CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Whether it is Michigan Air National Guard planes dropping a record number of ordnance on enemy fighters, two Mississippi Army National Guard brigades managing most of the helicopter assets in the Middle East or an Army Reserve logistics headquarters handling the distribution of resources for the entire region, the reserve component has the capabilities to fill the requirements for today’s battlefield, senior leaders say.
“The impact (from the Reserve component) is significant. Everyone is meeting the challenges together as a team – Army and Air Force, National Guard, Reserve and Active component. It is one family,” said an emphatic Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais, the adjutant general of the Michigan National Guard.
That family is growing. The number of Soldiers from the Reserve and National Guard continues to climb, making up nearly one in three Soldiers in the U.S. Army Central area of responsibility.
Vadnais’ comments came during the final hours of the biannual Joint Monthly Access for Reserve Component, or JMARC, visit held Aug. 19-22 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. The JMARC enables senior leaders of the reserve component to observe first-hand the contributions of their respective deployed personnel and receive an updated assessment on the current intelligence picture and war strategy.
Brig. Gen. Timothy McKeithen, an Army National Guard general who serves as the principal adviser on sustainment issues to the commanders of USARCENT, hosted the event. A similar visit was held in February for other leaders. For 90 minutes, the senior leaders heard military planners describe the current geopolitical landscape in a conference room nestled inside the secure compound that is home to USARCENT.
Planners have been busy aiming to stop the emerging threat of violent extremism in the Middle East coupled with the increasing instability brought upon by the incipient rise of Russia on the global stage with the invasion of Crimea, leaders say. These issues come forward as deep defense budget cuts continue to force changes in priorities, and the number of Active Duty units begins to decline.
McKeithen, who will depart Kuwait next month to return to the National Guard Bureau in Washington, noted there had been one significant change: the footprint of Reserve and National Guardsmen in theater. In February, one out of five Soldiers came from the Reserve component. Six months later, it is just over 30 percent, he said.
Maj. Gen. Augustus Collins, the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, traveled 7,000 miles with Command Sgt. Maj. John Raines, the top enlisted Soldier in the Mississippi Guard, to witness history. For the first time since the conflicts began, a senior-level aviation unit and a senior-level aviation maintenance unit from the same state have deployed simultaneously to support the same mission.
“We are all one Army. We all have our job to do and as professionals; we get it done,” said Collins, who while an Army general officer, oversees the state’s Army and Air National Guard as the adjutant general. “All components working together – Active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve – we do great as one team in combat.”
Collins’ comments of a unified Army come as he prepares to be one of two National Guard senior leaders selected as part of the transition team for incoming Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley. This marks the first time National Guard officers have taken part in this role.
Maj. Gen. Paul Hurley Jr., commanding general of the active duty 1st Sustainment Command (Theater), attended a senior leaders’ dinner and expressed his thanks to the reserve component leaders. Hurley, who was the senior representative from USARCENT, recently had an Army Reserve command take over the logistics headquarters from an Active Component unit.
“The (National Guard and Army Reserve) have the capabilities to fill the requirements (to meet the Army’s objectives),” he said. “The value that the reserve component brings to the fight is immeasurable.”
Col. Anthony Couture, the senior Army National Guard advisor at USARCENT whose office co-organized the event, said the JMARC continues to prove the visits are necessary to ensure the voices of stakeholders are heard.
“If I don’t walk away with anything else, it is clear that future combat operations will continue to mirror this one, where all components play a part,” Couture said. “It’s not an opinion. It’s the reality on the ground.”
For McKeithen, the JMARC served as an exclamation point on what has been an eventful assignment with USARCENT. He served as the keynote speaker of the Army National Guard Town Hall last month. Next month, he will head to NGB to serve as the deputy director of the Army National Guard, which will include a promotion to major general.
“It’s been busy. The mission never ends, the fight continues,” he said. “I look forward to bringing a perspective from the ‘forward fight’ and the insight that comes with it.”
Other leaders at this visit included Chief Master Sgt. David Eddy of the Michigan Air National Guard; Maj. Gen. Tracy Thompson and Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Castleveter of the Vicksburg, Mississippi-based 412th Theater Engineer Command; Brig. Gen. Jose Burgos and Command Sgt. Maj. Harry Munoz of Puerto Rico-based 1st Mission Support Command; and Brig. Gen. Francisco Espaillat and Command Sgt. Maj. Orlando Santiago of the Orlando, Florida-based 143rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command.