United States Army Reserve | |
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Seal of the U.S. Army Reserve
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Founded | 1908 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Size | 205,000 reserve |
Part of | United States Department of the Army |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S. |
Website | www |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey |
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
On 30 June 2016, Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey became the 33rd Chief of Army Reserve, and Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command (USARC).
On 2 November 2012, Command Sergeant Major James Lambert was sworn in as the Interim Command Sergeant Major of the Army Reserve, serving as the Chief of the Army Reserve's senior advisor on all enlisted soldier matters, particularly areas affecting training, leader development, mobilization, employer support, family readiness and support, and quality of life.
On 23 April 1908 Congress created the Medical Reserve Corps, the official predecessor of the Army Reserve. After World War I, under the National Defense Act of 1920, Congress reorganized the U.S. land forces by authorizing a Regular Army, a National Guard, and an Organized Reserve (Officers Reserve Corps and Enlisted Reserve Corps) of unrestricted size, which later became the Army Reserve. This organization provided a peacetime pool of trained Reserve officers and enlisted men for use in war. The Organized Reserve included the Officers Reserve Corps, Enlisted Reserve Corps, and Reserve Officers' Training Corps. The Organized Reserves were redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps. Recognizing the importance of the Organized Reserve to the World War II effort, Congress authorized retirement and drill pay for the first time in 1948.
A tentative troop basis for the Organized Reserve Corps, prepared in March 1946, outlined 25 divisions: three armored, five airborne, and 17 infantry. These divisions and all other Organized Reserve Corps units were to be maintained in one of three strength categories, labeled Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class A units were divided into two groups, one for combat and one for service, and units were to be at required table of organization strength; Class B units were to have their full complement of officers and enlisted cadre strength; and Class C were to have officers only. The troop basis listed nine divisions as Class A, nine as Class B, and seven as Class C.