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Our History & Mission

The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is the Army’s Federal Reserve force, providing operational capability and strategic depth to the Total Army in support of the National Defense Strategy and Joint Force commitments worldwide. Comprised of more than 200,000 Soldiers and Civilians, the Army Reserve accounts for 20 percent of the Army’s organized united, provides nearly half the Army’s total maneuver support, and significant Army mobilization and expansion capability. Manned, trained and equipped to enable operational forces, the Army Reserve provides quick access to trained and ready Soldiers, leaders and cohesive units and critical enabling capabilities found nowhere else in the Army or the Joint Forces.

Globally engaged for more than 15 consecutive years of war, the Army Reserve has been, and continues to be, an essential element of the Total Army and the Joint Force, meeting high operational tempo demands, providing predictable operating and generating forces to Combatant Commands as required. Since 2001, Army Reserve Soldiers have been mobilized more than 335,000 times and deployed across the globe, to include every major combat zone.

Meeting ongoing defense and security demands requires continued access to, and reliance upon, the skills, capabilities, and experience of a ready Army Reserve. A federal operational Army Reserve force saves the Army money; reduces the demand for Active Army capabilities; mitigates Army capability shortfalls, and preserves the readiness of the Total Army.

Supporting Capabilities for the Operational Force include the following: The Army Reserve is structured to manage specialized capabilities, including those not present anywhere else in the Joint Force, such as:
  • Logistics
  • Civil Affairs
  • Military Police
  • Medical
  • Military Information Support Operations
  • Postal & Personnel Management
  • Chemical
  • Transportation
  • Legal Support
  • Chaplain
  • Sustainment capabilities required for major operations, but too expensive to maintain on active duty, such as theater-level transportation, engineer, and logistics units.
  • Career fields that are in high demand in the civilian sector, and difficult to retain on active duty, such as medical, legal, engineering and cyber skills.
  • Theater Engineer Commands
  • Civil Affairs Commands
  • Medical Minimal Care Detachments

Scholarships

Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD) Scholarship Program
The GRFD scholarship program is designed for Cadets who are interested in obtaining a commission as an officer in the Army National Guard (ARNG) or US Army Reserve (USAR) with a guarantee for a Reserve Component (RC) assignment. GRFD scholarships offer either full tuition and mandatory fees or a room and board flat rate of $10,000 per year, and cover up to 2 years/4 semesters of benefits. GRFD scholarship awardees also receive an annual book allowance and a monthly stipend based on their academic year. GRFD Cadets must participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) while attending college which means they will also receive pay for attending a drill one weekend per month as well as a two week annual training in a local ARNG or USAR unit. In return for these scholarship benefits, a GRFD Cadet will serve as a Commissioned Officer in either the ARNG or USAR in a drilling status for 8 years after Graduation.

In addition to these scholarship benefits, GRFD Cadets that are military occupational skill-qualified (MOSQ) can collect Selected Reserve-Montgomery GI Bill (SR-MGIB) and SMP Kicker benefits in conjunction with this scholarship. Since GRFD Cadets also participate in the SMP, Cadets serving in the ARNG may use available State Tuition Assistance (STA), if offered by their State, to cover tuition and fees and combine this with the GRFD scholarship for room and board expenses.

Dedicated GRFD (DED-GRFD) Scholarship Program

The DED-GRFD scholarship program guarantees that Cadets who commission as Army officers will serve in their specified Reserve Component at the time they accept the scholarship; either ARNG or USAR. Dedicated GRFD scholarships offer either full tuition and mandatory fees or a room and board flat rate of $10,000 per year, and cover up to 3 years/6 semesters of benefits. DED-GRFD scholarship awardees also receive an annual book allowance and a monthly stipend based on their academic year. DED-GRFD Cadets must participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) with their Dedicated Reserve Component while attending college which means they will also receive pay for attending a drill one weekend per month as well as a two week annual training in a local ARNG or USAR unit. In return for these scholarship benefits, a DED-GRFD Cadet will serve as a Commissioned Officer in either the ARNG or USAR in a drilling status for 8 years after Graduation.

Cadets receiving DED-GRFD scholarships CANNOT combine SR-MGIB (Chapter 1606 or 1607) benefits with their scholarship, including the SMP Kicker. DED-GRFD scholarship Cadets CAN combine an Active Duty GI Bill (Chapter 30) or Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) with their scholarship because these are benefits earned while in an Active Duty status.

