Naval Special Warfare Reserve Force: Reorganization and Strategic Employment for Integration and Support of the Active Component

This monograph examines the current organizational structure and employment of the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Reserve Force, to research the possibility of increasing force readiness through command reorganization and implementation of a reserve employment strategy. The historical significance of the Reserve Component illustrates the changes in the reserve force imposed by a changing strategic environment. Important to this study was the role the Reserve Component has played the throughout history and its ability to adapt to world wars and peacetime environments. The end of the Cold War created a change in the strategic environment that required the military to adapt to full spectrum operations around the globe. The Department of Defense initiated the Total Force Policy as a method to integrate all resources, Active, Reserve, and National Guard, and meet increasing objectives with a smaller force. This monograph examines the current reserve force structure and employment of the Army and Navy to illustrate the service commitment to the Total Force Policy. The Army and Navy organize their Reserve Components to assume a more active role and reduce the operational tempo of the active force. The U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) organizes and employs reserve forces in the same manner as the active SF Groups. The SF methodology for organization and employment offers possible changes for NSW to implement. The current NSW organizational structure and employment strategy illustrate the underutilized reserve resource and the possibility of applying the lessons learned from the SF. This monograph concludes that NSW can enhance force readiness through the reorganization and employment if its reserve force. The total NSW force active and reserve components, can provide better support to theater CINCs.