Guard shifting units from state

590 affected troops assigned to other outfits in Arkansas

The Arkansas National Guard announced Friday that it was transferring units -- but not guardsmen -- to other states under a restructuring plan.

The 1123rd Transportation Company, based in Blytheville and West Memphis, is being transferred to the Missouri National Guard under the plan. That company is part of the Guard's 87th Troop Command with headquarters at Camp Robinson.

Also included in the restructuring is the 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment, with headquarters in Warren, which also has subordinate units in Camden, Crossett, El Dorado, Magnolia and Monticello.

That squadron is being transferred to the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Maj. Gen. Mark Berry, adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard, said in a news release that Friday's moves were part of a plan to "restructure, reorganize and rebalance" the state Army National Guard.

The restructuring is being driven by reduced budgets and changes in the size of the military, Berry said.

"The divestiture of the 1123rd and the 151st is part of a decision to realign our force to maximize readiness and mitigate our exposure to potentially losing additional force structure," he said. "This rebalancing of our force will allow us to operate within the current fiscal environment and maintain a force that is ready and relevant."

Both the Blytheville and Crossett armories were included in a statewide armory-closing plan that was part of a cost-cutting measure by the state Guard approved by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in early June.

A total of seven armories, formally known as readiness centers, were closed under the plan. The other armories were in Berryville, Brinkley, Helena-West Helena, Rector and Wynne.

The action decreased the number of armories in the state from 62 to 55.

Friday's announcement affects approximately 590 soldiers, but no jobs are being lost under the plan as soldiers are being reassigned to other state Guard units.

"We have a hard time filling our ranks anyway, so this just takes [away] the requirements for us to fill those units up," said Lt. Col. Joel Lynch, spokesman for the state National Guard. "We'll take those soldiers and put them in other units. Nobody's losing anything."

The approximately 140 soldiers from the 1123rd will be reassigned to other state Guard units in the area, Col. James Treece, commander of the 87th Troop Command, said in a news release.

"Every soldier is important to our mission and they will continue to have a home in the Arkansas Guard," he said. "We will make sure of that."

Soldiers were matched with compatible unit vacancies nearest to where they live during a July job fair. The responsibilities of the unit will be handed over to the Missouri National Guard, along with most of the unit's equipment.

The unit's wartime mission is to transport personnel and equipment.

The 1123rd formally ends its attachment to the state Guard in a ceremony today in West Memphis.

"Each unit is represented by a guidon, a flag, and they physically take that flag and roll it up and put it inside a case," Lynch said. The case will then be transferred to Missouri.

The Arkansas National Guard will continue using the West Memphis location with the Blytheville armory being returned to the city.

The 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment's transfer will occur later this year, with a job fair coming in the next couple of months, Lynch said.

"We're trying to have all the people ... reporting to their new unit for the first part of next year," he said.

The approximately 450 soldiers of the 151st are part of the Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the unit's wartime mission is reconnaissance and surveillance for the brigade.

Some of the soldiers may need new military skills, but the 151st was an infantry battalion before being reflagged as a cavalry unit in 2005, Col. Gregory Bacon, chief of staff for the Arkansas Army National Guard, said in the news release. That means many of the soldiers will not need to be retrained.

"When the transition happens the readiness centers in the selected towns will have new units assigned to them," Bacon said. "The flags of these units will change but the majority of the soldiers will continue to drill where they always have."

The balance of the unit's cavalry-specific equipment will remain in Arkansas with some equipment being transferred to Pennsylvania.

The armory in Crossett will be returned to the city.

The state Guard has approximately 10,000 guardsmen in the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, including 7,600 Army guardsmen.

"Our state's demographics have shifted over the years," Berry said. "This plan allows us to realign our readiness centers in order to maintain strength and ensure we can man the Guard for future missions."

State Desk on 08/01/2015

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