DoD Signals More, Shorter Callups

The Defense Department is making five policy changes for management of reserve-component forces. DoD will: (1) change deployment management from an individual basis to a unit basis, “to improve unit cohesion and predictability for training and deployments”; (2) reduce the maximum mobilization time frame from 18 months to one year; (3) keep its policy objective for involuntary mobilization of Guard and Reserve units to a one-year-mobilized to five-year-demobilized ratio, although a number of selected Guard and Reserve units will be remobilized sooner; (4) establish a program to compensate individuals in active and reserve-component forces who are required to mobilize or deploy earlier than deployment policy goals, or who are extended beyond rotation-policy goals; and (5) direct commands to review their hardship-waiver programs, to ensure that they have taken into account exceptional circumstances facing families of deployed service members.