The "operational reserve" is rightly being chucked.
Still a requirement from SECDEF, and CNO is still directing CNR to build it out. The major cuts that we’ve seen are the result of 20 years of AC control over reserve funding, and attempts to sell reserve units to buy active things. No other service has been doing this to the same extent, by the way, so “operational reserve” is still a thing, whether Navy is adhering to it or not.
But we don't pay for a Navy Reserve to be handing out basketballs in Djibouti
Totally concur. Hence the recent cutting of a lot of irrelevant reserve billets (e.g.: Naval History & Heritage Command).
Frankly, I don't agree with the idea that SELRES deployable units are a good ROI.
Plenty of data over several decades shows they are. Active Navy just has a rough track record of understanding or incorporating these forces into the big picture. True, the more you use them, the higher the cost goes. But they don’t need to do every deployment if they get rolled into the mix and can build opportunity for the AC to take a knee, get time for mods, SLEP, airframe transitions, etc. Also, Reserve VP, HSC, and HSM deploy(ed) way more frequently than once every 3 years and are still cheaper.
Latest Reserve Forces Policy Board memo goes over a good amount of history and data to show the value—operationally and financially (
here). Looking at how USA/USAF/USMC use their reserve forces, one can see there’s a sizeable disconnect in how the Navy is currently using its resources.
Units like the VFC and VR communities are straight up the RC's alley. The NALE and staff augmentation is straight up the RC's alley. CNATRA and FRS augments are straight up the RC's alley.
Concur. Not an either/or choice, but about doing this/and—we can and have done both these and operational units since the 70s. USA/USAF/USMC also seem to have found a way to maintain and deploy their operational Guard/Reserve aviation units, too.
The challenge is how to get the mindset of leadership to recognize how far afield the process has gone, and dare I say, “get real, get better.” Twenty years of this inertia is probably going to take a while to stop and reverse, though.