Alabama Army National Guard

Alabama Army National Guard
Alabama Army National Guard
	Seal of the Alabama National Guard
Active	1807 – present
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States; Alabama
Branch	United States Army
Type	ARNG Headquarters Command
Part of	Alabama National Guard; Alabama Military Department; National Guard Bureau
Garrison/HQ	Montgomery, Alabama
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The Alabama Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.

Alabama Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Alabama Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Alabama.

History

The Alabama Army National Guard was originally formed in 1807. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

On the morning of 21 July 1861, the Union Army under the command of Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, in an effort to cripple the newly assembled Confederate Army at Manassas, Virginia, fired the opening shots of the first major battle of the Civil War. Both armies were largely made up of volunteer militia with regiments of both sides wearing blue and gray uniforms. The brunt of the Union attack fell on the Confederate left flank. Confederate Brig. Gen Barnard Bee, having recently resigned from the U. S. Army and still wearing his blue uniform, realized that the army's left flank was seriously exposed. Gen. Bee ordered the Fourth Alabama Regiment (of The Alabama Brigade) to advance rapidly in order to plug the gap in the Confederate line. For over an hour, the Fourth Alabama held position and repulsed several Union regiments. The gallant stand of the Fourth Alabama stalled the Union advance and gave the Confederate forces more time to regroup. The regiment played a prominent part in the fighting all day and contributed to the Confederate victory. The Battle of First Manassas proved to both sides that the Civil War would be a bitterly contested struggle. The Fourth Alabama went on to fight in every major battle in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War and never surrendered its colors. The heritage and traditions of the Fourth Alabama are carried on by the 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry, Alabama Army National Guard.^[1]

The 31st Infantry Division ('Dixie') had elements in Alabama for many years, though divisional HQ was in Jackson, MS. It was deactivated in 1968.

Following the inactivation, the Alabama Army National Guard was allotted the 31st Brigade, 30th 'Volunteer' Armored Division, located in Tuscaloosa. In 1973 the 30th Armored Division was inactivated and Alabama was assigned a new major headquarters, the 31st Armored Brigade (Separate), with its headquarters at Tuscaloosa. In 1979 the headquarters was shifted to Northport, Alabama. In 2002, the 31st Armored Brigade was inactivated, merging into the 149th Armored Brigade headquartered in Kentucky. Alabama was again assigned a new major headquarters, the 122nd Chemical Brigade, later redesignated as the 31st Chemical Brigade.^[2]^[3]

For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a small portion of each unit working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. New forces formation plans of the US Army were announced in early 2007 modifying the recent (2001–2006) United States National Guard active duty callup pace. The new plan nominally anticipated that each National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) will serve one year of active duty for every five years of service. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates imposed "a one-year limit to the length of [Federal deployments] for National Guard Soldiers."

Approximately 300 Alabama ARNG soldiers deployed to Iraq with the Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division ('Task Force Mustang'), in September 2006.

The previously active 142d Signal Brigade was inactivated in August 2008.^[4]^[5] In 2009 the 142d BAttlefield Surveillance Brigade was established.

On February 13, 2009, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen tricked guard officers into allowing him to participate in training at the Alabama Military Academy at Fort McClellan. The officers were led to believe that Cohen was a reporter making a German TV documentary. The ruse ended when a young Alabama cadet recognized the actor. Guard spokesperson Staff Sergeant Katrina Timmons said on March 16, 2009 about the incident, "It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard. Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again."^[6]

Inactivated units included the 142nd Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, which was activated in September 2009; inactivation ceremony held on September 18, 2016.^[7]^[8] The 142nd BSB included a headquarters company at Decatur, AL; the 321st Military Intelligence Battalion, Austin, TX (from the United States Army Reserve); the 1st Battalion, 173rd Infantry Regiment, Enterprise, AL; the 31st Brigade Support Company, Ozark, AL; and the 67th Network Support Company, part of the Montana Army National Guard located at Billings, MT.

Other historic units previously serving with the Alabama Army National Guard included the:

Duties

National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments TDY), but only as part of their respective units.

Units

122nd Troop Command
- 1103rd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion
- 161st Medical Battalion (Multifunctional)
Company A, 131st Aviation Regiment at Montgomery Regional Airport
Company B, 131st Aviation Regiment at Mobile Regional Airport
Detachment 1, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment at Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport
Company B, 1204th Aviation Support Battalion (Aviation Intermediate Maintenance (AVIM)) - the 1204th ASB disbanded in January 2016^[9]
167th Theater Sustainment Command
- 440th Theater Opening Element
- 279th Army Field Support Brigade
- 111th Ordnance Group (EOD)
  - 441st Ordnance Battalion (EOD)
    - 641st Ordnance Company (EOD)
    - 666th Ordnance Company (EOD)
  - 1307th Engineer Detachment (EHCC)
- 135th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
200th Regiment Training Institute (Schools, Studies and Academics):
- 1st Battalion - Officer Candidate School
- 2nd Battalion - Military Police
- 3rd Battalion - Engineers, BNOC
62nd Troop Command
- 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry Regiment (attached)
- 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
  - 31st Signal Company
  - 711th Brigade Support Battalion
  - 877th Engineer Battalion
    - 166th Engineer Company
    - 168th Engineer Company
    - 186th Engineer Company
    - 1151st Engineer Company
  - 1st Battalion, 117th Field Artillery Regiment (EAB FA 155 Towed)
31st Chemical Brigade
- 145th Chemical Battalion
  - 690th Chemical Company (Recon/Decon)
  - 440th Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon)
- 151st Chemical Battalion
  - 1343rd Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon)
  - 208th Chemical Company (Recon/Decon)
142d Military Police Brigade
- 231st Military Police Battalion
  - 214th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
  - 217th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
  - 1165th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
- 203rd Military Police Battalion
  - 128th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
  - 152nd Military Police Company (Combat Support)
  - 1166th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
20th Special Forces Group

References

^ source: Official Alabama National Guard History Archived 6 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
^ http://www.angelfire.com/droid/harp005/history.html Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 2012
^ In 1974 the 30th disbanded. The 31st (Dixie) Armored Brigade formed with HQ at Northport (Tuscaloosa), AL. The brigade survived through to the 1990s when the decision was made to disband the brigade and convert it to CS/CSS units. Despite this disbandment looming, the brigade converted to Force XXI in 1999-2000. HQ, 122nd Support Group, Selma, was redesignated as 122nd Chemical Brigade. HQ, 31st Separate Armored Brigade was relocated to Montgomery, while HQ, 122nd moved to Northport. On 1 June 2001, the circle will be complete when the 122nd redesignates as the 31st Chemical Brigade. Jim Milne, Recent Lineage of 31st Armored Brigade, US Army: 31st Armoured Brigade (Separate) (Strategic) 1974–2001, V1.0, 26 May 2002 Archived 8 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "142nd Signal Brigade Set for Inactivation - WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
^ "TIOH - Heraldry - 142 Signal Brigade". Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
^ Associated Press, "Comic 'Joins' National Guard", Los Angeles Times, 17 March 2009, p. D3.
^ "115th Battalion to return | TimesDaily.com | the Times Daily | Florence, AL". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2010. and "TIOH - Heraldry - 142d Battlefield Surveillance Brigade". Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
^ "142nd Battlefield Surveillance Brigade deactivates".
^ "Northern Kentucky unit inactivated". Kentuckyguard.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.