beneficiary information was compromised, said Leslie Shaffer, assistant privacy officer at the activity.
Science Applications International Corp. maintained the data in Shalimar, Fla., and used it to process several military health care contracts, including those for customers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The server allowed for File Transfer Protocol transmissions of the data to its contract customers.
This is the first time SAIC has violated Defense Department computer security procedures, Shaffer said.
The TRICARE security breach was discovered after contract customers reported non-secure transmissions of data. SAIC is investigating and some employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome, a company release stated.
"I can assure you that the individuals responsible for managing that server were not following standard operating procedures. DoD has very strict guidance on how we protect sensitive data," Shaffer said.
Since May, SAIC has been processing the data, matching it with contact information so the beneficiaries could be notified.
"We're taking precautions to do everything we can within DoD, Health Affairs and the TRICARE Management Activity to ensure that our beneficiaries are notified," Shaffer said. "We have been working closely with SAIC to ensure all our procedures are being followed."
DoD and SAIC are mailing letters this week to beneficiaries whose data was put at risk. An incident response center has been setup to field customer's toll-free calls and information is available through a Website for those who suspect identity theft, or who want to protect themselves from identity theft.
Beneficiaries who were put at risk are also being offered a free, one-year subscription to an identity restoration service, she said.
"I think anyone who receives a letter should take the protections that are necessary to ensure their data has not been compromised," she said. "Those numbers are available. I would recommend that the beneficiary use those numbers."
The incident response center can be reached toll free within the United States at 1-888-862-2680, or collect at 1-515-365-3550 from outside the United States.
Servicemembers Benefit from Financial Management Programs, Official Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - The Defense Department is committed to helping servicemembers and their families become good personal finance managers, a senior official said yesterday in Hawaii. Most young people leave high school without any financial management education, David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at a National Association of Federal Credit Unions' meeting in Honolulu.
"As a result, our people tend to possess little experience in making the financial decisions that will impact their financial well-being and their financial future," Chu pointed out, noting that about 46 percent of military members are age 25 or younger.
As part of President Bush's February 2001 call to improve military quality of life, he said, the department developed a social compact designed to focus its commitment in caring for servicemember and family needs.
"This social compact includes personal finances as an integral part of the quality of life in the military, and seeks to support the families' needs by providing financial awareness, education, skill-building and counseling programs," he said.
Having good money management skills is especially important for young military families, he said, noting that 38 percent of servicemembers age 25 or younger are married. About 21 percent of these couples have children.
"We equate financial readiness with mission readiness," Chu said, pointing to the findings of a 2005 servicemember survey that rated finances to be more stress inducing than deployments, health concerns, life events and personal relationships. Only work and career concerns, he said, were rated as higher stressors in the survey.
The department established a financial readiness campaign in May 2003.
"Our simple goal is to establish a financial culture that instills and promotes good credit, regular savings, including savings for emergencies, retirement savings and participation in the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance program," Chu said.
The department promotes good money management practices through ongoing education programs delivered by the service branches to military members and their families, he said. Each year the defense department provides more than 12,000 financial education classes to more than 340,000 servicemembers and their spouses.
To enhance its financial awareness efforts, the department has partnered with more than 25 federal agencies and non-profit organizations, Chu said. For example, by working with the American Savings Education Council, he said, the department maintains a flow of public service announcements that extol the benefits of saving for the future through its American Forces Radio and Television Service.
The department also sponsors a series of worldwide financial-management seminars for servicemembers and their families as part of the "Moneywise in the Military" campaign, he said.
Last year the department kicked off its "Military Saves" campaign that urges servicemembers and families "to build wealth and not debt," Chu said.
More than 80,000 military families took some type of positive action regarding their personal finances as the result of the first "Military Saves" campaign week that was held February 25 to March 4 last year, he said.
The next Military Saves week will be held February 24 to March 2, 2008.
"We look forward to increasing the numbers of military savers through our continued cooperation with our financial readiness partners, including our defense credit unions," Chu said.
