Army Reserve Birthday – April 23

The Army Reserve celebrates its birthday on April 23 each year, celebrating contributions to two World Wars, the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War, and many other missions.

On 23 April 1908 Congress created the Medical Reserve Corps, the official predecessor of the Army Reserve.

After World War I, under the National Defense Act of 1920, Congress reorganized the U.S. land forces by authorizing a Regular Army, a National Guard, and an Organized Reserve (Officers Reserve Corps and Enlisted Reserve Corps) of unrestricted size, which later became the Army Reserve.

This organization provided a peacetime pool of trained Reserve officers and enlisted men for use in war. The Organized Reserve included the Officers Reserve Corps, Enlisted Reserve Corps, and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).