IMA RESERVISTS: MISSION ENHANCEMENTS OR ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS

The Air Force Individual Mobilization Augmentee IMA Program is one of four categories of Reservists who individually are assigned to and augment Active Duty units. This manpower capability provides the surge capacity and technical expertise necessary to maintain a ready reserve force to respond to Combatant Commanders requirements in peacetime and in war. However, as with many long-standing programs, there are inefficiencies that detract from its effectiveness. Dated information systems, cumbersome processes, and a very limited requirement for augmentation inhibit the IMA Program from being a model program held in high regard by the Active Component. This research analyzed three of the information systems used to schedule IMA duty, the annual evaluation process, and the minimum length of IMA augmentation required each year. By using a ProblemSolution methodology it was determined that 1 it is critical that the Air Force Reserve modernize the information systems used to schedule duty 2 a streamlined annual evaluation process should be implemented to reduce administrative work on IMAs who serve the minimum requirements and 3 converting Inactive Duty Training IDT days to Active Duty days allows the IMA to perform a one-month Annual Tour at the same cost as the current program. The first two solutions should be implemented immediately however, the last solution should be implemented only on an as needed basis at the request of the Active Component and at a cost to the Reservists civilian employer. In times of fiscal constraint and a military extended beyond its manpower capacity, that decision may be a necessary trade-off to consider.