The world theater is changing daily. In order to protect our interests, our freedoms and our people, the role of the United States and its armed forces must also evolve. To defend our nation's interests, the country needs a force structure that is both flexible and responsive across all its elements, especially the Army Reserve.

The Army Reserve had performed a complementary role to the Active component, providing combat support and combat service support functions to enable the Army to ramp up its capabilities to protect combat forces and sustain mobilization.

To meet the challenges of the 21st century in the war on terrorism, the Army has had to redefine and restructure itself. It is becoming smaller, lighter and quicker. The Army Reserve is playing a critical role in this transformation. With over one million Soldiers available at any time, the Army Reserve provides a highly skilled, flexible force that can support the Army when and where they are needed most:

Combat Support
Combat Service Support
Peacekeeping
Nation-building
Civil Support

The specialized capabilities of the Army Reserve and the percentage they represent of the Active Army's total force illustrates the invaluable role the Army Reserve plays in manning today's Army.

The Army Reserve contributes to the Army's Total Force by providing 100% of the:
Chemical Brigades Internment Brigades Judge Advocate General Unit Medical Groups Railway Units Training & Exercise Divisions Water Supply Battalions

...more than two-thirds of the Army's:
Civil Affairs Units Psychological Operations Units Transportation Groups Motor Battalions Chemical Battalions Hospitals Medical Brigades Theater Signal Commands

...and nearly half of the Army's:
Petroleum Battalions Adjutant General Units Petroleum Groups Transportation Command Terminal Battalions Public Affairs Units

While the Army Reserve makes up only 20 percent of the Army's organized units, it has about half of the Army's combat support and a quarter of the Army's mobilization base expansion capability, for about 5.3 percent of the Army's budget.

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