National Guard and Reserves Status

The Defense Science Board, a Federal Advisory Committee which provides independent advice to the Secretary of Defense, has issued a new report about the current deployment of National Guard and reserve troops. Entitled Deployment of National Guard and Reserve in the Global War on Terrorism, the report examined the "length and frequency of deployment of members of the National Guard and reserve." The board looked at the Secretary of Defense's January 2007 policy which set the following guidelines: "one year deployed and two years not deployed for the active force, one year mobilized and five years not mobilized for the reserve components." The report concluded that "given current levels of operational demand, today's Army active, National Guard, and reserve force structure will not support DOD's policy." It also emphasized the need for more training at reserve home stations before mobilization and expressed concern about having sufficient support at home to meet "homeland security, civil support, and domestic emergency requirements."