Battle Assembly

Battle Assembly is the term used by the United States Army Reserve to describe monthly training, where soldiers practice and perfect their military skills and maintain individual and unit readiness in the event of mobilization and deployment. These training activities were formerly referred to simply as "drill" or "weekend drill", but according to former Chief of the Army Reserve, Lieutenant General James R. Helmly, the term was changed in 2005 to emphasize the need for Army Reserve soldiers' training to focus on continued preparation for fighting the Global War on Terrorism.

History

During the Korean War (1950–1953), the United States Congress made significant changes to the structure and role of the Army Reserves. These changes transformed the former Organized Reserve Corps into the United States Army Reserve, dividing it into a Ready Reserve, Standby Reserve, and Retired Reserve. Members of the Ready Reserve were authorized 24 inactive duty training sessions per year with their respective reserve unit. This translated into two duty days per month for twelve months and the commencement of regular "monthly drills" for reservists.