Army Reserve Turns 100

Army Reserve Marks Century of Service to Nation
By Retired Army Col. Randy PullenSpecial to American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, April 20, 2008--The U.S. Army Reserve celebrates its 100th birthday on April 23, marking a full century of service in which Army Reserve soldiers have continuously answered the nation’s call. Army Reserve soldiers served in both world wars, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the ongoing global war on terrorism. They also helped respond to countless other crises, emergencies, disasters, operations and expeditions. That busy century of service to America all began when Congress established the Army’s first federal reserve force on April 23, 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt signed Senate Bill 1424, creating the Medical Reserve Corps. The Reserve medical officers in the corps could be ordered to active duty by the secretary of war during times of emergency. In June 1908, the first 160 medical professionals received Reserve commissions. This number grew to about 360 by 1909 and to 1,900 by 1916. The concept of bringing civilian professionals into the Army in a disciplined and quickly-accessible manner also expanded beyond the medical profession and beyond just officers. In 1912, the Regular Army Reserve was created, a federal reserve outside of the Medical Reserve Corps. It grew much more slowly than its predecessor; by 1913, there were only eight enlisted men in it. Three years later, some 3,000 Army Reserve soldiers would be called up to serve beside their Regular Army and National Guard comrades along the southern border of the United States. This first mobilization of the Army Reserve was due to tension between the United States and Mexico caused by the actions of the Mexican revolutionary, Francisco “Pancho” Villa, and the subsequent punitive expedition after him led by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing. A second Mexican-American War was averted, but this mobilization provided invaluable experience for America’s Army in the greater war soon to come.....................

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