Active military and reserve duty personnel
Active military includes militants on full-time employment that serve for two to six years. These militants perform duties range from active fighting positions to active support positions. On the other hand, reserve duty personnel are part-time employees; they train near home with generally two weeks of annual training. The reserve soldiers can be called upon to perform active duty and will serve for a maximum of two years. Activated reserve soldiers receive the same payment as active duty soldiers. The reserve militants are divided into three groups: the Selected Reserve who are the most readily available, the Individual Ready Reserve who can be called to replace the active duty and the Retired Reserve who have retired from the army.
Changes in the Reserve Military
There have been dramatic changes in the US defense policies since the Gulf War. These changes have raised demand for the reserve soldiers. The soldiers have been abruptly called up to take part in domestic and operational missions (Griffith, 2011). The reserve militants were required to meet the standards of mobilizations and deployment. However, there were areas of unpreparedness among the soldiers such as being physically unfit, inadequately equipped and lack of proper training. Moreover, their unit leaders were not competent and ad personal adjustment problems. This has called for a review of the reservists to deal with these incompetencies and unpreparedness.
The Training Program
All the recruits have to go through a training program that is divided into three sections: initial testing, incentive training and drilling (Schading & Schading, 2006). The initial testing ensures that the recruit is strong enough to undergo the impending training sessions. The Incentive training is majorly meant to give the trainees discipline and motivation. Drilling basically helps the trainees operate as a team. The training program is comprised of many other activities that the soldiers should learn and thus requires more time for practice. This explains the incompetency of the reserve militants when called upon to support the active duty. Since they train one weekend in a month, many had not completed the training program when they were summoned.
Challenges of Deployment
Due to the increased terrorism, reservists' deployment has significantly increased. The reservists have had to face challenges due to these unexpected deployments. Their families have had to deal with boundary ambiguity when the roles of family members are altered. In such times, the families need to attend family support groups for relief. The boundary ambiguity, however, dissipates over time as the families stabilize.
Suggestions for Support
Faber et al., (2008) suggests that in times of deployment, the soldiers should be recommended by clinicians. The clinicians should initiate military support groups to assist the military families in the deployment process. The clinicians provide support to them by discussing with them concerning their expectations and responsibilities. This could be done by creating and distributing conversation start-up scripts to help the families talk about their expectations. Further, the clinicians can encourage the militants to re-establish routines that create predictability.
Recommendation
I would recommend for the Defense Department to establish a program for decision-makers who understand better the issues affecting reserve militants. The program will monitor the activities of the reservists and ensure that the selected reservists are ready and trained. It will also ensure a valuable decision-making process for the militants concerning their individual lives. The program will come up with policies that address the militants' issues.
References
Schading, B., " Schading, R. (2006). A Civilian's Guide to the US Military: A comprehensive reference to the customs, language, and structure of the Armed Forces. Writer's Digest Books.
Griffith, J. (2011). Decades of transition for the US reserves: changing demands on reserve identity and mental well-being. International review of psychiatry, 23(2), 181-191.
Faber, A. J., Willerton, E., Clymer, S. R., MacDermid, S. M., " Weiss, H. M. (2008). Ambiguous absence, ambiguous presence: a qualitative study of military reserve families in wartime. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(2), 222.
