Enlisted Personnel Trends in the Selected Reserve, 1986-1994: An Executive Summary

This volume summarizes RAND/MR-681/2-OSD, which focuses on the time period since Operation Desert Storm/Shield, when reserve forces have been drawing down. Nevertheless, fiscal constraints are placing a high priority on using reserve forces wherever they can meet deployment dates and readiness criteria. Reserve forces are expected to play an important role in responding to regional crises, as well as in peacekeeping, peace enforcement, and humanitarian assistance operations. These roles and missions, combined with the downsizing of both the active and reserve forces, make it critical that the reserve be able to meet the manpower and readiness requirements called for in our national military strategy. This report focuses on the Selected Reserve enlisted force and its changing profile, set against the context of the military drawdown. In particular, it examines changes from FY89 through FY94, pointing to some potential areas of concern with respect to reserve manning in the future.