The Army Reserve is prioritizing building combat readiness, mobilizing at scale and modernizing the force, the component’s senior enlisted leader said.

Our “first priority is to build combat readiness, and that's key. We’ve got to make sure our reserve component is lethal,” Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Betty said May 29 during an Association of the U.S. Army Noon Report webinar. “The second priority is to mobilize on time and at scale.”

There are about 9,000 Army Reserve soldiers deployed throughout the world today, and about 200 units are activated, Betty said.

As the Reserve continues to prioritize its combat capabilities, it is eyeing a shift to get soldiers out of reserve centers and into training centers, Betty said. Soldiers may work on things like additional MOS training and weapons training at the training centers, “so when it’s time to deploy, we are ready and capable,” he said.

As it modernizes, the Reserve is pushing back against a recruiting shortfall, Betty said.

“Recruiting civilian talent is key,” he said, adding that the Army Reserve is facing a shortfall of about 4,000 soldiers. “To get after that 4,000 that we're missing out on, we have 1,500 [Active Guard Reserve] recruiters … out there dedicated to recruit for [us], and they're going after those skill sets to make sure that we get … the right civilians to become soldiers to help us fight the fight,” Betty said.

The Army Reserve also anticipates getting more involved with the Army’s transforming in contact initiative, which puts new technologies in soldiers’ hands for testing.

“We're going to get some of the next-gen equipment,” Betty said. “We're divesting equipment that we will not be using in the future fight.” With the “money that's saved, we can get the new equipment and fix the equipment that we will use in the time of conflict,” he said.

Army Reserve soldiers are a vital force multiplier, Betty said.

“We're a force multiplier because not only do we have an MOS in the Army, we also have a civilian skill set,” he said. “With only 6% of the Army’s budget ... we provide more than half of capabilities in supply, in sustainment, [psychological operations and] civil affairs, … the [Judge Advocate General] Corps, just to name a few. Those are the strengths that the Army Reserve brings to the Total Army fight.”