Existing comment:
The Post-Vietnam Era
1976-1989
The mission of the Naval Reserve transformed in the post-Vietnam Era from functioning as a general manpower pool for fleet augmentation to a more specialized, capabilities-based force. Sailors still served on Naval Reserve Force ships and in naval aviation squadrons, but new missions evolved or expanded for the Force including Cargo Handling, Intelligence, Inshore Undersea Warfare, Mobile Construction, Coastal Riverine and Mine Warfare. Budget cuts in 1977 reduced end strength from 129,000 to 87,000. Then in the 1980s, as President Reagan pursued a 600-ship Navy to counter the Soviet Union, the Naval Reserve expanded to almost 150,000 to help man the Fleet. |