According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “It is not an overstatement to say that as goes the health of the reserve component, so goes the health of the all-volunteer force.” In its Phase III report from the Beyond Goldwater-Nichols project, CSIS says the health of the nation’s reserve forces “is not a boutique issue that is only relevant for a small group of defense experts,” rather it is “an issue of strategic national importance.” Defense officials have acknowledged that the US military cannot conduct today’s and future operations without reserve forces. However, the authors of the report believe that DOD must devote “far more resources” than it currently plans to spend on the reserve components. Strong as the report is on enhancing the reserves, it deals a blow to proponents of elevating the status of the chief of the National Guard Bureau. It does not recommend either placing the NGB director on the Joint Chiefs or increasing the rank to four stars.
Members of Congress from both parties expressed frustration and dismay over the abrupt and still-unexplained firing last month of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh from his dual role as head of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.