Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, told Pentagon reporters he is working with active-duty counterparts to divide his forces into eight to 10 “expeditionary packages” that would rotate deployments over approximately a four-year cycle.

Under the plan, each expeditionary package would be on top-alert for six to nine months and would be first in line for major worldwide deployments. However, upon returning from those deployments, unit members would go to the lowest readiness status, when they could take lengthy leaves, attend classes or make permanent change-of-station moves. Their “package” would go to the end of the line for deployment rotations, and unit members would know that they would work their way to the front of the line again in three to four years.

The Air Force in January 2000, after years of unpredictable knee-jerk deployments, developed a similar plan using groups called Aerospace Expeditionary Forces, or AEFs, each with about 15,000 airmen.

The 10 AEFs rotate through predictable schedules so that at least two AEFs are on call for deployment at any given time, with individual units spending 90 days on call every 15 months.

That makes deployment schedules predictable more than a year in advance. However, the AEF plan is designed for steady-state operations, not major combat undertakings such as the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when AEF deployment schedules had to be temporarily reshuffled to accommodate a surge in aircraft.

The Air Force plan was modeled in part after traditional Navy deployment practices, which have ships sent of six-month cruises followed by lengthy time in port.

However, in response to the unpredictable demands of the global war on terrorism, the Navy has been developing new deployment methods aimed at creating an ability to surge larger numbers of vessels instead of sticking to an ironclad six-month deployment plan.

Helmly said he is specifically looking at creating Army Reserve Expeditionary Packages but that these AREPs are being studied “in synchronization” with an active-duty expeditionary plan.

The Army Reserve has about 205,000 people in uniform. Until the 1991 Gulf War, many people in the reserve never expected to be called to active duty, Helmly said. Between December 1995 and September 2001, the Army Reserve has deployed an average of 9,300 soldiers per year. Currently, 62,000 are deployed outside the continental United States, with 31,234 in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan.

Helmly said he wants to make deployments predictable so Army Reserve members know they will be mobilized every four to five years and can plan accordingly