Figure 6.2

The Army personnel drawdown, fiscal 1989–1997.

degree than in the cold war period. The result is increased strain on all components and a requirement for greater flexibility in mission adaptation for both individual soldiers and units.

The total Army is composed of both tactical and nontactical units. The tactical units include combat, combat support, and combat service support; the nontactical units perform such functions as recruiting, training, personnel management, and materiel command. The total Army composition in 1997 for tactical units was: National Guard (45 percent), active Army (38 percent), and Army Reserve (17 percent) (U.S. Army War College, 1997). A further breakdown in shown in Figure 6.3; it shows that the National Guard provides 55 percent of the combat troops, 33 percent of the combat support units, and 26 percent of the combat service support units. Currently there are 8 combat divisions and 15 separate brigades in the National Guard. The Army Reserve, in contrast, represents only 3 percent of combat troops, while providing 31 percent of combat support and 46 percent of combat service support units. The Reserve also provides 100 percent of the railway units and enemy prisoner-of-war brigades, 86 percent of the