**NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED BY**

**THE COMMISSION ON THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES**

**STATEMENT OF**

**LIEUTENANT GENERAL JACK W. BERGMAN**

**UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE**

**COMMANDER, MARINE FORCES RESERVE**

**BEFORE THE**

**COMMISSION ON THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES**

**ON**

**19 JULY 2006**

**NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED BY**

**THE COMMISSION ON THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES**

Major General Punaro, distinguished members of the committee, thank you
for giving me the opportunity to speak with you this morning. Your
Marine Corps Reserve remains firmly committed to warfighting excellence.
The support of Congress and the American people has been indispensable
in attaining that level of excellence and success the Marine Corps
Reserve has experienced in the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

######### ROLES AND MISSIONS

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) has three specific missions: to
augment and reinforce the active component (AC), to provide operational
tempo (OPTEMPO) relief to the AC, and to perform community outreach.
Additionally, MARFORRES has the implied mission to "maintain reserve
site facilities." We accomplish these four missions through exercise of
command in two separate but parallel chains of command: operational and
garrison/site support. Operationally, MARFORRES has four major
subordinate commands through which we organize, train, administer,
equip, and provide trained and ready units and individuals for the AC
forces.

The MARFORRES garrison mission is to maintain Reserve Training Centers
(RTCs) during peacetime and wartime. Garrison/site support includes
those responsibilities associated with an installation commander. These
include facility maintenance, community outreach, garrison equipment,
supply, family assistance and casualty calls. The MARFORRES garrison
mission is accomplished by Site Commanders, Inspector-Instructors,
Reserve District Commanders and Peacetime/Wartime Support Teams (PWST).

######### HOMELAND SECURITY

In October 2004, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the
designation of the Commander of Marine Forces Reserve as Commander,
Marine Forces North (COMMARFORNORTH), which is the Marine Corps
component responsible for supporting U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).
Among the duties executed by COMMARFORNORTH and the MARFORNORTH staff
are anti-terrorism program and force protection responsibilities for
Marine Corps bases and installations. MARFORNORTH also commands,
supports, coordinates with and provides advice on the employment of
Marine Corps forces when attached to U.S. Northern Command within the
USNORTHCOM area of responsibility in order to conduct homeland defense
operations and provide support to civilian authorities. This
"dual-hatting" of commander and staff also serves to leverage one of the
great strengths of the Reserve: its close contact with communities all
across the United States. While informal in their nature, the ties that
bind our Reserve Marines to their communities provide an invaluable
perspective and sensitivity to the concerns of officials at the state
and local level, and pay great dividends in times of crisis response at
home. By combining MARFORRES and MARFORNORTH duties in one commander and
staff, we have achieved a reasonable balance in the efficient and
effective use of headquarters personnel, while at the same time
increasing the Marine Corps ability to support Northern Command.

Because of this "community basing," quite often Reserve Marines
operating as part of the Marine Corps Total Force can be quickly
integrated into any local task force responding to the needs of our
country. This past summer the Navy-Marine Corps team rapidly responded
to natural disasters in the homeland, rescuing and supporting our fellow
Americans along the Gulf Coast region ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. Reserve Marines of Detachment A, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion
\-- who lived in the direct path of the hurricane \-- exercised their
own initiative, using their unique amphibious vehicles to respond
immediately to assist the citizens of Gulfport, MS. A Special-Purpose
Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) comprised of 2,654 active and
reserve Marines deployed to aid communities across Louisiana and
Mississippi. Additionally, the commander of this mix of active and
reserve component and Marines was Major General Douglas O'Dell, who also
serves as the Commanding General, 4th Marine Division, which is the
ground combat element of Marine Forces Reserve. Through it all, Marine
Reserve helicopter and fixed wing aviation, amphibious armored vehicles,
and heavy trucks from communities throughout the southeast region of the
United States contributed to the overall success of the SPMAGTF's
mission to alleviate the suffering of fellow Americans last fall.

