Existing comment:
A Shift in Focus
1990=1999
The 1990 invasion of Kuwait resulted in the largest mobilization of the Naval Reserve since the Korean War. Over 20,000 Reserve Sailors deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. They provided surge support and expertise in specialties including port security, field medicine, air logistics and mobile construction. During the 1990s Naval Reserve Sailors also assumed more humanitarian and disaster relief missions, mobilizing to the Balkans, Kosovo, and Haiti. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the primary mission focus of the Navy had shifted from global to regional conflicts, and it began to rely more on individual reserve activations instead of entire units. |