The U.S. Army Reserve Command Augmentation Unit:
A New Way of Conducting Business

Interview with Col. Octavia Parker
Commander, USARC Augmentation Unit
June 2004

The newly-formed U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC) Augmentation Unit’s mission is to transform the way the Army Reserve fills mission requirements with individual Soldiers. Activated on June 17, 2004 , at the USARC in Fort McPherson, Georgia, Col. Octavia Parker has been assigned to command the unit.

Q: What is the USARC Augmentation Unit (UAU)?

A: Basically, the UAU was established under the USARC to manage the pool of Soldiers in the Individual Augmentee (IA) Program, which was created by the Chief, Army Reserve (CAR). Because of mission requirements, we have formed a direct reporting unit (DRU) of troop program unit (TPU) Soldiers who are able to be mobilized to augment the full-time staff to focus on operational missions and contingencies. We also will be able to utilize Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) and Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) personnel. In addition, we will be providing full-time operational support for the IA program.

One of our primary roles is to re-engineer the way we mobilize individual Soldiers — to create a streamlined system that enables us to efficiently mobilize IAs in order to meet the needs of the combatant commanders. In effect, we will act as a conduit between the Army Reserve Soldier and the unit. Eventually, we will use the IA program to place Soldiers within specific units needing their particular grade and specialty.

Q: How does the UAU plan to help fill current and projected mobilization vacancies within the Army Reserve?

A: Through the use of the UAU program, we will have a pool of available and deployable Soldiers able to fulfill operational missions above and beyond the current mobilization authority.

The actual mechanics of the program will begin with the combatant commander submitting his or her requirements to the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), who will then pass the requirements on to the Army G-3. The Army G-3 will be responsible for validating and prioritizing the requests, and for working with the Army G-1 to input the requirements into the Worldwide Individual Augmentee System (WIAS). The WIAS will be updated daily so that mission requirements remain current.

With access to the WIAS, the UAU will match volunteers to the requirements based upon grade and specialty. This will enable us to use volunteers rather than involuntarily mobilize other Soldiers. There will be different categories in the IA program. There will be Soldiers who can fill requirements but are not in the IA program; Soldiers who do not match based on specialty and grade; and Soldiers who are in the IA program.

Q: What are the benefits of the IA Program to individual Soldiers?

A: There are many benefits. First, there are many Soldiers who want to continue their participation in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), and this program will allow them to continue to serve as part of the war fight. Second, it allows Soldiers to gain valuable experience, enhance their career development, and receive additional skills training. All of this will enable the Soldier to be more prepared to perform his or her mission in the future as needed.

Q: What are the benefits to the Army Reserve?

A: First and foremost, this program will help us to develop future leaders in the Army Reserve. Further, when a Soldier is transferred into the IA program, it will not affect the unit’s readiness because the unit can immediately backfill the position. Then, when the Soldier redeploys from his or her IA assignment, he or she will be guaranteed a position with their originating unit. This will allow unit commanders to be overstrength while maintaining the integrity of their units.

We will be looking at the entire Army Reserve inventory instead of focusing solely on individual vacancies and units. We will be looking at what the Army Reserve needs as a whole, but managing at the individual Soldier level.

It is a big challenge because there are numerous players competing for the same resources. However, I am confident that we are on the right path and that the program will pay big dividends in the future.

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