In addition to combat and support capabilities like those just
mentioned, the Marine Corps Reserve has a contribution to the Emergency
Preparedness Liaison Officer program, which is more uniquely designed to
respond to homeland security and civil support. Thirty-two Marine
reserve officers support both civil and military authorities during
times of crisis and have been particularly responsive in the short life
of the program. During Hurricane Katrina, twenty of the thirty-two
officers were assigned as liaison officers at operations centers such as
the Louisiana State Emergency Operations Center, JTF-Katrina
Headquarters, JTF-Katrina Forward Command Post, and FEMA Region IV and
VI Regional Response Coordination Centers. These officers are extremely
dedicated and operated with a minimum of guidance, which is expected of
any Marine officer, whether reservist or active component. Their
contribution to homeland security and disaster response far outweighs
the size of the organization and is a critical element of linking the
Marine Corps capabilities to USNORTHCOM.

######### PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION

######### RECRUITING AND RETENTION

Like the active component, Marine Corps Reserve units primarily rely
upon a first term enlisted force. Currently, the Marine Corps Reserve
continues to recruit and retain quality men and women willing to manage
commitments to their families, their communities, their civilian
careers, and the Corps. Despite the high operational tempo, the morale
and patriotic spirit of Reserve Marines, their families and employers
remains extraordinarily high.

At the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2005, the Marine Corps' Selected Reserve
was over 39,600 strong. Part of this population is comprised of Active
Reserve Marines, Individual Mobilization Augmentees, and Reserve Marines
in the training pipeline. Additionally, nearly 60,000 Marines serve as
part of the Individual Ready Reserve, representing a significant pool of
trained and experienced prior service manpower. As you know, Reserve
Marines bring to the fight not only their Marine Corps skills but also
their civilian training and experience as well. The presence of police
officers, engineers, lawyers, skilled craftsmen, business executives,
and the college students who fill our Reserve ranks serves to enrich the
Total Force.

Our enlisted force remains healthy with FY06 cumulative attrition rate
at 15.6% as of June, well below the historic average of 21.6%. Officer
retention remains historically steady. During FY 2006 we have
experienced a cumulative officer attrition rate of 19.2%, a slight
decline from the historic average of 19.6% recorded by June of past
fiscal years.

In FY 2005, the Marine Corps Reserve achieved 100 percent of its
recruiting goal for non-prior service recruiting (5,921) and exceeded
its goal for prior service recruiting (3,132). Fiscal year to date, we
see that trend continuing, as we have accessed slightly more than our
goal (6,124 accessions vs. 6,011 goal).

######### Junior officer recruiting remains our most challenging area. Our response to this challenge has been the institution of a range of officer accession programs designed to provide properly screened and trained lieutenants directly to ground Reserve units. The accession program solutions will be long-term systemic changes to existing manpower procurement policies and they will substantially close the company grade officer gap that currently exists in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve by 2011. 

######### MOBILIZATION AND DEMOBILIZATION

The Marine Corps Reserve is able to activate, conduct pre-deployment
training, deploy, re-deploy, and deactivate all within twelve months.
The practice of using twelve-month activations with seven-month
deployments has contributed to sustaining MARFORRES and assisted in the
reconstitution of our units. Units mobilized from within MARFORRES
follow the same seven-month "boots-on-ground" deployment policy as our
active forces. This activation/deployment "business model" has allowed
the Marine Corps to maximize management of the Reserve force, maintain
better unit integrity, and lessen the burden on Marine Corps families
and employers by maintaining predictable deployments while allowing
adequate dwell time.

As of June 8, 2006, 7,268 Reserve Marines were activated in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Of
these Marines, approximately 5,742 were serving in combat-proven ground,
aviation and service support units led by Reserve Marine officers and
staff non-commissioned officers (SNCOs). The remaining 1,526 Reserve
Marines were serving as individual augments in support of Combatant
Commanders, the Joint Staff and the Marine Corps. Since September 11,
2001, the Marine Corps has activated over 40,000 Reserve Marines, and
more than 97 percent of Marine Forces Reserve units.

