Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Quarterly issues include news and feature articles about the men and women who comprise America's premier national maritime safety and security
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L ike any organization, the CG Reserve Component (RC) is in a constant state of evaluation. But one thing remains constant; we all have an obligation to maximize the investment that the taxpayers make in us. Our goals as reservists must be to use every second of our paid 36 days/year to earn the skills the Commandant needs when the nation calls on us. You may recall that many reservists had poor individual readiness when we surged to respond to the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Our organization went to work on that problem which resulted in a cultural change; we now have superb individual readiness and IDT/ADT attendance. We should be proud of that cultural change and push for the next required cultural change, a high level of skills, what I call "operational readiness." The bottom line is that being individually ready (medical/dental, etc…) and showing up for drills is no longer enough. We must be aggressive in meeting our training goals. In Adm. Zukunft's recent interview in the RESERVIST (Issue 1, 2016), the Commandant talks about everything from surge capacity to reasonable commuting distance. It is clear that the Commandant and his team are very engaged on RC issues. So what are some of our biggest RC weaknesses? I would argue that one organizational failure has been our inability to communicate what our RC is supposed to be? When I travel the country visiting active duty Commands and reservists, I often get asked by senior leaders "what is our Reserve force supposed to be?" This question is troubling to me because past and present Commandants have provided a clear answer to this question. Our RC missions and capabilities were formerly written in the Commandant's Reserve Policy Statement. More recently, Adm. Zukunft directed his team to analyze numerous responses to hurricanes, 9-11, E XX on V AL d E z and dEEPWATER Ho RI zon, our ongoing PSU missions, and Overseas Contingency Operations. In addition, our two Area Commands joined together and submitted their combined recommendations on RC Missions, Force Structure, and Capability. Based on the analysis performed, the Commandant reconfirmed that the RC must remain "contingency-centric" while only demanding RC skills that are generally achievable in 36 training days/year. With that in mind, the Commandant issued a Strategic Planning Direction (SPD), the details of which tell the current story. Specifically, the primary domestic mission of the RC is Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS). Reservists are to be trained to support Prevention and Response PWCS, particularly for direct support to increases in MARSEC Conditions and Military Outload Operations (MOL). To become ready, our job, as reservists, is to build our Boat Forces, Law Enforcement, Facility Inspector (Safety & Security), Container Inspector, and Explosive Handling Supervisor competencies. Our secondary mission-set is Incident Response, Preparedness, and Marine Environmental Protection (MEP). This requires us to maintain Pollution Responder, Federal On-Scene Coordinator's Representative, and Incident Command System (ICS) competencies. Our Mission Support reservists must provide the skills that are needed for manpower mobilizations, operational supply, and technical/engineering support of surge operations. Finally, the RC will continue to provide the expeditionary warfare capabilities provided by our PSU's, Redeployment and Inspection Detachments (RAID teams), and will remain integrated within Combatant Commanders' staff elements. The list above is not 100% inclusive of every RC capability, but it outlines the vast majority of them. When you compare this list with the missions/capabilities outlined in the past few Reserve Policy Statements, you will notice that they have not changed significantly over the past 10 years. Therefore, our training goals have remained fairly consistent. So when CG members ask what our RC is supposed to be, either we, as senior leaders, have failed to properly communicate the answer, or the people who ask the question don't like the answers. I believe it is fair to say that the question has been answered, and it is our job to now build a culture of "operational readiness" to make the Commandant's vision a reality. Semper Paratus. "Our goals as reservists must be to use every second of our paid 36 days/year to earn the skills the Commandant needs when the nation calls on us." Rese R vist Magazine t he v iew FR o M the B R idge Rear Admiral Francis "Stash" Pelkowski Senior Reserve Officer Atlantic Area 6 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2016