The Reserve Forces Policy Board's (RFPB) FY23 recommendation that the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) issue a contemporary and comprehensive Total Force Policy (TFP) to optimize the integration of active and reserve components in support of the National Defense Strategy came to fruition earlier this month when Secretary Austin issued his Total Force Optimization for Strategic Competition memorandum.
The RFPB's June 12, 2023 recommendation highlighted the need to update the 16-year-old TFP issued by Secretary Gates in 2007, specifically to address current strategic imperatives of Great Power Competition and emerging warfare domains. The recommendation included directives to ensure modernization and interoperability across the active and reserve components; review and rewrite of policies regarding readiness, resourcing, and force mix; and implementation of Life Cycle Personnel Costs across the Total Force.
"This is a significant win for Total Force readiness in support of DoD missions," said Hon. Lisa S. Disbrow, RFPB Chair. The SecDef memorandum culminates three years of research by the RFPB's Subcommittee for Total Force Integration, then-chaired by Maj. Gen. John B. Hashem, as well as more than 10-months of work by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Integration's Total Force Optimization Working Group, and the successful collaboration across all the major components of DoD. The RFPB will continue to support the Department on the way ahead, spearheaded by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the SecDef's primary advisor for Total Force management, in collaboration with other Principal Staff Assistants, the Secretaries of the Military Departments, and other DoD Component heads, as appropriate.
The RFPB is a federal advisory committee established in law to provide the SecDef with independent advice and recommendations on strategies, policies, and practices designed to improve and enhance the capabilities, efficiency, and effectiveness of the reserve component.
