Whether on American or foreign soil, Army Reserves answer the call of duty

As the Chief of the Army Reserve, I am humbled to serve with the men and women of your Army Reserve.  It has been a year since I took command of the 205,000 men and women serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, and in the past twelve months, I’ve been honored to meet with Soldiers serving with their “boots on the ground” in places like Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Panama, and across this great Nation.  Military Appreciation Month affords me an opportunity to share with the American public the vital contributions, the commitment to serve and stories about our Warrior Citizens. 

The Army Reserve is a community-based force.  The soldiers that fill our formations are both highly skilled warriors but also leaders in their communities. It is the diversity in our ranks and the dynamics of the complimentary military and civilian skills as well as the grass root connection with our communities that enable our soldiers to bring added value to the Nation.  In the 110th Congress, seven Senators, 24 Congressmen and 20 Congressional staff members have served at some point in their career with the U.S. Army Reserve.  Two Members of Congress, Representative John Shimkus and
Representative Steve Buyer are still in the Army Reserve.

Throughout our nearly 100 year history, the Army Reserve has never experienced the operational tempo our Warrior Citizens are serving under today.  The paradigm has changed – we are no longer the strategic reserve force I joined in 1979 when Soldiers served one weekend a month and two weeks every year.  The Army Reserve is now an operational force. 
Mobilizations and deployments are not possibilities, they are certainties. At one point, our Soldiers are on active duty one day and back in the reserve status in their community the next.  The level of competency, the level of dedication and the responsibilities of duty are high and today’s Army Reserve is prepared and available to deploy when the Nation calls.  

Our soldiers serve superbly as a cohesive team with the Active Army, the National Guard and other military services.  In theater, you can not tell Active Army Soldiers from Army Reserve Soldiers. They are the consummate professionals.  The Army Reserve is a ready force, it’s the best force we have ever had in terms of capability.  It’s the best force in terms of education, dedication and the number of civilian-acquired specific capabilities our Soldiers bring to the operational force. 
A large percentage of the combat support and combat service support of the Army resides in today’s Army Reserve.  The nation cannot go to war without the Army Reserve.

Today more than 24,000 Army Reserve Soldiers are on active duty.  In support of the Global War on Terror, since 9/11, more than 188,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have been mobilized.  Over 42,000 have deployed more than once.  Our Warrior Citizens put their civilian careers on hold while they serve their Nation.  Unlike Soldiers in the Active Army, our Soldiers transition back and forth between their civilian careers and their military duty.  In their civilian careers, Army Reserve Soldiers are medical professionals, city planners, waterworks directors, law enforcement officers, truck drivers, engineers, homemakers, campaign directors, teachers and financial advisers.  

To exemplify the talent our communities provide the nation I want to share the stories of two of our warrior citizens.

Dr. Frank J. Miskena is a veterinarian in Michigan.  In the Army Reserve, Colonel Miskena serves with the 308th Civil Affairs Unit, where his fluency in three languages has enabled him to deploy to Albania, Kuwait and Iraq where he was assigned to the Coalition Provisional Authority.  Coalition forces looked to him for help communicating curfews and information to the Iraqi people.  He speaks their language and he understands the price of freedom.  

Colonel Miskena was born in Baghdad where he earned his veterinary degree, then was drafted into the Iraqi Army.  In 1977 he came to America, and five years later became a U.S. citizen.  As the highest ranking Iraqi American in the U.S. military, Colonel Miskena shows allegiance to one flag, the stars and stripes.  Colonel Miskena says, “It is my duty to serve with the Army Reserve, to give back to the country that gave me freedom.”  

Kristen King is a college student in Louisiana who will graduate with a degree in broadcast journalism in May 2008, eighteen months after her classmates. While trying to find resources to help defray her tuition costs, she discovered the Army Reserve’s education benefits and learned about the valuable hands-on broadcast experience she could get in the Army Reserve.   When she deployed to Iraq, Specialist King was assigned to a television unit where she was an anchor, television reporter, and one of two videographers assigned to Saddam Hussein’s trial.  Her Army Reserve broadcast experience exceeded her expectations – unlike anything she could ever learn in a classroom.  

Specialist Kristen King has enthusiasm and a desire to serve.  She is a Warrior Citizen who can apply her Army Reserve acquired skills to her civilian broadcasting career.  Specialist King is optimistic about her future as a warrior citizen stating, “The Army Reserve prepared me for everything that lies ahead in my life; the skills I learned in Iraq will be with me throughout my professional career.”

Theseare just two stories, there are 204,998 more.  Last month I administered the oath of reenlistment on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to 41 Warrior Citizens.  We have seen a phenomenal change in our reenlistments.  Already this year, we are at 130 percent of the number of first-term Soldiers we hoped would reenlist. Our young Soldiers are sticking with us.  They know what they signed up for and they are proud of what they are doing.  We all should be very proud of these young Warrior Citizens.  They are performing superbly and represent America’s next “greatest generation.”  

Stultz is commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve.

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