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FY2025 NDAA: Reserve Component End-Strength (CRS Report for Congress)

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Release Date Oct. 21, 2024
Report Number IN12448
Report Type Insight
Authors Nicholas M. Munves
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
Summary:

Under 10 U.S.C. §115(a), Congress sets the maximum size (i.e., end-strength) of the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces annually, typically in a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congress is also responsible for appropriating funds for the pay and benefits of these personnel. Endstrength specifically refers to the actual number of personnel in a branch on the last day of the fiscal year (i.e., on September 30). The proposed end-strength figures in an FY2025 NDAA would be for September 30, 2025. Congress also periodically sets minimum end strength levels for the Armed Forces, which may be identical to or lower than the authorized end strength. While Congress authorizes minimum and maximum end-strengths, each military service manages its force, through recruiting and retention efforts, to achieve an actual end-strength. Typically, this actual end-strength falls within the congressionally authorized minimum and maximum end-strengths. However, there are circumstances in which the actual end-strength may fall outside the authorized range. For example, under 10 U.S.C. §115(c), the Secretary of Defense may increase the endstrength of any of the services above the authorized end-strength by up to 2%. Recruiting and retention shortfalls may cause one or more of the services to fall below their minimum authorized strength. Congress sets annual end-strength figures for the active component of the Armed Forces—comprised of personnel serving in a full-time capacity—and for the reserve component. The reserve component provides “trained units and qualified persons available for active duty in the armed forces, in time of war or national emergency, and at such other times as the national security may require, to fill the needs of the armed forces whenever...more units and persons are needed than are in the regular components.” (10. U.S.C. § 10102). The Secretary of Defense is required by law (10 U.S.C. §113a(b)(2)) to submit end-strength requests for all branches of the reserve component in an annual request to Congress. Congress is not bound by these requests, but has authorized end-strengths similar to the Pentagon’s requested numbers. The reserve component consists of the reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, as well as the Army National Guard (ARNG) and Air National Guard (ANG). The Space Force does not have a reserve component. It is a single-component Armed Force with personnel serving in an inactive or active-duty status (10 U.S.C. §20001). The National Guard (ANG and ARNG) may be mobilized under federal or state authority, and performs homeland security missions that include responding to civil unrest and natural disasters, as well as guarding domestic airspace.