Battle Assembly

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Soldiers get ready to go to the Weapons Qualification Range at Fort Dix, New Jersey

Battle Assembly is the term used by the United States Army Reserve to describe monthly drills, where soldiers practice their military skills and maintain individual and unit readiness in case of mobilization and deployment. These activities used to be referred to simply as "drill" or "weekend drill" but according to former Chief of the Army Reserve, Lieutenant General James R. Helmly, the term was changed in 2005 to emphasize the need for Army Reserve soldiers' training to focus on continued preparations for fighting the Global War on Terrorism ^[1].

1 History
2 Reserve service
3 Typical duties
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

[edit] History

During the Korean Conflict (1950-1953), the United States Congress made significant changes to the structure and role of the Army Reserves. These changes transformed the former Organized Reserve Corps into the United States Army Reserve, divided into a Ready Reserve, Standby Reserve, and Retired Reserve. Members of the Ready Reserve were authorized 24 inactive duty training periods per a year with their reserve unit, which translated to two duty days per month for twelve months and the start of "monthly drills" for reservists.^[2]

[edit] Reserve service

All US Army soldiers sign an initial eight year service contract upon entry into the military. Typically, the contract specifies that some of the service will be served in the Regular Army, or "active component" (two, three, or four years), with the rest of the service to be served in the reserve component; however, some soldiers elect to sign a contract specifying that all eight years be served in the reserve component, in which case the soldier is entering directly into the Army Reserve. Those soldiers who serve a period of years in the active component and choose not to re-enlist in the active component are automatically transferred afterwards to the reserve component to complete their initial eight year service obligation. After the expiration of the initial eight year service contract, soldiers who elect to continue their service may sign subsequent eight year contracts consecutively until they finally leave the service; however, some of these senior soldiers may have the option to opt for an "indefinite" contact, in which case the soldier remains a part of the military until they retire, are removed from the service for cause, or elect to leave the service.

While in the Army Reserve, soldiers may belong to the active Army Reserve, or the Individual Ready Reserve. The key difference is that active Army Reserve soldiers typically attend Battle Assembly one weekend a month, twelve months a year, and also attend a statutory two week period of active duty every year, referred to as Annual Training. Conversely, members of the Individual Ready Reserve are not required to attend Battle Assembly or Annual Training, but remain committed to military service obligations and may be recalled to active duty as directed by the President or U.S. Congress.

The Reserves used to use a recruiting slogan, "One weekend a month & two weeks a year," but has since dropped this slogan due to the Iraq War, where commitments are typically much longer than that time.

[edit] Typical duties

Once per month, soldiers report to their unit in uniform, usually early on a Saturday morning but sometimes on a Friday evening. Their duties typically continue until Sunday evening, but may end earlier at the direction of the unit's commanding officer. During battle assembly, the unit may move to a field training environment to conduct field training; otherwise, the unit's personnel will remain at the unit's home facility to conduct operations there, usually referred to as training in garrison. Most battle assemblies are conducted in garrison, unless the unit is a combat arms unit such as infantry and as a result more likely to spend most battle assemblies in the field. During any given battle assembly, soldiers may:

Go to a weapons range to qualify with their individual weapon or a crew served weapon.
Be evaluated taking an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), or participate in group physical training.
Receive military training and practice common soldier skills, such as first aid.
Practice specific vocational tasks related to their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).
Maintain their individual military equipment, such as their chemical protective mask.
Maintain their unit's organizational equipment, such as military vehicles and generators.
Conduct a movement exercise, such as military vehicle convoy operations.
Undergo a Soldier Readiness Program (SRP) event, especially if preparing to deploy.
Receive health and dental screenings including preventative immunizations.

Once per year, most units will also have a "Family Day," where family members can attend and see firsthand what the unit and the soldier does. The family members also usually receive briefings on benefits and services available to reserve soldiers and their families while attending a unit social event, which helps strengthen family ties to the unit and encourages family members to participate in the unit's Family Readiness Group.