SENIOR ARMY RESERVE COMMANDERS ASSOCIATION HISTORY

The Senior Army Reserve Commanders Association was organized in 1949 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The initial membership was composed of the General Officers and Chiefs of Staff of the twenty-four combat divisions then in the Organized Reserve Corps. The senior officers of those divisions met annually at Fort Leavenworth for a one-week Refresher Course conducted by the Army Command and General Staff College.

BG James T. Roberts, CG of the 13th Armored Division (CA), called for the creation of an organization for the purpose of expressing the concerns of the senior field commanders of the units in the Organized Reserve Corps. BG Herbert H. Vreeland, CG of the 76th Infantry Division (CT) on April 19, 1949, called the first meeting to order. MG Julius Ochs Adler, CG of the 77th Infantry Division (NY), was selected to chair the meeting and was subsequently elected as the first President of the Association. In 1964, following a proposal to merge the units of the USAR into the National Guard, SARCA membership was expanded to include all General Officer commands of the USAR. Working closely with the Reserve Officers’ Association, SARCA played a major role in preventing the merger. In 1970 the By-Laws were amended to permit Association members to become Retired Members upon retirement, as well as permitting continued membership for those becoming Individual Mobilization Augmentees. In 1980 membership was expanded to include Colonels who commanded USAR units and in 1982 it was opened to Colonels serving active-duty tours. In January 1993, SARCA approved a measure accepting as members all Colonels of the USAR, regardless of whether or not they had served as Commanders at that rank. A Life Membership option was established in 1992.

Health care benefits for Reservists became the key issue for SARCA during 1985 and 1986 following the capture of a USAR Major in Beirut by terrorists as he was returning from Annual Training. That incident caused the Association to recommend legislation to provide Reservist with the same protection as Active Component members for injuries sustained while on duty. These laws are now in effect.

Each year between 1980 and 1990 the Association presented the GEN Walter T. Kerwin, Jr. Award to a USAR General Officer unit in recognition of their outstanding performance during the preceding training year. Nominations were submitted by CONUSA’s, with final selection being made by FORSCOM. The Award was presented to the winning unit during the summer SARCA meeting. This award was suspended in 1990 during Operation DESERT STORM and is now presented by AUSA.

In 1988 SARCA established an annual award for the “Legislator of the Year.” The first recipient was Rep. Beverly Byron, who chaired the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel and Compensation.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) addressed the 1995 Annual Meeting. During this same meeting, SARCA implemented its Hall of Fame, initially honoring ten outstanding retired members of the Association in an impressive ceremony.

The 1996 Meeting was addressed by Army Chief of Staff, GEN Dennis J. Reimer, and by GEN George A. Joulwan, CINCEUR/CINCUSAREUR, who returned from Bosnia to participate in the meeting and the Hall of Fame ceremony. 1997 began with persisting stringent budgets, continuing end-strength reductions to 230,000, concern about the ambitions of some National Guard representatives, and steady deployments to Bosnia. Serious debate regarding the structure and end-strengths of the Reserve Components continued unabated, and by early 1998, SARCA members were writing to Congressmen and Governors opposing legislation proposed by the National Guard Association. In the meantime, the Off-Site process had reduced the USAR from 319,000 to 208,000 over a five-year period. During 1998, a large number of USAR soldiers deployed to Bosnia, and the USARC proposed the addition of Civil Affairs slots to meet the humanitarian mission requirements. The relationships among the Active Component, the USAR,

and the National Guard became considerably more civil, despite the announcement that the USAR would drop to 205,000 by FY 2000.

In recent years, due to operational requirements and a ruling by the Judge Advocate General adding scrutiny to active Army Reserve officers being involved in military service organizations, SARCA fell into a period of inactivity. Over the past two years a group of us have been working to revitalize the organization and we have made steady progress. We are especially grateful to Mr. Steve Austin for speaking to us during our last two meetings.

One of SARCA’s core pillars is to serve as a venue for professional development opportunities for not only the senior leaders of the Army Reserve but leaders at all levels.  We offer military and civilian leaders the platform to discuss and brainstorm initiatives, current and future, as well as develop legislative priorities.

Many of our members are still active in their communities and continue to champion and support the Army Reserve.

The Annual SARCA meeting is a great opportunity for them to hear the most current information directly from Army Reserve Leaders and stay current on Army Reserve initiatives as they promote military service in the community. Our annual meeting is held just before the AUSA national meeting in October each year.

SARCA’s history is rich, but the future promises even greater challenges and opportunities to excel.