The United States Navy Reserve is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are enrolled in the Selected Reserve (SELRES), the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), the Full Time Support (FTS), or the Retired Reserve program.

The largest cohort, the SELRES, have traditionally drilled one weekend a month and two weeks of annual training during the year, receiving base pay and certain special pays (i.e., flight pay, dive pay, etc.) when performing inactive duty (i.e., IDT, aka "drills") and full pay and allowances while on active duty for Annual Training (AT), Active Duty for Training (ADT), Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS), Active Duty for Special Work (ADSW), or under Mobilization (MOB) orders or otherwise recalled to full active duty.

Those SELRES assigned to front-line operational units, such as Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, Naval Flight Surgeons and enlisted personnel assigned to Navy Reserve or Active-Reserve Integrated (ARI) aviation squadrons and wings, or personnel assigned to major combatant command, Fleet and other major staff positions, are typically funded for far more duty than the weekend per month/2 weeks per year construct, often well in excess of 100 man-days per year. SELRES have also performed additional duty in times of war or national crisis, often being recalled to full-time active duty for one, two or three or more years and deploying to overseas locations or aboard warships, as has been recently seen during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom .

FTS, previously known as TAR (Training and Administration of the Reserve) serve in uniform all year round and provide administrative support to SELRES and operational support for the Navy. They are full-time career active duty personnel, but reside in the Reserve Component (RC), and perform a role similar to Active Guard and Reserve (AGR), Air Reserve Technician (ART) and Army Reserve Technician in the Air Force Reserve Command, the Air National Guard, the U.S. Army Reserve and the Army National Guard.

The IRR do not typically drill or train regularly, but can be recalled to service in a full mobilization (requiring a Presidential order). Some IRR personnel who are not currently assigned to SELRES billets, typically senior commissioned officers in the ranks of commander or captain for whom SELRES billets are limited, will serve in Volunteer Training Units (VTU) or will be support assigned to established active duty or reserve commands while in a VTU status. These personnel will drill for points but no pay and are not eligible for Annual Training with pay. However, they remain eligible for other forms of active duty with pay and mobilization.

The mission of the US Navy Reserve is to provide strategic depth and deliver operational capabilities to the US Navy and Marine Corps team, and Joint forces, in the full range of military operations from peace to war.

Reservists are called to active duty, or mobilized, as needed and are required to sign paperwork acknowledging this possibility upon enrollment in the reserve program.

After the 11 September attacks of 2001, Reservists have been mobilized to support combat operations. The War on Terrorism has even seen the activation of a Reserve squadron, the VFA-201 Hunters, flying F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, which deployed onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). Additionally, more than 52,000 Navy Reservists have been mobilized and deployed to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, including more than 8,000 who have done a second combat tour. They have served alongside Army, Marine, Air Force and service personnel from other countries, performing such missions as countering deadly improvised explosive devices, constructing military bases, escorting ground convoys, operating hospitals, performing intelligence analysis, guarding prisoners, and doing customs inspections for units returning from deployments.

The Reserve consists of approximately 66,700 (55,600 SELRES and 11,100 FTS) officers and enlisted personnel who serve in every state and territory as well as overseas. There are an additional 50,000 members of the IRR.

US Navy Reserve benefits

Medical

• Under the new system, drilling reservists will pay $49 a month for self-only coverage, or $197 a month for self and family coverage. This replaces the complex qualification rules previously in place for Reservists receiving Tricare coverage. With the new rule, the only requirement is being in SelRes, meaning the Sailor drills one weekend each month.Tricare Handbook

Education

• Navy Reservists qualify for the Montgomery G.I. Bill, which covers graduate and undergraduate degrees, vocational and technical school training offered by an institute for higher learning that has been approved for G.I. Bill benefits, tutorial assistance, and licensing and certification testing reimbursement. On-the-job training, apprenticeship, correspondence, flight, and preparatory courses might also be covered.

Insurance

• Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) is a program extended to the spouses and dependent children of members insured under the SGLI program. FSGLI provides up to a maximum of $100,000 of insurance coverage for spouses, not to exceed the amount of SGLI the insured member has in force, and $10,000 for dependent children. Spousal coverage is issued in increments of $10,000.

Tax benefits

• The Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART) makes permanent two important tax code provisions contained in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The first provision created an exception for mobilized Reservists to make early withdrawals from retirement plans without triggering an early withdrawal tax. The second provision allows a Reservist who received a qualified distribution to contribute the funds to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), during the two-year period beginning after the end of his or her active duty period. The IRA dollar limitations will not apply to any contribution made following this special repayment rule.

Job security

• The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) is a federal law intended to ensure that persons who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard or other "uniformed services" are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service; are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their return from duty; and are not discriminated against in employment based on past, present, or future military service. The federal government is to be a "model employer" under USERRA.

Promotions

• Reservists receive the same promotion opportunities as active duty Sailors except they compete against other Reservists.

Retirement