Reservist

ISS2 2013

Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Bi-monthly 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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AREA-1 RFRS STAFFS Submitted by Cmdr. Andrew R. Sheffeld, Acting PAC-1 B ruce Barton, an American author, once said, "When you are through changing, you are through." To that end, lessons learned as a result of those tragic events of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005), in combination with building on prior studies and analyses, set in motion a holistic review of our Service, and subsequent organizational changes. Following these two catastrophic and life-changing events, senior leadership (2006) focused the entire organization on improving and sustaining mission execution. As a result, 10 Commandant's Intent Action Orders (CIAOs) were created to identify priorities and chart a new course for the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Reserve mission support system was the focus of CIAO #9, and concentrated on optimizing the use of the Reserve Component (RC), and improving the training and administrative support in the new threat environment. CIAO #9 charged the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources (CG-1) with creating a RC mission support system designed to optimize the organization, administration, recruiting, instruction, and training of the Coast Guard Reserve – hence the Reserve Force Readiness System (RFRS) initiative was born. RFRS consists of military and civilian full time support (FTS) positions and key Selected Reserve (SELRES) leadership positions in the field. Fast-forwarding, Commandant's SITREP 2013 was released and reported out on the all-hands-on-deck evolution to – adjust and complete – the massive Coast Guard modernization effort, in order to meet the 11 diverse mission sets and to further enhance and refine its readiness posture for large-scale response efforts. Recent issues of the Reservist magazine have featured articles on various aspects of the RFRS initiative (Vol. LIX, Issue 4, 2012, provides an historical perspective on Centralized Assignments and showcases several interviews and RFRS success stories) and the value added to the Coast Guard Reserve Program, and the organization as a whole. With relatively recent changes to the RFRS staffs assigned within the regional command elements (namely, Atlantic & Pacific Area Commands), this article looks to provide an up-todate picture of the RFRS Area-level organizational structure. In addition to sharing the responsibilities and general construct of the Area RFRS staffs, we have worked with District (dxr) staffs and the Office of Reserve Affairs (CG-131) to help illustrate the real-world impact the RFRS is having at the deckplate level. You will find the details in the accompanying stories. From the Area level perspective, we continue to witness continued improvement to training and readiness as RFRS staffs at each level (Area, District and Sector) engage in collaborative efforts to ensure our small, yet highly capable force is ready to respond when called. As previously noted, Commandant's SITREP 2013 provided the final adjustments to the four-year-long RFRS initiative. The successful roll-out has resulted in an organizational footprint more finely focused on supporting the needs of outlying units and their assigned reservists. For example, within the Pacific Area Command's Personnel Division (PAC-1), three of the four branches (as showcased further in this article) are made up of portions of RFRS billets originally assigned to the legacy FORCECOM (FC-1) Reserve Force Readiness Division and the Reserve Management Branch within the Deployable Operations Group. PAC-1 serves as the Area Commander's principal Reserve force advisor and subject matter expert (SME). It also interprets policy and assists District (dxr) RFRS staffs with the validation of unit-level training. In addition, PAC-1 mitigates gaps that inhibit Reserve force readiness as well as overseeing and directing Reserve mobilizations/demobilizations in conjunction with contingency force management evolutions. Response to Superstorm Sandy highlighted the value of direct support RFRS positions within sectors, district and at the Area Command's Personnel Divisions (LANT-1 & PAC-1). As the massive storm worked its way northward from Cuba and along the eastern seaboard, the expectation was that a major Coast Guard contingency response would in all likelihood involve the use of its RC and, ultimately, that was the case. These imbedded Reserve SMEs, whose sole focus is the training and overall readiness of assigned SELRES members, proved critical when the alarm sounded. Much like our response to Superstorm Sandy, RFRS personnel were critical in the behind-the-scenes response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Oil Spill of National Significance, and Haiti Earthquake relief efforts. The response to these events showcased the ability of the RFRS to effectively, efficiently, and rapidly deploy resources (over 3,000 Reserve personnel to DWH alone) to catastrophes where people and/or the environment were in harm's way. Another critical piece to the RFRS initiative is the strategic value it provides as a structured system designed to produce a prepared and pre-trained force able to rapidly respond for surge and contingency operations. And, with the implementation of the Concept of Reserve Employment (CORE) initiative, we have the ability to further strengthen and expand our capabilities by providing reservists and their commands with training objectives by pre-identifying surge and contingency response competencies. CORE's goal is to build a Reserve workforce by design, not by default. To meet this goal CORE, in conjunction with program managers, is identifying what skills and competencies reservists are expected to attain and maintain in the event they are called upon to support surge and contingency operations. Issue 2 • 2013 � RESERVIST 29

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