Senator Collins Honors U.S. Navy Reserve Centennial

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor the U.S. Navy Reserve on its 100th anniversary, March 3, 2015. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Senate.

“I’m proud to recognize 100 years of distinguished service from the members of the Navy Reserve, a legacy born in part in the great state of Maine,” said Senator Collins. “Throughout the many challenges that have faced our nation, the men and women of this team have truly lived up to their motto: ‘Ready Now, Anytime, Anywhere.’"

The roots of maritime service by patriotic Americans can be traced back to the Revolutionary War, when fishermen and farmers from seaside towns in New England, though outnumbered and outgunned, engaged in combat with British warships in defense of their homes, their families, and their freedoms. The first "citizen sailors" were from Machias, Maine.

On March 3, 1915, a Naval Reserve Force was created. Since then, the Naval Reserve has responded promptly and impressively to the challenges facing our country: World War II, the Berlin Crisis, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, and hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Following the attack on the Navy destroyer, USS Cole, on October 12, 2000, the Naval Reserve immediately responded with coastal warfare security. And since the attacks on our homeland of September 11, 2001, the Navy Reserve has mobilized more than 72,000 members worldwide to counter threats to national security.