[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5687-S5688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONFIRMATION OF RESERVE SERVICE CHIEFS

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise to mark an historic day for our 
Nation's military, and specifically the reserves. Yesterday, the U.S. 
Senate honorably carried out its constitutional duty by approving the 
Presidential nominations of Reserve Service Chiefs to the rank of 
three-star. Last year's National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2001, H.R. 4205, required the service secretaries to increase the 
rank of the Chief of the Navy Reserve, Commander of the Marine Forces 
Reserve, Chief of the Army Reserve, Chief of the Air Force Reserve, 
Director of the Army National Guard, and the Director of the Air 
National Guard to Vice Admiral or Lieutenant General. This mandate was 
very significant to me and many of my colleagues, as well as those who 
serve in our reserve forces.
  Earlier this year, I was greatly honored to be recognized by the 
Reserve Officers Association in receiving their highest honor--the 
Minute Man of the Year Award. The Reserve Officers Association, 
particularly Rear Admiral Stephen G. Yusem USNR (Retired), deserves 
great credit for its efforts in working with Congress to ensure that 
this well-deserved change in promotion authority for the Reserve Chiefs 
became a reality.
  It is especially important to me because of the significant changes I 
have observed in our Total Force, active duty and Reserve Components 
since the late-1980s to early-1990s when Senator Glenn chaired the 
Personnel Subcommittee on the Committee on Armed Services and I was the 
ranking member on the subcommittee. Back then, reservists were truly 
weekend warriors. That, however, is not the case now--they are much 
more than that. Today, reservists work considerably more than weekends, 
and are as critical a part of the fabric of our National Military 
Strategy as active duty servicemembers.
  The all-volunteer military has largely been a success in our country. 
However, an unfortunate bi-product has been the increasing chasm 
between those Americans who have served in the armed services and those 
who have not. Twenty years ago, scores of elected officials in 
Washington were veterans. Today, the number of Senators and Congressmen 
who have worn the uniform of the armed services has rapidly declined.
  This military-civilian gap, as some have characterized it, is a 
troubling reality that we must seek to bridge. It is increasingly 
difficult for many of our fellow citizens to truly appreciate the 
sacrifices of those who serve in any capacity. That is another reason 
that the reserves are so important for our national life. Our reserve 
servicemembers not only protect our liberty, but also serve as the 
indispensable link to those Americans in civilian life not ordinarily 
touched in their daily lives by the sacrifice, honor and privilege of 
military service.
  The roles and missions of the Reserve Components have changed over 
the past several years, as the active duty force has evolved from the 
downsizing of our military forces during the last decade. For example, 
in March 2001, the Army National Guard 29th Infantry Division took 
command of the American peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. The 
significance of this deployment is that

[[Page S5688]]

75 percent of the 4,000 U.S. Army soldiers on the ground will be Army 
Reserve and Guard soldiers from 17 states--not just headquarters' 
staff, but operational units as well.
  This is just one of many such deployments that have taken place in 
recent years, but it highlights the ever-increasing role of reservists 
in defending America's security interests around the world, and marks a 
radical departure from the past.
  The figures are quite staggering when considered in total. Today, 
reservists and National Guardsmen are deployed under three presidential 
call-up orders for Bosnia, Kosovo and Southwest Asia. For Bosnia, more 
than 21,000 U.S. reservists have been called involuntarily since 1995, 
with another 14,000 having served in a voluntary capacity. For Kosovo, 
more than 7,100 have been called involuntarily, and these have been 
joined by more than 4,000 volunteers. For Southwest Asia, 2,800 have 
been called and some 11,000 have volunteered.
  During each of the past five years, Reserve and National Guard 
servicemembers have performed between 12 and 13.5 million duty days in 
support of the active force. These numbers are a direct contrast to 
1990, when just one million duty days were performed, yet there were 25 
percent more reservists.
  Reservists also currently make up more than half of the airlift crews 
and 85 percent of the sealift personnel needed to move troops and 
equipment in either wartime or peacetime operations. In addition, 
reserve medical and construction battalions, as well as other 
specialists, are critical to a wide range of operations. Consequently, 
efforts by the reserve components to move beyond a traditional wartime 
backup role and to provide peacetime support to active units are 
desirable. The Naval Reserve and Air Force Reserve components have made 
particularly impressive progress in this direction.
  Reservists are performing many vital tasks, from patrolling the no-
fly zones in skies above Iraq to rebuilding schools in hurricane-
stricken Honduras and fighting fires in our western states, from 
overseeing civil affairs in Bosnia, to augmenting aircraft carriers 
short on active duty sailors with critical skilled enlisted ratings 
during at-sea exercises as well as periods of deployment.
  I believe that the civilian and uniformed leadership of our Armed 
Forces and the Congress must recognize this involvement, and, at a 
minimum, provide equality in benefits for reserve component 
servicemembers when they put on the uniform and perform their weekend 
drills as well as all other critical training evolutions. Quality of 
life is not just an active duty obligation that Congress must provide. 
Reservists, on duty, who resemble their active duty counterparts during 
training evolutions and are deployed at times around the world, should 
be treated equally when the administration and Congress provide for 
quality of life benefits.
  I am pleased to pay homage to the many wonderful reserve servicemen 
and women who serve in our armed forces, and in some small measure 
thank them for their dedicated service to our country by recognizing 
the confirmation by the U.S. Senate of the Reserve Service Chiefs to 
three-star rank. Congratulations to Vice Admiral John B. Totushek, 
Chief of the Naval Reserve; Lieutenant General Dennis M. McCarthy, 
Commander of the Marine Forces Reserve; Lieutenant General Thomas J. 
Plewes, Chief of the Army Reserve; Lieutenant General James E. 
Sherrard, III, Chief of the Air Force Reserve; and, Lieutenant General 
Roger C. Schultz, Director of the Army National Guard. I am confident 
that our Reserve Component forces will continue to flourish under your 
leadership. All of you have already demonstrated that the key to your 
strength as leaders is in supporting the servicemen and women who work 
very hard in our military. I trust in your willingness and ability to 
uphold the honor of our country. Congratulations on your continued 
sacrifice and service to our Nation.

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