Reserve Training 



The Coast Guard Reserve, by its very nature, waxes and wanes with 

 international crises. For its purpose is to provide a trained military 

 force of officer and enlisted personnel to supplement the regular Coast 

 Guard in time of war or national emergency. The program has always 

 been focused on mobilization. It is administered by the Commandant 

 under "such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury, with the 

 concurrence of the Secretary of the Navy, may provide (14 USC 751) ." 



The Coast Guard Reserve is made up of the Ready Reserve, Standby 

 Reserve, and Retired Reserve. This study is concerned mainly with 

 the Ready Reserve since ( 1 ) almost all costs of the Reserve Program 

 are for the Ready Reserve; and (2) the Ready Reserve can be mobil- 

 ized on short notice to meet initial military manpower requirements. 

 The Ready Reserve at this time totals about 29,000 members. 



The Coast Guard's principal reserve programs are its Organized 

 Reserve Port Security Training Program (ORTUPS) , and its Organ- 

 ized Reserve Vessel Augmentation Program (ORTUAG). Approxi- 

 mately 11,000 reservists are now participating in the port security pro- 

 gram which is aimed at preventing the entrance into this country of 

 persons or objects inimical to national security and at reducing fire 

 hazards and other dangers inherent in waterfront areas. Since port 

 security will probably be a key activity during the start of hostilities, 

 these reservists are being trained to go into action immediately upon 

 the declaration of a national emergency. 



In the Vessel Augmentation Program, reservists are being readied 

 to carry out smoothly and efficiently any naval tasks which may be 

 demanded of them in the event of war. 



History 



The predecessor to the present Coast Guard Reserve was a nonmili- 

 tary organization, established by law in June 1939. Its name was 



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