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - The Defense Department is committed to helping servicemembers and their families become good personal finance managers, a senior official said yesterday in Hawaii. Most young people leave high school without any financial management education, David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at a National Association of Federal Credit Unions' meeting in Honolulu.
"As a result, our people tend to possess little experience in making the financial decisions that will impact their financial well-being and their financial future," Chu pointed out, noting that about 46 percent of military members are age 25 or younger.
As part of President Bush's February 2001 call to improve military quality of life, he said, the department developed a social compact designed to focus its commitment in caring for servicemember and family needs.
"This social compact includes personal finances as an integral part of the quality of life in the military, and seeks to support the families' needs by providing financial awareness, education, skill-building and counseling programs," he said.
Having good money management skills is especially important for young military families, he said, noting that 38 percent of servicemembers age 25 or younger are married. About 21 percent of these couples have children.
"We equate financial readiness with mission readiness," Chu said, pointing to the findings of a 2005 servicemember survey that rated finances to be more stress inducing than deployments, health concerns, life events and personal relationships. Only work and career concerns, he said, were rated as higher stressors in the survey.
The department established a financial readiness campaign in May 2003.
"Our simple goal is to establish a financial culture that instills and promotes good credit, regular savings, including savings for emergencies, retirement savings and participation in the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance program," Chu said.
The department promotes good money management practices through ongoing education programs delivered by the service branches to military members and their families, he said. Each year the defense department provides more than 12,000 financial education classes to more than 340,000 servicemembers and their spouses.
To enhance its financial awareness efforts, the department has partnered with more than 25 federal agencies and non-profit organizations, Chu said. For example, by working with the American Savings Education Council, he said, the department maintains a flow of public service announcements that extol the benefits of saving for the future through its American Forces Radio and Television Service.
The department also sponsors a series of worldwide financial-management seminars for servicemembers and their families as part of the "Moneywise in the Military" campaign, he said.
Last year the department kicked off its "Military Saves" campaign that urges servicemembers and families "to build wealth and not debt," Chu said.
More than 80,000 military families took some type of positive action regarding their personal finances as the result of the first "Military Saves" campaign week that was held February 25 to March 4 last year, he said.
The next Military Saves week will be held February 24 to March 2, 2008.
"We look forward to increasing the numbers of military savers through our continued cooperation with our financial readiness partners, including our defense credit unions," Chu said.
Servicemembers Are Group's Driving Force
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - What began as a shared love of German cars has morphed through friendship into a passion to honor, educate and entertain servicemembers, Operation Wheels of Freedom's program director said. "We are a group of committed car guys who want to do our part to say thanks to the men and women of the armed services for their dedicated service to our country," David Muyres said. "Being 'car guys' we chose to do it using cars."
To complete its mission, Operation Wheels of Freedom brings high performance American-made vehicles to the troops for a hands-on look, he said. It also provides them the opportunity to develop safer driving habits.
"Our primary program is having exciting driving events right on military bases," Muyres said. "Servicemen and women practice safe, competent driving skills ... and simultaneously (experience) one of the most fun and satisfying experiences of their lives."
A video on the group's Web site shows Marines from different installations navigating a driving course in several vehicles sure to make even an environmentalist do a double take.
The "Grin Factor," as Muyres called it, said it all: "I had the most fun of my life," one Marine from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., said with a huge smile. He had just driven one of the program's vehicles. The group's fleet includes Ford Mustangs, a Dodge Viper and a Pontiac GTO.
"That car was the best thing," he said. "I want to get one now."
The Marines interviewed for the video also said they learned a thing or two about how to improve their driving. That's an important facet of Operation Wheels of Freedom's program, Muyres said.
Considering the high rate of vehicle-related injury and death among active duty personnel returning from deployment it's more important than the entertainment value, but that's what makes the message stick, he added.
"Our program welcomes them back and helps them remember the seriousness of this issue," Muyres said. "By being entertaining at the same time, the message is stronger and has a much higher retention rate."
More than more than 3,000 servicemembers on four bases have heard Operation Wheels of Freedom's message since its start in 2004. Program officials hope to deliver their message to 20,000 servicemembers the next time they take their car show to military installations, Muyres said.
