Tiara,
Most ARNG/USAR units find they have issues with this sort of thing from time to time, and that is absolutely the reason. With ARNG/USAR Soldiers, you don’t have someone who is able to commit to the military 100% of the time. The very same thing that is ARNG/USAR’s greatest strength and makes “us” a favorite of deployed commanders, is also a weakness when it comes to non-federal/small level missions. Our Soldiers, NCOs and Officers tend to be older, more mature, professionals, with families and experience beyond the military.  However those “outside of the military” commitments make it hard to drop everything once or twice every couple of months to meet some task from “higher,” or changed drill dates.  It’s not a matter of not wanting to help, Soldiers in the reserve components just have to be constantly aware that causing issues with an employer who pays the bills, isn’t always the best idea despite what protections ESGR and SCRA try to guarantee.

In CA at least, we do have a QRF and they are the ones who are called up when state emergencies arise. However the 1 company on standby means nothing when the command calls in all Soldiers, “just in case,” or when a drill schedule is changed in order to have Soldiers available for a change of command.

So I ask you, and the ARNG/USAR officers who read this; how important is it to take into account that Soldiers within the reserve components have to answer to more than just the military? Can and should leaders in the ARNG and USAR take the attitude of “if they can’t do it, we’ll find someone who can,” or should more care and consideration be given to guarding the training schedule/drill dates except in the most dire, 9/11 level circumstances?