Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-179- An Operational Analysis of Cadre
leaders of these units would have little time to plan together in peacetime and would likely
fight for training opportunities with RC leaders. Lastly, cadre units are expected to deploy
like AC units when mobilized. This would require that RC leaders that stay affiliated with
their unit during wartime deploy once every three years. This will disrupt their civilian
careers. The ability to retain these cadre leaders throughout the course of a war will be a
significant concern.
3.2.3—Senior Individual Ready Reserve
Another alternative for structuring a cadre force with no separate cadre units is to
create a senior Individual Ready Reserve. The existing IRR is a pool of deployable personnel
not assigned to units who do not train and are serving out the term of their Military Service
Obligation (MSO). Since an initial MSO generally specifies eight years of service, members
of the IRR tend to be enlisted personnel who separated from service after three or four
years. 59 This pool of manpower is a good source of junior personnel but not of officers. 60
Instead, we might think of creating a senior IRR, which would offer officers and NCOs
separating from active duty compensation in exchange for agreeing to be mobilized with a
cadre unit in wartime. The cadre leaders could be offered: points towards retirement
benefits, health benefits, cash compensation, or some combination. No matter what the
incentive, these personnel would only be able to serve within a few years of separating from
active service due to skill erosion. Additional yearly training could also be included as a
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59 Eighty percent of the IRR is enlisted personnel in grades E-1 through E-5. DoD (2005)
60 Some IRR officers can be used to fill senior cadre positions as shown in Chapter Two, but the IRR cannot
be relied upon as the sole source of leaders for cadre units.