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An Army Reserve officer is a commissioned officer who pursues a civilian career but reports for periodic military training. They can be called up for active duty and must maintain their eligibility through training. Most new officers come from civilian colleges and universities through ROTC programs or Officer Candidate School. Upon completion of their education and training, they are commissioned as second lieutenants with a service obligation. Reserve officers must stay physically fit and prepared for activation. They receive part-time pay, retirement credits, and civilian employers are required to recognize their military obligations. Some choose to resign, but many have long careers in the reserves.
A United States Army Reserve officer is a commissioned officer in the United States Army Reserve. Instead of serving on active duty, an Army reserve officer pursues a normal civilian career, reporting for periodic military and service training. Like all military reserve personnel, an Army reserve officer is subject to being called up, or activated, for active duty.
The United States Army consists of an active duty component and a reserve component. There are many reasons for this divide, from simple budgetary concerns to the historic distrust of professional military personnel held by America’s founders. Maintaining a large and strong reserve is seen as a solution to many of these concerns. To maintain their eligibility for service, members of the Army Reserve are generally required to participate in periodic training and service sessions. Also, when activated, members of the Army Reserve must report for duty or face punishment.
Like all officers in the U.S. military, an Army reserve officer is a college graduate. The vast majority of new Army officers come from America’s thousands of colleges and universities. Most of these are considered “civilian” institutions, where the Army runs its Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs to train select students, called cadets. Some cadets are awarded ROTC scholarships, which pay for the majority of their tuition fees; the majority, however, receive only a monthly stipend for personal expenses. The other major sources of new officers are the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the Officer Candidate School.
Upon completion of their education and training programs, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army. All newly commissioned officers have an eight-year service obligation upon commissioning, but the amount of time spent on active duty is based on the source of their commission. West Point graduates must serve at least five years of active service, while ROTC scholarship recipients must serve four years of active service. The active duty component of the service requirement of off-exchange ROTC graduates and OCS graduates is three years.
Upon completion of active duty, an Army officer may request to transfer to the reserves; moreover, officers can be involuntarily assigned to the reserves if their fitness reports — regular assessments of an officer’s competence and abilities — fall short of standards. In addition to participating in recurrent training and service obligations, Reserve Officers are expected to stay physically fit, maintain their uniforms in serviceable condition, and be prepared for activation.
However, transfer from active duty does not generally relieve an Army reserve officer of military responsibility. The training and service formations that all reservists participate in are conducted by officers, who are responsible for keeping their units ready for activation. Upon activation, units are generally held together, so that officers who were responsible for training as reserves become responsible for leading them into combat environments.
There are many benefits to being an Army Reserve officer, including part-time pay and access to military commissars and postal exchanges. Participation in training and service courses also counts towards a reserve officer’s retirement credits. Civilian employers are generally required to recognize the military obligations of reserve personnel, so that many who are activated for active duty can expect to find work waiting for them when they return.
Although some reserve officers choose to fulfill their service obligation and resign their commissions, many lead long careers in the reserves, advancing in military rank while pursuing a civilian career and lifestyle.
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