RESERVIST MAGAZINE THE VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE I Rear Adm. Todd Wiemers Assistant Commandant for Reserve ’m thrilled and honored to be the first to step into the new position of Assistant Commandant for Reserve. I’m coming to this job fresh from my time as the commanding officer of Sector Jacksonville where I was the recipient of great support from the Reserve in everything we were doing. I’d already understood the Reserve value and capabilities during my time heading the Office of Boat Forces; I’m excited to draw on my experience honing the Boat Forces Reserve Management Program and take the Reserve to the next level. In my first week as CG-R back in June, I was fortunate enough to attend the Reserve Component Leadership Conference where we passed the baton from the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support to the Deputy Commandant for Operations. This is our first step as we get the force right, build the force, and support the force. I met outstanding leaders from all across the Reserve Component including PSUs, districts, the RPA corps, and the badge community. Believe me when I say these leaders weren’t shy about ensuring the Coast Guard’s senior folks were intimately familiar with the issues surrounding the Reserve. All these fine people were focused on solving issues in the Reserve, both those organic to our Component and those we face as we provide a force multiplier to the Active Component. Toward that end, we’re advancing on the path toward the next steps: building the force and supporting the force. Wasting no time, we’ve kicked off an ambitious agenda with three priorities. • First, we build the force: directed by vice commandant, DCO and DCMS chartered the Reserve End-Strength Action Team, which begins the work of restoring our Selected Reserve to the authorized strength of 7,000 members. Many challenges lie ahead in meeting that mandate, such as recruiting, retention, and funding, but rest assured, we have assembled a strong team from across the Coast Guard to successfully carry out that mandate. • Second, as we get the force right, we laid the groundwork for the Reserve Component Requirements Generation Process. We’ll use this systematic approach to lay out the full life cycle of requirements from strategy to mission to capabilities. This way we can see what the Active Component needs from the Reserve Component during both steady-state and contingency operations. Once the requirements are built, we’ll assign a risk factor based on what we can and cannot perform due to a resource-constrained environment. This will allow our operational commanders to make risk-based decisions grounded in known capabilities. • Lastly, to support the force, we’ll take a round turn on the Reserve Forces Readiness System that we launched back in 2010. During the initial roll-out, we were constrained by how we could move billets to the required locations. We’ll do a stem-to-stern review of the existing system and will introduce RFRS 2.0 next year. "You stand ready to answer the call, no matter what the mission, and I am humbled by your dedication, not just to service, but to excellence." Over the course of my career, I’ve met many talented reservists, especially in my background as a sector commander. I can vouch for the value of the Reserve firsthand. In fact, during the RCLC, the commandant reiterated that the Reserve Component is “an essential element of Coast Guard operations.” As proof, one of the first orders given to CG-R was to relieve the active duty of their operational mission at the Southwest border operation. I commend all reservists who deployed to support our sister agencies in their work at the border, especially those who deployed on short notice over the Fourth of July holiday. You took over that mission from the active duty, and you became the face of the Coast Guard, working with our DHS partners along the Southwest border. When Hurricane Dorian threatened the Southeast, more than a hundred reservists came on active duty to support the mission, and many remain on duty today, helping our partners in the Bahamas. You stand ready to answer the call, no matter what the mission, and I am humbled by your dedication, not just to service, but to excellence. My team and I are looking at how we can do a better job of supporting the readiness and activation of reservists long-term. I invite your ideas, as well as those of your senior reserve officers and senior enlisted leaders. I look forward to my time in CG-R and fully embrace the challenge. We’re in an exciting time, and I’m proud to serve alongside each and every one of you. Semper Paratus. 8 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2019
