Army Reserves and National Guard (The U.S)

The Army Reserve originated in the National Defense Act of 1916, which established the Officers' Reserve Corps (ORC), the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and an Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC). This reserve represented a federal force long sought by the army. A 1920 congressional amendment incorporated the ORC and ERC in the Organized Reserves. Finally, the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952 renamed the organization the Army Reserve.

When the nation entered World War I, only 8,000 ORC officers were ready to serve; another 80,000 men earned reserve commissions during the war. From 1916 through 1941, officers dominated the reserve, with only 3,233 ERC men in a total strength of 120,000. World War I veterans, joined by ROTC graduates and civilian appointees, manned the ORC during the 1920s and 1930s. Lack of funding hampered the force, for without money or men it could not maintain units. ORC members received no drill pay and few had the opportunity to take active duty training. Reserve officers contributed significantly to the World War II effort by providing thousands of company and battalion officers to army and National Guard divisions.

From its creation in 1916 to the late 1940s, the ORC functioned as a rarely trained inactive force. Given the lack of funding, only the understrength and poorly equipped National Guard functioned as an active reserve. ..." Army Reserves and National Guard: Information and Much More from Answers.com