Operation Wheels of Freedom also is available to family members.
"At each base we set aside one of the days as 'Family Day' and give rides to the spouses and kids that are on base," Muyres said. "One of our sponsors, Mattel, has also made available many thousands of large Hot Wheels cars that we have given away to the kids."
America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
Operation Wheels of Freedom is a new member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program Being a member of the program has afforded the group greater credibility and helped legitimize its efforts, Muyres said.
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - What began as a shared love of German cars has morphed through friendship into a passion to honor, educate and entertain servicemembers, Operation Wheels of Freedom's program director said. "We are a group of committed car guys who want to do our part to say thanks to the men and women of the armed services for their dedicated service to our country," David Muyres said. "Being 'car guys' we chose to do it using cars."
To complete its mission, Operation Wheels of Freedom brings high performance American-made vehicles to the troops for a hands-on look, he said. It also provides them the opportunity to develop safer driving habits.
"Our primary program is having exciting driving events right on military bases," Muyres said. "Servicemen and women practice safe, competent driving skills ... and simultaneously (experience) one of the most fun and satisfying experiences of their lives."
A video on the group's Web site shows Marines from different installations navigating a driving course in several vehicles sure to make even an environmentalist do a double take.
The "Grin Factor," as Muyres called it, said it all: "I had the most fun of my life," one Marine from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., said with a huge smile. He had just driven one of the program's vehicles. The group's fleet includes Ford Mustangs, a Dodge Viper and a Pontiac GTO.
"That car was the best thing," he said. "I want to get one now."
The Marines interviewed for the video also said they learned a thing or two about how to improve their driving. That's an important facet of Operation Wheels of Freedom's program, Muyres said.
Considering the high rate of vehicle-related injury and death among active duty personnel returning from deployment it's more important than the entertainment value, but that's what makes the message stick, he added.
"Our program welcomes them back and helps them remember the seriousness of this issue," Muyres said. "By being entertaining at the same time, the message is stronger and has a much higher retention rate."
More than more than 3,000 servicemembers on four bases have heard Operation Wheels of Freedom's message since its start in 2004. Program officials hope to deliver their message to 20,000 servicemembers the next time they take their car show to military installations, Muyres said.
Operation Wheels of Freedom also is available to family members.
"At each base we set aside one of the days as 'Family Day' and give rides to the spouses and kids that are on base," Muyres said. "One of our sponsors, Mattel, has also made available many thousands of large Hot Wheels cars that we have given away to the kids."
America Supports You connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.
Operation Wheels of Freedom is a new member of the Defense Department's America Supports You program Being a member of the program has afforded the group greater credibility and helped legitimize its efforts, Muyres said.
Guard, Reserve Forces Need Experienced Leaders to Adapt to Changes
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Experienced people in the military's seven reserve components should exert their leadership skills as they help their respective components adapt to new challenges and demands, their top officers said yesterday. "We need your leadership. We need your view, and it needs to be a joint view," Army Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, commander of the Army National Guard, told about 140 senior officers and noncommissioned officers attending the Reserve Components National Security Course.
The National Defense University presents the course for reserve and National Guard members moving on to joint command management and staff jobs in multinational, intergovernmental or joint national security settings.
Vaughn joined senior leaders from the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve and Air National Guard during a panel discussion to offer a Washington viewpoint of the challenges the reserve components face.
He noted the huge changes within the Army National Guard over the past six years that have taken it from a strategic to an operational reserve deeply committed to the war on terror. New policies, procedures and processes had to be put in place to support the shift. More resources had to be directed to the Guard. Recruiting strategies needed to change so the Guard could continue filling its ranks with high-quality members. It began modularizing the force.
Vaughn said more changes are needed, but that those already made are creating "as powerful a National Guard as we have probably had at any time in our nation."
"It is a part of history for all time," Vaughn said. "And it took changing an institution."
Vaughn told the class members they, too, will be faced with these challenges as they assume ever-more-responsible positions within their components. "You will have to lead institutional change," he said.
