Total Force Concept

Today's Air Force relies heavily upon the Air Reserve Component (ARC) forces to meet mission requirements. As ARC forces are integrated into the force structure, commanders and judge advocates must have a clear understanding of a commander's authority to discipline members of the ARC force. The two reserve components that make up the Air Reserve Components are the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and the Air National Guard of the United States (ANGUS). The Air National Guard consists of two overlapping yet legally distinct organizations. The Air National Guard while in the service of the United States (ANG) is the state organization, and the Air National Guard of the United States is the federal or reserve organization. Commanders must have the proper jurisdictional authority over an AFRES or ANGUS member to pursue trial by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment. To take any disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the AFRES member must be on active duty or performing inactive duty training (IDT), and the ANGUS member must be in federal service (Title 10 status). To obtain proper jurisdiction to pursue a trial by court-martial, the commander must have evidence showing the ARC member committed the offense(s) while a person subject to the UCMJ. The holdings in Solorio and Cline clearly point out that the status of the ARC member is critical to establishing subject matter and personal jurisdiction. If the commander cannot meet the two criteria, there is no authority to take judicial action.