July 2011 - Navy
By Jon C. Altmann Senior Chief Intelligence Specialist, USN (Ret)

In the mid-1980s, the Navy Reserve was almost an empire unto itself alongside an active duty Navy. The 1990s saw equipment upgrades and commitments to make sure the ResFor was a “plug and play” interlocking block. Lessons learned from Desert Storm were applied – force integration was no longer just a blueprint.

Today, we are a “plug and play” reserve force. This is of great benefit to the rest of the Navy. In some ways, there are still two Navies. That’s OK; with consideration by both Active and Reserve members of those discerning characteristics, we will continue to build harmony.

The “active Navy” benefits from a variety of ResFor civilian skill sets brought to work. I sent out a Reserve IS1 to an exercise on the water. His civilian job was as a high-end database engineer with two masters’ degrees. The shipboard computer program/server had a major issue during the exercise. The IS1 Rogered-up he thought he could fix it. The alternative was for the ship to return to shore and the exercise to degrade. In about four hours, the exercise was back up. In the following day the IS1 wrote a new program, saving the Navy thousands in what would have been contractor repairs. The ResFor Sailor got a Navy Achievement Medal – I give you, the Navy got a lot more. The ResFor member leads two lives. The service record travels between mobilization and back to a reserve unit. The selection board/advancement exam cycles are impacted if the service member is not cared for – but that care also means the service member takes responsibility. The message to the active Navy – don’t treat the ResFor member like a borrowed library book you will return – treat it like a treasured possession that will stay aboard.

Several years ago, I was deployed on an exercise working with Marine Corps counterintel folks in the field. After two days, the Gunny asked me where my duty station was. I told him it was San Diego, but that I lived in Phoenix – that I was a Reservist. He was shocked because I knew my stuff and I exceeded all expectations he had of “reserves.” I could get no better eval or compliment!

The Navy has enjoyed a huge benefit from the military/civilian skill set the Reservist brings to the table. However, the ResFor Sailor matures only as good as the active Navy chooses to mentor that success. Whether Intel, Seabee, cargo handlers or air squadron, Reservists do a lot in a weekend. The “weekend” label stopped in 2001. There is not a tab on our uniforms that says “Active” or “Reserve.”

When the ResFor Sailor returns from Southwest Asia to home, who looks after that Sailor for signs of PTSD or depression? Active Navy can see their members 24/7. The ResFor Sailor may return home to find no job. The active Sailor’s payroll keeps coming. It has been my experience, despite all the Federal protections. Reservists still face immense employer discrimination, especially considering most civilian managers have no record of service and, quite possibly now, neither did their parents. Support the Troops is a bumper sticker, not a consistent dedication to Reservists.

Far more Navy Reserve Chiefs have four-year college degrees or higher than their active counterparts. Blending that education into the active Navy when the opportunity is there is a great opportunity.

For the Active force, the message is to take care of the service record of that Sailor you are borrowing, whether it is for three weeks or for a year. For the ResFor member, be humble, learn, share and make sure to ask that your service record reflect what you did so you are documented. The “Lego block” interlocking Sailor blocks work well when we know what we are building.

The basics are the same: Sailors taking care of Sailors.