Naval Reserve Association

23Dear Admiral Keith,Answer is, 473.Question is, “How many people wrote to NRA NEWS sayingtheir cover was wrong?”BRAC is actually base closure and realignment (You got it righton page 13.) It is not in the small print base realignment andclosure even though that is what the letters seem to mean.Dear Admiral Keith,Star CareyNAME CHANGEEveryone is entitled to their personal opinion regarding thename change from Naval Reserve to Navy Reserve, and CDRQuisenberry obviously has his, and I salute him for his passionatearticle in the July 2005 issue of NRA News.My association with the Naval Reserve goes back to October1948. At no time down through the years did I ever hear anyoneattributing any special quality to the word “Naval.”Change it instead to maritime Reserve or Sea Reserve; and whowould care? The work "Naval" is well seasoned, and famouspeople had been members of the “Naval” Reserve. I doubt ifthey ever gave the word “Naval” in the phrase “Naval Reserve” asecond thought.By CDR Quisenberry’s logic, the U.S. Navy ought not designateany of the new ship types by any words besides patrol craft,destroyer escort, destroyer, cruiser, carrier or battleship.Frankly, I am pleased very much by the change; it was an ideaof genius.For decades, I have toyed with the idea that there ought not beany “Reserve,” let along Naval Reserve – with sailors all beingclassified as USN, with a further breakdown between those onactive duty and those not. This change comes close.To cling to the past is an indication the opponent subscribes tothe idea that the U.S. Navy’s expansion assets – whatever we callthem – have a stand along existence apart from the Navy.Changing Naval to Navy is one way to put such obsolete thinkingto rest.Emphasizing our integration into the U.S. Navy is almost likethrowing the letter “R” in the ash can, an idea whose time maycome soon.I make a motion this organization change it’s name to NAVYRESERVE ASSOCIATION. Let’s get with the program.Dear Admiral Keith,Theodore P. JakaboskiCaptain, JAGC, USNR (Ret)I must respond to CDR Quisenberry’s article, Name Changefrom NAVAL RESERVE to Navy Reserve – Why? And, WhatNext?, which appeared in the June 2005 issue of NRA News.CDR Quisenberry contends that the major changes in the Navy’sreserve component (RC), starting with its new name, indicate thatour active duty colleagues do not value our contribution and,further, that these changes are themselves a disservice to RCsailors. The Commander is wrong on the major points of hisargument. Moreover, when he is not making baseless accusationsor misappropriating terminology, he misuses the evidence hemusters to support his argument.CDR Quisenberry needlessly charges that too many Navy officersare mere careerists, as otherwise they would have opposed this“poor initiative . . . by their seniors.” Although, I take exceptionto the implication that I am a careerist, I eagerly look forward tothe changes. During the decade of the 1990s the Naval Reservestrayed from its primary historical mission: to be ready toaugment the fleet in support of the Navy’s tasking during war,operations other than war, and peacetime. Rather, readiness wassubordinated to drill weekend activities. It was as though theNaval Reserve was incapable of imagining a world wherein itsmembers would be called upon for more than one weekendeach month, and two weeks of annual training. After a decadede-emphasizing wartime mobilization, an unacceptably highpercentage of Navy reservists mobilized for OEF/OIF werefound to be unfit for duty. If RC sailors are to be ready for thecall to arms, we must champion and uphold Navy standards24/7/365. I find it ironic that after lamenting careerism in theofficer corps, CDR Quisenberry's rejoinder to this last point is toobserve that SELRES do not have TRICARE health coveragewhen off duty! What typifies the careerist more than a fixationon tangential issues such as benefits?CDR Quisenberry rightly points to the Naval Reserve’s proudheritage, from the First World War through the Global War onTerror. But his point that the Navy is transferring superb RCunits which had years previously been active duty “third rate castoffunits” ignores the strategic changes of the last five years.Apparently, it never occurred to CDR Quisenberry that, in thewake of the attack on USS Cole and events in the GWOT, thethreats the Navy faces may demand a deployed Coastal Warfarecapability for the long-term. As of June 2005, there were currently434 RC sailors mobilized from a Coastal Warfare Group orsubordinate units. In so small a community, those numbers cannotbe maintained indefinitely. It is reasonable that the coastal warfarecapability should be moved to the Navy’s active component (AC).I’d argue that, rather than accusing the AC of raiding the reserve,RC leadership should encourage the Navy to offer to transferreservists to the active duty lists if their billets are moved into theactive component. The greater issue is that this capability, theCoastal Warfare community’s hard earned war-fighting skills,must be maintained.CDR Quisenberry states “it is a proven fact that Naval Reservistsperform better in a unit than as individual augmentees.” Perhapsthis is true because reserve component sailors, including aviationunits, have traditionally trained and operated while segregatedfrom our active duty colleagues. By fully integrating reservistswith active component units the Navy can reduce, if not eliminate,the performance discount CDR Quisenberry mentions. Afterbemoaning the disestablishment of RC aviation units and theirreplacement with fleet augmentation units, CDR Quisenberryasks, “Where is the Naval Reserve/regular Navy integration”?Not to put too fine a point on it, but he answered his own question:NRA NEWS/SEPTEMBER 2005