Ac/Rc Integration: Today's Success and Transformation's Challenge

The U.S. Army has had a "Total Forces Policy" for over 30 years, with an increased focus for the past decade on what is now called Active Component/Reserve Component (AC/RC) integration. The modern version is distinguished by an increased frequency of inter-component training, the integration of reserve components into plans and operations for all contingencies, and RC participation in routine shaping operations. Recent successes in integration have come during a period of relative weapons platform and doctrinal stability, but the Army is now undergoing transformation, a period characterized by technological, organizational, and doctrinal turmoil, all of which threatens to undo AC/RC integration's many accomplishments. In the following monograph, Lieutenant Colonel Dallas Owens analyzes current integration programs and initiatives and evaluates them for their potential to resist transformation's possible threat to AC/RC integration.