Reservists Have Volunteered When Requested

Volunteer reservists have been used in most U.S. peace operations since the Persian Gulf War. Recent studies conducted for DOD have shown that the volunteer reservists who have participated in peace operations have been qualified for their assignments and performed well. He attributed this to an aggressive Air Force effort to seek employer support. Air Force Has Had Greatest Reliance on Volunteers

We found differences among the services in their use of volunteers. The Air Force has relied extensively on volunteers to support peace operations. To date, the Marine Corps has not used volunteers to a great extent for peace operations. Funding Is Most Important Factor Affecting the Use of Volunteers

The availability of funding from the active component is the key factor determining the extent that reserve volunteers are used to support the active component. In addition to funding availability, the use of volunteers is also affected by (1) the amount of notice provided before the start of the mission, (2) the length of the deployment, and (3) whether the requirements are for units or individuals. Generally, these volunteer costs are covered by the active component. If so, funds are available for reserve volunteer support. 1-2 Mos. 3-4 Mos. 5-6 Mos. The Army relied more heavily on PSRC authority in Haiti and Bosnia than the other services. If large numbers of individuals or units are needed to support an operation, PSRC authority is a necessity, they said. DOD Has Taken Steps to Improve Access to Reserves

In 1994, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs expressed concerns about how much DOD could rely on volunteers. Since that time, DOD officials have taken some steps to ensure that reserves will be accessible for the range of peace operations they are likely to confront in the future. This program is intended to protect reservists from financial hardships resulting from involuntary call-up. These reservists may volunteer for active duty missions, but may not be accessed under PSRC authority. We discussed past experiences with obtaining volunteers for peace operations and obtained their views on factors affecting accessibility. We obtained information from the following Washington, D.C., area, offices:
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs; Director for Operational Plans and Interoperability, Joint Staff; and the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve;
Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans and the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel;
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Reserve Affairs, the Office of Air Force Reserve, the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations;
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and the Bureau of Naval Personnel;
Reserve Affairs Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; and
National Guard Bureau, the Air National Guard Readiness Center, and the Army National Guard Readiness Center.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed reservists' participation in peace operations, focusing on: (1) whether qualified volunteers are accessible; (2) the differences among the services in their reliance on reserve volunteers; (3) factors that affect reserve volunteers' availability; and (4) Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to ensure their accessibility.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) thousands of reservists have volunteered for recent peace operations when requested to assist active duty forces; (2) among the operations they have participated in are those in Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia; (3) the volunteers chosen for peace operations generally have had the necessary skills and qualifications to perform their jobs and have performed well; (4) however, past success in obtaining volunteers may not be indicative of the future; (5) reservists have volunteered when needed for peace operations, but the services' demand for volunteers has varied greatly; (6) the Air Force has relied most heavily on volunteers and has been considered a model within DOD; (7) the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps have had less demand for volunteers, except for certain specialists; (8) availability of funding has been a critical factor in whether reserve volunteers are used to support active component operations; (9) in most cases, the expenses of volunteer support are funded by the active component; (10) the Air Force budgets much more for these expenses than the other services; (11) the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs has been working through the DOD budgeting process to obtain more funds for reserve support of the active component; (12) other factors affecting the use of volunteers are the amount of lead time available before the volunteers are needed, the duration of the tour, and whether the requirements are for individuals or units; (13) Army and Navy officials expressed concerns about the extent they can rely on volunteerism if large numbers of reservists or whole units are needed; (14) DOD has been able to obtain the reservists it needs through a combination of involuntary call-up authority and volunteerism; (15) the demonstrated willingness of DOD to seek and the President to approve call-up authority has minimized the need to rely solely on volunteers to respond to peace operations; and (16) further, DOD has taken some steps to ensure continued access to and use of reserves.