Army Reserve question(s)

[Fitzdenis]

Hi All,

I'm just trying to clarify the status of the army Organised Reserve just prior to WW2 if anyone could help.

Were regular army officers/EM assigned to Reserve units just to maintain a skeleton unit HQ & maintenance on paper or did the Reserve compete with the National Guard to recruit part time service members and to obtain other resources (weapons/vehicles etc) in the states in which they were based? 

And just further on from this were regulars who had served their period of enlistment put on a reserve list for a few years after they left and could be called back up?  If so were they assigned to the Reserve units for annual training etc?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Frank

[patches]

On 8/17/2020 at 12:21 PM, Fitzdenis said:

Hi All,

I'm just trying to clarify the status of the army Organised Reserve just prior to WW2 if anyone could help.

Were regular army officers/EM assigned to Reserve units just to maintain a skeleton unit HQ & maintenance on paper or did the Reserve compete with the National Guard to recruit part time service members and to obtain other resources (weapons/vehicles etc) in the states in which they were based? 

And just further on from this were regulars who had served their period of enlistment put on a reserve list for a few years after they left and could be called back up?  If so were they assigned to the Reserve units for annual training etc?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Frank

Regular army officers/EMs might be assigned to Reserve Divisions as Liaison, but they were not assigned in mass to give it strength. The Reserves Divisions had quite a few men in them, and did actively drill, as well as send people as instructors to various Universities and Colleges that had a ROTC program, they were distinct from the National Guard. I guess it was up to the individual to which one he would join, most officers then as was in WWII though the 70s up to today come from the ROTC and later OCS  and thus have Reserve Commissions, they' may spend a lot of time on active duty, but they''ll still hold reserve commissions.

 

Each component was supplied separately really, NG being State, would receive federal help in this regard, the NG unit of course had to be federally Recognized, so I don't think there was competition to receive supplies, each was allocated supplies as to their TO&E, but after 1929 when the depression took force, if supplies were skimpy they became even more so, in the RA too.

 

The Reserves Individual Ready Reserve as it currently constituted was as far as I can find not in-place in the 1920s-30s, I guess soldiers if they left honorably were just left alone, they might be subjected to the draft perhaps, there was a topic on this awhile ago.

[patches]

Want to see some soldiers of the Reserves in the 20s and 30s and reserve uniforms in a collection?

 

 

 

 

[Fitzdenis]

15 hours ago, patches said:

Regular army officers/EMs might be assigned to Reserve Divisions as Liaison, but they were not assigned in mass to give it strength. The Reserves Divisions had quite a few men in them, and did actively drill, as well as send people as instructors to various Universities and Colleges that had a ROTC program, they were distinct from the National Guard. I guess it was up to the individual to which one he would join, most officers then as was in WWII though the 70s up to today come from the ROTC and later OCS  and thus have Reserve Commissions, they' may spend a lot of time on active duty, but they''ll still hold reserve commissions.

 

Each component was supplied separately really, NG being State, would receive federal help in this regard, the NG unit of course had to be federally Recognized, so I don't think there was competition to receive supplies, each was allocated supplies as to their TO&E, but after 1929 when the depression took force, if supplies were skimpy they became even more so, in the RA too.

 

The Reserves Individual Ready Reserve as it currently constituted was as far as I can find not in-place in the 1920s-30s, I guess soldiers if they left honorably were just left alone, they might be subjected to the draft perhaps, there was a topic on this awhile ago.

Patches,

 

that is great, thank you very much for that information. It's very helpful. I'm finally getting the structure clear in my head!

 

I've been having a look at those threads you quoted. That's quite a collection! This link in one of them looks to be very useful too:

 

https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/OrderofBattle1.pdf

 

Frank

 

 

 

 

[patches]

9 hours ago, Fitzdenis said:

Patches,

 

that is great, thank you very much for that information. It's very helpful. I'm finally getting the structure clear in my head!

 

I've been having a look at those threads you quoted. That's quite a collection! This link in one of them looks to be very useful too:

 

https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/OrderofBattle1.pdf

 

Frank

 

 

 

 

Yes that's a great series of books, have that one volume, the detail is exact. One correction I should of made was the use of the term Liaison for RA Os and EMs, EMs usually NCO assistants and junior EMs as orderlies etc. I more properly  should of used Staff instead.

[Fitzdenis]

15 hours ago, patches said:

Yes that's a great series of books, have that one volume, the detail is exact. One correction I should of made was the use of the term Liaison for RA Os and EMs, EMs usually NCO assistants and junior EMs as orderlies etc. I more properly  should of used Staff instead.

Got it, thanks!

It's an interesting subject. Those books are a great find and your info helped a lot as I couldn't get the Army gearing up for WW2 straight in my head without knowing how it was organised beforehand.