Current Department of Defense policy practice does not authorize a
subsequent involuntary reactivation of Reserve Marines in previously
activated units. Due to this policy, units and detachments supporting
OIF/OEF consist of first-time activations and volunteers. The volunteers
are particularly important because they are the majority of the NCO,
SNCO and Officer leadership. Despite these limitations, the Marine
Reserve is providing approximately 14% of the total current Marine Corps
commitment in Iraq.

######### READINESS, TRAINING, AND EQUIPPING

**READINESS/TRAINING**

In support of the official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve, our
units practice a methodology we refer to as "Train, Activate, and
Deploy." Towards that end, MARFORRES is maintained as a pre-trained,
balanced and sustainable force capable of rapid deployment into a combat
environment. Reserve Marines continuously train to maintain high levels
of combat readiness; however, because we currently have the luxury of
scheduled rotations, we utilize a 90-day activate-to-deploy schedule. A
demanding combined active and reserve pre-deployment training program
ensures Reserve Marines are at their peak combat readiness upon
deployment. The 90-day pre-deployment training program is based on a
building block approach beginning with individual combat skills and
culminating with major units conducting large-scale, live-fire training
operations. The seamless integration of Marine Reserve units into Marine
Air Ground Task Forces in Iraq and their combat success highlight the
effectiveness of the pre-deployment training program.

This year (FY 2006), units from Marine Forces Reserve will provide
OPTEMPO relief to the active component by participating in over fifty
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff (CJCS) sponsored exercises
throughout the world, Currently, Reserve Marines from 1st Battalion,
23rd Marines, 4th Medical Battalion, and 6th Engineer Support Battalion
are participating in Exercise Natural Fire in Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania. During May and June 2006, Reserve Marines from 4th Tank
Battalion, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d Battalion, 24
Marines and 6th Motor Transport Battalion participated in Exercise
African Lion in Morocco. Reserve Marines from Marine Wing Support Group
47 participated in Exercise Seabreeze in the Ukraine, while Marines from
4th Force Reconnaissance Battalion and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport
Squadrons 234 and 452 participated in Exercise Southern Canopy in
Australia, and Reserve Marines from 3d CAG participated in Exercise
Cobra Gold in Thailand. In August, Reserve Marines from the 4th Marine
Logistics Group, 14th Marines and 24th Marines will participate in
Exercise Ulchi Focus Lens in South Korea.

**EQUIPMENT**

The Marine Corps Reserve faces two essential and simultaneous equipping
challenges:

-   supporting and sustaining our forward deployed forces in the GWOT,
    and

-   resetting and modernizing the Force to prepare for future challenges

In tackling the first challenge \-- supporting and sustaining our
deployed Marines -- we have prioritized our efforts as follows: first,
to provide every deploying Reserve Marine with the latest generation
individual combat and protective equipment; second, to procure essential
communications equipment; third, to procure simulation devices that
provide our Marines with essential training and enhance survivability in
hostile environments; and fourth, to provide adequate funding to O&M
accounts. Our main effort in support of resetting and modernizing the
Force include the procurement and fielding of Light Armored Vehicles to
outfit two new Light Armored Reconnaissance Companies, filling our
remaining communications equipment shortfalls, and adequately funding
upgrades to our legacy aircraft -- all with the goal of building the
most lethal and best protected individual Marine and Marine Corps.