Brig. Gen. David Blackledge, commander of the Army Reserve's 352nd Civil Affairs Command, emphasized the vast civilian skills members of the reserve components are bringing to that effort.
More than 175,000 of these "skill-rich warrior-citizens" have been mobilized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, he said, and this rate is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, he said.
That will demand continued changes in the way the service is structured and trains and mobilizes its troops, he said. Among the changes being instituted is a deployment schedule that gives more predictability for reservists, their families and their employers, and more emphasis on training before mobilization, he said.
The old paradigm for the reserve components was to mobilize, train, and deploy, in that order, he said. "We are changing to train, mobilize, then deploy. So we are providing a lot of the training that would have taken place post-mobilization to pre-mobilization."
Lt. Gen. John Bergman, commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North, shared Blackledge's concern about the challenges reserve component members face as they balance the competing demands of their military and civilian careers.
Reservists need more predictability than the active force so they can maintain that balance, he said. "For the reserve component, our employers don't really care whether we are across the street or across the world," he said. "All they know is that we are not at that desk."
Bergman advocated a rotation schedule that provides one year away – factoring in pre-deployment training, deployment and post-deployment processing – followed by five years at home before another deployment.
Capt. Harry Myers, deputy chief of the Navy Reserve, described its shift from a Cold War construct designed "to greet the Soviets as they came through the Greenland-Iceland-Norway gap."
Change has taken place "at light-speed pace," he said, with reservists no longer spending the bulk of their time at their local reserve centers – now called Navy operational support centers.
"It's unusual to see them there, because they are ordinarily at their gaining command. They are out there in those units that best support the fleet and bring that capability," Myers said. "And quite frankly, the fleet values these folks far more than ever before."
Since 9/11, 41,000 of the Navy Reserve's 70,000 people have deployed, often serving in untraditional roles, he said. "Many times in the Gulf, we have more sailors there with boots on ground in the desert than we have sailors on the ships in the Gulf," Myers told the group. "And it's because it's one team, one fight."
Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, the Air National Guard assistant to the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, cited big strategic issues facing the Air Guard. It's looking at ways to develop "adaptable airmen" who can move between jobs and weapons systems as needed, and a more agile force.
"We need to be a more agile force to be able to do whatever it is our nation wants us to do," she said.
Aragon acknowledged there's "a lot of angst" as the Air Guard downsizes its force and converts some of its units and missions. "So we are trying to find out what kind of career paths do we really need to develop and what kind of people do we need to have for these and what kind of weapons systems are we going to use," she said. "And those are crucial issues on a strategic level," she said.
Brig. Gen. Charles Ethredge, deputy chief of the Air Force Reserve, said his component faces many of the Air Guard's same concerns as it, too, undergoes sweeping changes.
The Air Force's Future Total Force initiative is cutting through traditional roles for the Air Force Reserve as well as the Air Guard to increase overall combat capability. At the same time, Base Realignment and Closure plans and the force reduction efforts are having a big impact on the Air Force Reserve and its members.
Ethredge said the Air Force Reserve is facing up to these challenges as it works take care of its people and identify ways for them to continue serving.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. J. Timothy Riker, director of the Coast Guard Reserve's Deployable Operations Group Commissioning Cell, cited the component's increased role in promoting security both at home and overseas.
Riker, a retired reservist, was reactivated to stand up the group that's considered a centerpiece of the Coast Guard's tougher security measures.
American Forces Press Service
July 20, 2007 - Experienced people in the military's seven reserve components should exert their leadership skills as they help their respective components adapt to new challenges and demands, their top officers said yesterday. "We need your leadership. We need your view, and it needs to be a joint view," Army Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, commander of the Army National Guard, told about 140 senior officers and noncommissioned officers attending the Reserve Components National Security Course.
The National Defense University presents the course for reserve and National Guard members moving on to joint command management and staff jobs in multinational, intergovernmental or joint national security settings.
Vaughn joined senior leaders from the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve and Air National Guard during a panel discussion to offer a Washington viewpoint of the challenges the reserve components face.
