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CHAPTER 15
THE NAVAL RESERVE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Identify the historical foundation of the Naval
4. Describe the training program of the Naval
Reserve.
Reserve.
2. Identify the mission of the Naval Reserve.
5. Describe the requirements for retirement from
the Naval Reserve.
3. Identify the various categories of naval re-
servists and Naval Reserve units.
During times of peace our Active Forces are
sufficient to maintain national defense. During
armed conflict, however, additional trained forces
are required to increase the Active Fleet. For such
occasions, the Naval Reserve is ready.
The United States operates on a total force
policy. The total force includes all resources
available to perform the national defense
missions. It includes the Active and Reserve
(National Guard and Reserve) component forces;
civilians;
and in some contingency plans,
appropriate forces of our allies.
The total force within the Navy encompasses
all assets, including active-duty members and the
ships and aircraft that make up the fleet. It also
includes the Reserve Force and hardware that will
increase the fleet and shore establishments in a
national emergency or contingency. Since Naval
Reserve strength is directly related to the Navy’s
inventory of ships,
aircraft, and support
equipment, it is fully integrated into force strength
planning. Reservists are full partners in the naval
establishment with a meaningful role. They serve
as a source to whom the Active Navy can turn
quickly for added manpower and hardware. Each
reservist has the opportunity to make a real
contribution to the Navy’s mission.
HISTORY OF THE NAVAL RESERVE
The first use of a Reserve source of naval
manpower took place in 1888 when Massachusetts
organized a naval battalion as part of the state
militia. By 1897 a total of 16 states had organized
naval units as part of their state militia. Officers
and men from these organizations served with the
Regular Navy during the Spanish-American War.
The state militia organizations sought assis-
tance from the federal government. Agreeing that
the states should receive aid, Congress approved
legislation establishing a federal Naval Reserve on
3 March 1915. However, not until 19 August
1916, with the prospect of World War I, was the
Naval Reserve Force formally organized.
At the end of World War I, 330,000 Naval
Reserve officers and personnel were on active
duty. By the end of World War II, over three-
fourths of the 3,220,000 persons on active duty
in the Navy were members of the Naval Reserve.
MISSION OF THE NAVAL
RESERVE
The Naval Reserve’s primary mission is to
provide trained personnel to supplement the
Active Force in war, national emergency, or when
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