“The reserve call-up that the President ordered underscores
the modern reality of the United States military. We can’t
go to war without reservists,” said freshman Rep. Mark Kirk
(R-Ill.), who is also a non-drilling reservist for the U.S. Navy.
In a recent interview, Kirk said that the “war on terrorism,”
prompted by the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and the
Pentagon, could not be fought without heavy reliance on military
reservists.
“Winston Churchill said a reservist is twice a citizen. A
reservist has two critical roles in national security. He’s
not paid when we don’t need him, but he is there and will
give everything when we do need him,” he said.
“These are no donut-eating weekend warriors,” Kirk
said of the reservists he knows. “Reservists are the most
experienced doctors in the military, they have award-winning airlift
teams. Reservists fly their aircraft far more often than their active-duty
counterparts. … Intelligence specialists are far more experienced.
In many ways, reservists dramatically enhance the capability of
our military.”
Kirk, a congressman from Deerfield, Ill. who serves on the House
Armed Services Committee, is a reserve naval aviator. Kirk holds
the rank of lieutenant commander and was the intelligence officer
assigned to a squadron flying the EA-6B prowler electronic attack
aircraft, until his election to Congress in 2000.
Most recently, he served in Operation Northern Watch in 1999, patrolling
the no-fly zone over Iraq. Kirk’s status as a non-drilling
reservist means that he is still “on the books,” but
isn’t connected to a specific reserve squadron. He indicated
that he still wants to stay involved with the reserves somehow.
“I will seek an opportunity to help during a congressional
recess. However, my primary military duty station right now is in
the Congress, to vote for the beans and bullets necessary to carry
out this war, and to encourage my colleagues in Congress to do the
same.”
Greater than 70 percent of the medical capability of the armed
forces exists in the reserves, according to Dr. Richard A. Stone,
a physician in the U.S. Army Reserves.
“What the reserves do is bring to active duty high-experienced,
active physicians, nurses and critical care specialists, who practice
their military-occupational specialties every day in the civilian
world. These units are highly specialized, highly trained and fully
deployable in support of national goals of military missions.
“Our purpose is to move as far forward on the battlefield
as possible to provide care to soldiers, who, upon being wounded
would not survive evacuation. These units stand ready for immediate
call-up with highly motivated and trained soldiers,” he said.
“Their effectiveness has been proven over the last decade
with deployments in virtually every military operation that our
military has undertaken,” he said.
Stone holds the rank of lieutenant colonel and serves as commander
of the 948th forward surgical team, which is part of the 88th reserve
command headquartered in Southfield, Mich. He said that his unit
is committed to serving in the upcoming conflict, and, in fact,
even former reservists with the unit have expressed that they are
willing to serve. “My reserve center on Tuesday [Sept. 11,
2001] received over 200 calls from former reservists who wanted
to come back into the active unit,” he said.
Pentagon officials said that at least 35,500 reservists would be
needed for assignments in homeland defense. Up to 15,000 more could
be called in the near future. The largest share, 13,000, will come
from the Air Force Reserve. About 10,000 will be called by the Army,
3,000 by the Navy, 7,500 by the Marines and 2,000 by the Coast Guard.
Since September 11, thousands of reservists have been on duty as
pilots, military policemen and investigators. Nearly 200 Air Force
reservists helped identify the remains of those who were killed
when hijackers crashed a commercial jetliner into the Pentagon.
Coast Guard reservists have been patrolling the harbors in New York
and Los Angeles.