Equipping our Reserve Component continues to be extremely challenging.
Because of the level of support provided to the GWOT, ground equipment
usage averages from four to nine times the normal programmed peacetime
usage. Ground equipment readiness rates of our deployed forces average
above 95%. This comes at a cost to our non-deployed units. Non-deployed
units have ground equipment readiness rates that hover at 85%. However,
this number can be deceiving as many units have severe shortages in
equipment available due to "cross-leveling" of equipment to support
deployed and deploying forces. We have also resorted to "borrowing"
equipment from pre-positioned stocks in Norway and Maritime
Pre-positioned Ships. Sustainment of high readiness rates in theater and
improvement of those rates at home are dependent upon delivery of
replacement equipment in our "Reset the Force" estimate.

The Marine Corps Reserve operates and maintains a broad array of
competent but aging aircraft. The harsh operating environments in
Afghanistan and Iraq -- extreme temperatures, high altitudes, corrosive
desert environment -- have created unique maintenance challenges, and
shortened the expected service life of our rotary wing fleet. The CH-46,
for example, has been utilized in support of OIF at 200 percent of its
peacetime usage rate. With no active production lines for our rotary
wing aircraft, maintaining our inventory in a mission capable status has
been accomplished through an ever increasing workload on our enlisted
maintainers. Yet, despite difficult circumstances, they continue to
excel. The aviation equipment readiness (mission capable) rates of our
deployed forces averaged 82 percent over the past 12 months. The
corresponding rate for units remaining in garrison averaged 74 percent
over the same period.

######### FUNDING ANALYSIS

During this evolving Long War, the continued effectiveness of Marine
Forces Reserve has become heavily dependent upon Congressional approval
of supplemental requests as well as the continued support through the
National Guard and Reserve Equipment Appropriation (NGREA).

The FY 2006 Supplemental provided \$2.675 billion (B) to the Total Force
Marine Corps. This amount includes \$10.6 million (M) for reserve
manpower (RPMC), \$87.8M for reserve operations and maintenance (O&M
MCR), and \$2.577B for procurement funding (PMC) for the entire Marine
Corps. The procurement requirements for the Marine Corps will return or
"Reset the Force" to pre-war levels. For MARFORRES, the requirement to
"Reset the Force" will cost \$76.7M. The actual allocation of
Procurement Marine Corps dollars within the Total Force will be decided
by the Strategic Ground Equipment Working Group, a Headquarters Marine
Corps-sponsored group in which MARFORRES participates. The
conference-approved \$87.8M in O&M MCR dollars includes \$68M for the
purchase of Initial Issue Equipment specifically for Reserve Marines and
Sailors assigned to SMCR units. This will help us meet our number one
priority: equipping our Marines and Sailors with the best available
individual equipment. The remainder of the O&M MCR amount will go to
support operations, maintenance and training throughout MARFORRES.

Although the FY06 Supplemental will provide much-needed assistance, it
will not completely fulfill our "Reset" requirements. The MARFORRES FY
2007 Supplemental submission totaled \$428M and is comprised of \$259M
in procurement requirements, \$148M in operations and maintenance, \$12M
in manpower, and \$9M in aviation procurement (Navy).

The NGREA continues to provide much needed procurement support. In FY
2005, NGREA provided \$50M (\$10M for OIF/OEF requirements, and \$40M
for Title III procurement requirements), enabling us to robustly respond
to the pressing needs of the individual Marine, Total Force and
Combatant Commanders. In FY 2006, NGREA provided \$30M. This \$30M
enabled us to craft a FY 2006 procurement plan consistent with that of
FY 2005: tactical communications, power generating devices and training
enhancement devices. Specifically, FY 2006 NGREA will procure four
Virtual Combat Convoy Trainers -- Marine (VCCT-M) and two LAV Combat
vehicle training simulators. These simulators provide realistic convoy
crew training and incidental driver training to your Marines. Additional
items identified for FY 2006 NGREA procurement include: Integrated
Intra-Squad Radio, Ground Laser Target Designator, Intransit Visibility
Management Packages, Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, Marine Expeditious
Power Distribution Systems, and PRC-148 radios. NGREA remains a key
element of procurement-related resourcing as it provides us the funds
necessary to establish and maintain interoperability and compatibility
with the Active Component.

