Americas Defense Meltdown - IT Acquisition Advisory Council

184 • The Army National Guard, the Army Reserve and the Marine Corps ReserveThe Marine Corps ReserveIn times of peace, the chief task of the Marine Corps is to provide relatively smallformations that can be deployed at very short notice to those parts of the world thatare accessible by sea. As a rule, the operations that these formations conduct are modestin aim and limited in duration. In wartime, however, the Marine Corps conductsoperations on a much larger scale, and must therefore deploy substantially larger forcesfor longer periods of time. The chief means of providing the additional units neededto form such forces is the Marine Corps Reserve.Most of the units of the Marine Corps Reserve recommended here are “academiclifecycle battalions.” As the word “lifecycle” implies, these units are formed, trained,maintained and disbanded according to a predetermined schedule. In particular, alifecycle battalion exists for eight years. During the first two of these years, the unitand its members are on active duty, following a progressive program of individual andunit training. For the next four years, the unit is in first-line reserve status, subjectto activation at very short notice and assembling three times for about two monthsof refresher training each year. At the end of its life, the battalion spends two yearsin a second-line reserve status. While second-line academic lifecycle battalions carryout no training whatsoever, they remain subject to recall in the event of war or direnational emergency.An academic lifecycle battalion differs from a present-day reserve unit in a numberof important ways. First, because all training periods last for two months or more, itsmembers do not have to live within commuting distance of a particular reserve center.Second, before it goes into reserve status, the unit has been thoroughly trained. Thus,if recalled to active duty, the battalion will need little in the way of additional trainingbefore deployment. (Both the nature and the amount of additional training will, ofcourse, depend upon such things as the intended employment of the unit and the timethat has elapsed since it left active duty.) Third, the life of the unit coincides with theservice obligation of most of its members. Thus, the unit will not only enjoy a highdegree of unit cohesion, but will also be able to conduct truly progressive training.The terms of service for the rank-and-file members of an academic lifecycle battalionare designed for young people who want to go to college. Once a reservist hasserved for two years of continuous active duty, he will be in a very good position tobegin a four-year course of full-time study. His pay and benefits will be such that hewill be able to pay for tuition and living expenses without going deeply into debt.His time in uniform will give him a number of habits and attitudes that will helphim to succeed at university, as well as some time to ponder the particular path hewishes to take. The three annual periods of refresher training that take place duringthe middle years of his term of service, moreover, will provide the reservist with awell-paid summer job. Finally, the end of the most demanding period in the existenceof an academic lifecycle battalion, moreover, will coincide with the completion of its