This change in particluar (among others) in how we mobilize Guard combat units is overdue regardless of the reason:
The first aspect of the policy change will involve the way the department manages deployments of reserve forces. Currently, reserve deployments are managed on an individual basis. In the future deployments will be managed on unit basis, allowing for greater unit cohesion and predictability for training and deployments.
One of the advantages our Guard units have is that at the company level our Guard units can be better than active component units because of the longevity that Guard units often have with the same people training together for years or even decades.
Basing deployment limits on people means that units go with a fraction of their troops and other units must be raided ("cross-leveling" is the term, I think) to fill out the mobilized unit. The raided unit then becomes under-strength and even when the individuals return that unit must then face mobilizaiton without the individuals who deployed with other units. So basing limits on units even though there will be some churning of individuals (a soldier who moves and has to transfer units for drills might get in a unit about to deploy after leaving a unit that already deployed with him) is superior for military purposes.
