A Real Work of ART: After 50 years, the air reserve technician program is still going strong

  • Published
  • By Gene Vandeventer
  • Air Force Reserve Command Historical Services
ROBINS AFB, Ga. --  As Air Force Reserve Command celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the air reserve technician program within the Air Force Reserve reaches its golden anniversary milestone.

On Jan. 10, 1958, Lt. Gen. William E. Hall, commander of the Continental Air Command, the major command having administrative responsibilities over the air reserve components, swore-in the first two ARTs: Master Sgt. Samuel C. McCormack and Tech. Sgt. James W. Clark. Sergeant McCormack was a line chief in the 705th Troop Carrier Squadron at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas, while Sergeant Clark served as an aircraft maintenance technician in the 65th Troop Carrier Squadron at Davis Field, Okla. The ceremony took place at CONAC headquarters at Mitchel Field, N.Y.

Full implementation of the ART program within the Air Force Reserve began in earnest in the fall of 1958. By the end of 1959, more than 3,100 ARTs were serving in the Air Force Reserve. Today, 50 years later, AFRC's ART force comprises approximately 9,100 men and women.

It is quite easy today, when thinking of the multi-faceted personnel composition of the Reserve, to overlook the importance of the ART corps and how this integral cadre of technicians came into being.

In the late 1940s, President Harry Truman's decision to strengthen reserve components of all services was influenced by the recommendations of the Committee on the Civilian Components chaired by Gordon Gray, assistant secretary of the Army. This body recommended in June 1948 that to improve training, "full-time personnel should be assigned in sufficient number to insure effective units."

The Air Force made organizational changes to facilitate the committee's recommendations, with CONAC assuming administrative responsibilities for the Air Force Reserve program.

With the reduction of active-duty U.S. military forces after World War II, the reserve components assumed additional peacetime training duties. Side-by-side affiliations of both active-duty and reserve units at stateside "flying centers" occurred during this time. Those Air Force Reservists assigned to the flying centers belonged to what became known as the "Category R" program. Their job was to provide administrative and technical know-how continuity.

The Reservists were local residents who volunteered to serve on extended active duty for three years. Serving in this capacity, Reservists acquired useful peacetime training that prepared them for mobilization and wartime duties if they became necessary. There were some organizational problems, however, as Reservists found themselves being integral parts of both the active duty and Reserve organization staffs. This "dual status" situation did cause chain-of-command dilemmas.

Meanwhile, in June 1950, the Air Force Reserve program was tested by a general mobilization as the Air Force responded to the crisis brought on by the Korean War. When two Air Force Reserve wings mobilized in August 1950, there was some initial confusion about whether the Category R personnel would accompany their units to active duty or remain with the flying centers. A month later, the Air Staff resolved this question by terminating Category R status, placing all Category R members on extended active duty and making them available for assignments just as other members of their units were.

The Korean emergency revealed that a lack of firm mobilization plans inhibited the efficient employment of Air Force Reserve personnel and equipment. In 1951, well before the war's end, the Air Force established a committee to develop a realistic, long-range plan for the air reserve forces based on defined requirements. Under the chairmanship of Gen. Robert A. Smith, the committee recommended that flying centers be manned by a cadre of personnel from the reserve wings assigned to the centers, either as Reservists on extended active duty or as civilians.

In 1953, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force tasked Lt. Gen. Leon W. Johnson, CONAC commander, to chair another board to review Air Force Reserve matters generally and, specifically, the Smith Committee's recommendation regarding Reservists assigned to flying centers. The Johnson Committee endorsed the Smith Committee's findings.

From 1954 until the program's acceptance, CONAC discussed a wide range of employment, manning and financial concerns with the Civil Service Commission and congressional committees regarding the use of civilians (federal employees). Under this concept, technicians would be full-time civilian employees who were also members of the Reserve wings. These personnel would thus possess a "dual status" comparable to that of Air National Guard technicians at the time.

L.C. (Lee) Lingelbach, CONAC director of civilian personnel, doggedly and persuasively fought the higher echelon doubts and reservations concerning the technician program. He and others (General Hall in particular) envisioned ARTs serving as military members of Reserve units and federal civilian employees in their units during the normal workweek.

Through Mr. Lingelbach's tenacious perseverance and support from General Hall (and others), the Air Staff and Civil Service Commission finally gave their approval of the program. However, the CONAC staff had to devise a limited implementation approach beginning in January 1958 because of a defense-wide manpower and funding reduction that affected all service branches.

Reserve wing commanders gradually began to acquire the responsibility to organize, man and train their own units. Additionally, the evolving roles and opportunities afforded Reservists were further expanded by the inclusion of women into the ART program beginning in 1971, as restrictions regarding duties on aircraft that could be involved in combat eased.

The rest, as they say, is history. Maj. Gen. Rollin B. Moore Jr., the first commander of Headquarters Air Force Reserve, said in an interview in January 1972 that "probably the greatest beneficial change to the Air Force Reserve came about in 1958 when the air reserve technician program was first inaugurated." In June 1980, Maj. Gen. Richard Bodycombe, chief of Air Force Reserve, said in testimony before a congressional committee that the ART program was "the most efficient, effective and economical method for providing full-time support for our units."

Current senior leadership continues to praise the ART program. "Our visionary leaders of yesterday would be extremely proud of the air reserve technician program today," said Brig. Gen. Richard R. Severson, who, as an ART himself, serves as assistant vice commander of AFRC. "Our technicians provide the needed continuity and consistency of effort that successfully lead us through peacetime and wartime taskings. ... without fail!"

The vision Air Force Reserve leaders had in the 1950s is still just as meaningful today. The objective of the ART program -- to maximize combat readiness and provide a nucleus of highly skilled and trained technicians enabling continuity of effort across the spectrum of mission operations -- has never faltered.

The air reserve technicians of the Air Force Reserve are still going strong as today's unrivaled wingmen.