**Operational Versus Strategic Roles of the Reserves**

While there is no official definition of "Strategic Reserve," we can
define the term as a portion or body of troops that is kept to the rear
\-- in this case, physically in CONUS or at least held under the
authority of the national leadership \-- that is withheld from action at
the beginning of a war, in order to be available for decisive employment
at a later time. With that admittedly informal definition in mind, we
believe that the Marine Corps Reserve has served a recognizably
"strategic" purpose from the time of its founding in 1916 until the end
of the Vietnam War. Perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of that
era was the practice of treating reserve units as essentially pools of
semi-trained manpower, to be used upon mobilization as individual
fillers into existing or new wartime units. While this practice served
the Marine Corps well in World War II and in Korea, it was clearly not
the optimum way of either training or retaining talented individual
reservists, nor did it leverage the full potential of home-town or
regionally-based reserve units.

The Marine Corps Reserve in the post-Vietnam War era shifted to a more
"operational" focus as the reduction or elimination of some units in the
active force drove an increasing Operational Plans reliance on the early
mobilization of select combat and combat support units. The first test
of post-Vietnam Marine Corps Reserve organization and mobilization
procedures came in 1990-1991 during Operations Desert Shield and Desert
Storm. Our experience in Desert Shield and Desert Storm validated the
Marine Corps view of a more "operational" use of the SMCR. Although the
initial deployment of U.S. forces featured units that were
overwhelmingly drawn from the active component, subsequent deployments
featured significant numbers of Marine Corps Reserve battalions,
squadrons, companies and detachments. The Marine Corps activated 25,710
Reservists, which included 61% of the available reservists in the SMCR.

After Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the Marine Corps Total
Force primarily served the nation as a forward presence and contingency
response force. Many reservists in high-demand specialties served as
individual augments to staffs, while those in reserve-unique units such
as civil affairs deployed around the world. Marine Corps reservists
served in peace operations and conflicts throughout the 1990s, in places
such as Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo and Haiti. The largest post-Desert
Shield/Desert Storm reserve unit activation of the 1990s occurred in
1994, when three volunteer rifle companies (473 Marines) were deployed
to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to guard refugee camps. This deployment provided
OPTEMPO relief to the active component, thereby enabling uninterrupted
continuation of Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) deployments, the Unit
Deployment Program (UDP) deployments to Japan and other force
requirements supporting Regional Combatant Commander operations,
including theater security cooperation and theater engagement
activities. Throughout the 1990s, Marine Corps Reserve units were
engaged in intensive and focused training, education, and mobilization
preparation. By September 10, 2001, the Marine Corps Reserve was a
well-trained force with high morale and a strong tradition of rapidly
and effectively augmenting and reinforcing the active component when
called upon by the nation, proud and eager to mobilize and be "first to
fight."

The infamous attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon
on September 11, 2001 ushered in our present era of increased reliance
on the Marine Corps Reserve. For the first time in over 60 years, the
Nation demanded forces able to respond immediately to a host of homeland
defense missions and the Marine Corps Reserve again proved ready for the
call. The Marine Corps activated nearly 5,000 Marine Reservists, as part
of units or individual augments, in support of Operations Noble Eagle
(ONE) at home and OEF in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. The Marine
Corps provided reserve aircraft squadrons, infantry battalions and
supporting units for airspace and land security. Several examples are
noteworthy: Marine Fighter Attack (VMFA) Squadron 321 out of Andrews
AFB, MD commenced Combat Air Patrols over Washington, DC in the
immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Second Battalion, Twenty-Fifth
Marines from Garden City, NY was initially activated in December 2001
and sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to assist Marine Corps Quick
Reaction Force (QRF) and Air Contingency Battalion (ACB) requirements in
support of ONE. Meanwhile Second Battalion, Twenty-Third Marines from
Encino, CA provided a similar capability augmentation for the First
Marine Division on the west coast. Though the Marine battalions were not
called upon to respond to a domestic attack or incident, they did enter
the training cycles of the 2nd and 1st Marine Divisions respectively,
providing Division commanders with additional assets and flexibility for
crisis response.

