08/29/2026
110 years ago, the Marine Corps Reserve was created for a war the United States had not entered yet.
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Naval Appropriations Act on August 29, 1916. The logic was simple: if America was pulled into World War I, it would need trained Marines ready to move without months of lead time. Congress built the Reserve to guarantee that.
It worked. Reserve Marines went on to serve in every major American conflict since, from Belleau Wood to Iraq and Afghanistan, alongside disaster response, humanitarian missions, and community work like Toys for Tots.
Today it is the largest command in the Marine Corps, roughly 40,000 drilling Marines strong, made up of people balancing full civilian lives with full military readiness.
Members of this association do the same thing every week. We know exactly what that takes.
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