Battle Assembly Battle Assembly is the term used by the United States Army Reserve to describe monthly training , where soldiers practice and perfect their military skills and maintain individual and unit readiness in the event of mobilization and deployment . These training activities were formerly 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 . History . During the Korean War ( 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 , dividing it into a Ready Reserve , Standby Reserve , and Retired Reserve . Members of the Ready Reserve were authorized 24 inactive duty training sessions per year with their respective reserve unit . This translated into two duty days per month for twelve months and the commencement of regular " monthly drills " for reservists . Reserve service . Currently US Army Reserve soldiers sign an initial eight - year service contract upon entry into the military . However , in past eras , most enlistment contracts were for different terms which have been adjusted for different terms and lengths . Occasionally , the enlistment contract specifies that some of the service contract 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 ; alternately , some enlistees elect to sign a contract specifying that his or her entire enlistment obligation be served in the reserve component only . In such case , the soldier or enlistee enters 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 sometimes transferred afterwards to the reserve component to complete their initial service obligation . After the expiration of the initial service contract , soldiers who elect to continue their service may sign subsequent contracts consecutively until they are formally discharged from the military . The soldiers that attend battle assembly ( weekends ) are compensated at a higher rate than active duty components . Currently , a four - hour block of service is compensated at an active duty single day of compensation . Thus , a reserve component soldier who performs two 8 - hour days in a month will receive the equivalent of an active soldier compensation of four days . However , during the annual training , the compensation will be at the rate afforded to active duty pay . Hence , the heightened pay received by active reserve will only occur during the 24 8 - hour days for battle assembly during the normal weekend battle assemblies . 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 . Although National Guard troops may be trained by the US Army and attend the same basic training and advanced individual training as US Army Reserve troops , the ultimate authority for the National Guard troops are under the control and authority of the individual states in which they serve . Thus , subsequently they may be called for individual state emergencies as authorized by their respective state governors . The reserves used to use a recruiting slogan , " One weekend a month and two weeks a year " , but has since dropped that slogan due to the Iraq War , where commitments are typically much longer than that time . Typical duties . Once per month , soldiers report to their unit in uniform , usually very early on a Saturday morning but sometimes on a Friday morning or 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 : 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 .