Marine Forces Reserve units filled critical roles in the nation\'s
defense by carrying out many global missions. Examples include:
detachments of reserve KC-130T's from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport
(VMGR) Squadrons 452 (Newburgh, NY) and 234 (Fort Worth, TX), which
deployed to support OEF operations in Afghanistan; reserve Heavy Lift
Helicopter (HMH) Squadron 772 (Willow Grove, PA) deployed with 22nd MEU
in 2002; HMH-769 (Edwards AFB, CA) deployed with 11th MEU in 2002; and
reserve provisional security platoons (sourced from 4th Marine Division
in New Orleans, LA) were assigned to guard U.S. Naval Base, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. Marine Reserves also provided OPTEMPO relief to the active
forces by supporting Combined Arms Exercises in California and Hawaii,
participating in the Unit Deployment Program to Okinawa, Japan,
conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in
Central and South America, as well as conducting multinational
\"Partnership for Peace\" exercises in Eastern Europe.

I have previously spoken to the professionalism and dedication of the
Marines who responded to the Katrina/Rita disaster, but their efforts
bear mention again here. Although the Marine Corps is focused on
defending the homeland from forward operating bases, the capability,
adaptability, and ingenuity of the Marines and their combat and support
units, especially the Reserve Marines who lived along the Gulf Coast,
were clearly one of the great success stories associated with the
Nation's response to the destruction of the two hurricanes.

Post-Katrina, the Marines and Sailors of MARFORRES Headquarters elements
found themselves in the unusual position of being a part of both the
evacuation and the relief efforts in the area. Because of the storms,
MARFORRES Headquarters \-- along with the headquarters of the 4th Marine
Division, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, and 4th Marine Logistics Group \--
were forced to evacuate the New Orleans area and set up temporary
command cells in Texas, Georgia, and Missouri. It was from these
locations that we managed normal business plus the mobilization and
deployment of units to the affected areas to support relief efforts. In
some cases, Marines were serving in their own communities that had been
devastated by the storms. After what amounted to nearly a three-month
"deployment," the headquarters elements returned to New Orleans and
resumed normal operations.

Now, almost five years into the GWOT, our Reserve Component continues to
sustain the capability, flexibility, agility and eagerness to fight
across the full spectrum of conflict. More than 7,000 Reserve Marines
are currently activated. Over 5,500 are deployed with ground, aviation
and combat support units and nearly 1,600 are serving as individual
augments in both Marine and Joint commands. Reserve Marines are in the
thick of the fight in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Our Reserves are also
providing personnel for a wide-variety of joint supporting operations
and activities, including Iraqi military transition teams, Afghan
National Army embedded training teams, civil affairs detachments, and
personnel recovery and processing teams. Globally, Reserve forces
perform anti-terrorist and humanitarian operations in the Horn of
Africa, Afghanistan, Central America, and the Caribbean.

**CONCLUSION**

As I have outlined above, your Marine Corps Reserve has been extremely
active over the last five years. I am proud of the fact that Reserve
Marines have continued to be an integral piece of the Total Force Marine
Corps effort in support of the GWOT. I am equally proud of the day to
day contributions of Reserve Marines in support of the security of our
nation.

These contributions have not come without cost to both man and machine.
While we certainly grieve for each and every casualty, we recognize that
the consistent support from Congress for upgrades to our warfighting
equipment has positively affected the American lives saved on the
battlefield. However, much of this same equipment throughout the force
has deteriorated rapidly due to our current operational tempo. While we
currently maintain a high level of readiness, we will need to refresh or
replace our warfighting equipment in the very near future.