The Congressionally chartered Commission on the National Guard and Reserves is getting company in its effort to review the now more extensive use of reserve components. The Pentagon has tapped its Defense Science Board to form a task force to study the “length and frequency of the deployment” of reservists. The task force is to assess the consequences of such deployments on force structure, morale, and mission capability and to identify the “optimal” length and frequency. Lastly, the task force must identify “mechanisms to reduce” said lengthy and frequent deployments.
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…