He noted the huge changes within the Army National Guard over the past six years that have taken it from a strategic to an operational reserve deeply committed to the war on terror. New policies, procedures and processes had to be put in place to support the shift. More resources had to be directed to the Guard. Recruiting strategies needed to change so the Guard could continue filling its ranks with high-quality members. It began modularizing the force.
Vaughn said more changes are needed, but that those already made are creating "as powerful a National Guard as we have probably had at any time in our nation."
"It is a part of history for all time," Vaughn said. "And it took changing an institution."
Vaughn told the class members they, too, will be faced with these challenges as they assume ever-more-responsible positions within their components. "You will have to lead institutional change," he said.
Brig. Gen. David Blackledge, commander of the Army Reserve's 352nd Civil Affairs Command, emphasized the vast civilian skills members of the reserve components are bringing to that effort.
More than 175,000 of these "skill-rich warrior-citizens" have been mobilized since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, he said, and this rate is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, he said.
That will demand continued changes in the way the service is structured and trains and mobilizes its troops, he said. Among the changes being instituted is a deployment schedule that gives more predictability for reservists, their families and their employers, and more emphasis on training before mobilization, he said.
The old paradigm for the reserve components was to mobilize, train, and deploy, in that order, he said. "We are changing to train, mobilize, then deploy. So we are providing a lot of the training that would have taken place post-mobilization to pre-mobilization."
Lt. Gen. John Bergman, commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North, shared Blackledge's concern about the challenges reserve component members face as they balance the competing demands of their military and civilian careers.
Reservists need more predictability than the active force so they can maintain that balance, he said. "For the reserve component, our employers don't really care whether we are across the street or across the world," he said. "All they know is that we are not at that desk."
Bergman advocated a rotation schedule that provides one year away – factoring in pre-deployment training, deployment and post-deployment processing – followed by five years at home before another deployment.
Capt. Harry Myers, deputy chief of the Navy Reserve, described its shift from a Cold War construct designed "to greet the Soviets as they came through the Greenland-Iceland-Norway gap."
Change has taken place "at light-speed pace," he said, with reservists no longer spending the bulk of their time at their local reserve centers – now called Navy operational support centers.
"It's unusual to see them there, because they are ordinarily at their gaining command. They are out there in those units that best support the fleet and bring that capability," Myers said. "And quite frankly, the fleet values these folks far more than ever before."
Since 9/11, 41,000 of the Navy Reserve's 70,000 people have deployed, often serving in untraditional roles, he said. "Many times in the Gulf, we have more sailors there with boots on ground in the desert than we have sailors on the ships in the Gulf," Myers told the group. "And it's because it's one team, one fight."
Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, the Air National Guard assistant to the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, cited big strategic issues facing the Air Guard. It's looking at ways to develop "adaptable airmen" who can move between jobs and weapons systems as needed, and a more agile force.
"We need to be a more agile force to be able to do whatever it is our nation wants us to do," she said.
Aragon acknowledged there's "a lot of angst" as the Air Guard downsizes its force and converts some of its units and missions. "So we are trying to find out what kind of career paths do we really need to develop and what kind of people do we need to have for these and what kind of weapons systems are we going to use," she said. "And those are crucial issues on a strategic level," she said.
Brig. Gen. Charles Ethredge, deputy chief of the Air Force Reserve, said his component faces many of the Air Guard's same concerns as it, too, undergoes sweeping changes.
The Air Force's Future Total Force initiative is cutting through traditional roles for the Air Force Reserve as well as the Air Guard to increase overall combat capability. At the same time, Base Realignment and Closure plans and the force reduction efforts are having a big impact on the Air Force Reserve and its members.
Ethredge said the Air Force Reserve is facing up to these challenges as it works take care of its people and identify ways for them to continue serving.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. J. Timothy Riker, director of the Coast Guard Reserve's Deployable Operations Group Commissioning Cell, cited the component's increased role in promoting security both at home and overseas.
Riker, a retired reservist, was reactivated to stand up the group that's considered a centerpiece of the Coast Guard's tougher security measures.
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