There is increased awareness of the Reserve components (RC) and their role in our national defense. Downsizing and federal budgetary constraints continue to impact this role as well as the structure of the RC. In the past, most policy and practice considerations focused on the Active Component (AC). Research and experience, however, suggest that important differences exist between the tow components. Thus, the results of manpower, personnel, and training research conducted with the AC may not necessarily apply to the RC. The goal of the present project is to highlight the results of research conducted for the RC by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) and to generate an agenda for future ARI work that is responsive to current and projected RC needs. The work is documented in two separate volumes. The present report (volume 1) provides a brief overview of the RC environment and includes summaries of ARI research products/findings currently available for RC use. Most of ARI's research that has directly involved the study of RC issues is related to training. Other research has focused on manpower and personnel issues, such as recruiting and retention. The second volume discusses RC research in a number of domains (e.g., training-related areas recruiting, retention leadership).