Minuteman Scholarship Program

Minuteman scholarships can be either 2-year GRFD scholarships or DED-GRFD scholarships up to 4 years in length and guarantee that Cadets who commission as Army officers will serve in either ARNG or USAR. Minuteman scholarships require a nomination letter as part of the scholarship packet and offer either full tuition and mandatory fees or a room and board flat rate of $10,000 per year, and cover up to 4 years/8 semesters of benefits. Minuteman scholarship awardees also receive an annual book allowance and a monthly stipend based on their academic year. Minuteman Scholarship Cadets must participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) while attending college which means they will also receive pay for attending a drill one weekend per month as well as a two week annual training in a local ARNG or USAR unit. In return for these scholarship benefits, a Minuteman Cadet will serve as a Commissioned Officer in either the ARNG or USAR in a drilling status for 8 years after Graduation.

Minuteman Scholarship Cadets can be nominated from any State Adjutant General (TAG), any Civilian Aid to the Secretary of the Army (CASA), a Mission Support Command (MSC), or an Army Reserve Ambassador in lengths of 2YRs up to 4YRs for a scholarship. These scholarships are limited each year and need a nomination memo with a handwritten signature from the nomination source. Deadlines for the Minuteman scholarships are 01 September for fall starts and 01 December for spring starts each year.

Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP)

The SMP gives eligible enlisted members of the ARNG and USAR an opportunity to maintain status in their Reserve Component while simultaneously attending college and participating as a contracted Cadet in the ROTC Program working towards a Commission as an Officer. The SMP offers on-the-job training, reinforces the role of the Commissioned Officer in the Army, and gives ROTC Cadets the experience of working with Soldiers and Noncommissioned Officers in a Reserve Component Unit. All GRFD Cadets must participate in the SMP.

ROTC Cadets participating in the SMP will attend one weekend training event each month as well as a two-week annual training with their Reserve Component Unit. SMP Cadets may also take advantage of any Education incentives offered by their respective Reserve Component including, but not limited to, Selected Reserve-Montgomery GI Bill, Student Loan Repayment Program, and/or Tuition Assistance.

Early Commissioning Program

Recipients of the Early Commissioning Program (ECP) scholarships will receive financial assistance for 2-years at one of our 4 sponsoring Military Junior Colleges (MJC) in their pursuit of an Associate degree from the MJC and a commission in the U.S. Army.

These individuals will continue on at a 4-year ROTC program school of their choosing to complete their baccalaureate degree without any other ROTC benefits except for Educational Assistance Program (EAP) within 36 months. EAP will pay either full tuition and fees or flat rate of $10,000 for room and board for only 24 months. Acceptance of EAP will add one Additional Military Service Obligation (ADSO) for each year or partial year EAP is used. Upon commission the MJC lieutenants will be required to select and join a drilling unit in one of the Reserve components and attend battle assemblies and annual training while working on their 4-year baccalaureate degree. These scholarships are also known as the “Ike Skelton Scholarship”.

Accessions

Reserve Component Accessions and Branching is managed by the Respective Component:
Cadets accessing into the US Army Reserve (USAR) must obtain a Vacancy Hold Request (VHR) from the USARC G1 IMT to identify a valid unit vacancy and request their branch. The HRA will process the request through Human Resources Command (HRC) to assign the branch and unit. This process can take up to 30-45 days.

Cadets accessing into the Army National Guard (ARNG) must work with their preferred State to find a vacancy in their desired Branch and obtain a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the State Officer Strength Manager (OSM). This process can take up to 30-45 days.

USAR Education Benefits

Tuition Assistance
While active duty Soldiers serve overseas, Army Reserve Soldiers fill critical roles at home. They are needed for jobs in medicine, aviation, rescue and extraction, sustainment (food, shelter and potable water), infrastructure protection, civil affairs and engineering. The Army Reserve is more like a part-time job that enables you to keep your civilian career while you continue to train near home and serve your country. Soldiers are doctors, lawyers, academics, scientists and information technology specialists, just to name a few.

How can the Army Reserve Help me Pay for College? First and foremost, you will earn competitive part-time pay in the Army Reserve but you will also have access to many education benefits that will allow you to offset a large portion of your tuition bill.

USAR Officer Branches

Although the Army Reserve has a wide variety of branches, a Cadet or prospective officer should consider where they will reside and how far they are willing to travel in order to perform their monthly duty. These factors may weight into your decisions on branches.

For details on current vacancies, either:

1. Use the Human Resource link here (Human Resource Command – Vacancy Locator)
2. Consult with your SROTC program’s Human Resource Administrator or

3. Consult with a local recruiter

The Army Reserve is the major Combat Serve Support provider thus positions in Quartermaster, Transportation, Ordnance are very robust around the country while we offer numerous LT positions in Military Police, Engineer, Chemical, and Medical Service. Positions in Finance, Aviation, Military Intelligence are limited and some branches will require specific criteria to be met prior to being accessed.

Typically if a Cadet/LT locates a valid vacancy and completes the VHR process, the USAR will hold that position until commissioning.