The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned personnel, in the U.S. Marine Corps. Marines in the Reserve go through the same training and work in the same Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) as their active-duty counterparts.
Marine Forces Reserve is the headquarters command for approximately 40,000 drilling Selected Reserve Marines and 184 Reserve Training Centers located throughout the United States. The mission of Marine Forces Reserve is to augment and reinforce active Marine forces in time of war, national emergency, or contingency operations; to provide personnel and operational tempo relief for the active forces in peacetime; and to provide service to the community (for example, through Toys for Tots).
The United States Marine Corps Reserve was established when Congress passed the Naval Appropriations Act of 29 August 1916, and is responsible for providing trained units and qualified individuals to be mobilized for active duty in time of war, national emergency, or contingency operations.
MARFORRES is composed primarily of two groups of Marines and Sailors. The first, known as the Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR), are Marines who typically belong to reserve units and have a minimum obligation to drill one weekend a month and two weeks a year. The second group is known as the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). The IRR is composed of Marines who have finished their active duty or USMCR obligations, however, their names remain on record to be called up in case of a war or other emergency â?? the Individual Ready Reserve is administered by the Marine Corps Individual Reserve Support Activity. IRR Marines participate in annual musters to check in with the Corps.
While MFR units have US Navy Sailors assigned to perform medical and religious program specialty services, those Sailors are not members of the Marine Corps Reserve. Instead, they are a mix of US Navy Reserve and US Navy Regular Sailors detailed by the Navy to serve alongside Marines.
In addition, through the MCIRSA, MFR administers a small number of reserve Marines assigned to either the Active Status List or Inactive Status List of the Standby Reserve, a category reserved for those Marines who remain members of the USMCR but are either retained involuntarily for various reasons, or unable to participate in SMCR activities.
