Montana Army National Guard

Montana Army National Guard
Active	1867 - present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Montana
Branch	Army National Guard
Type	ARNG Headquarters Command
Part of	Montana National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Helena, Montana

Seal of the Army National Guard

The Montana Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.

Montana 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 Montana Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Montana.

The Montana Army National Guard maintains facilities in 28 communities.

History

Insignia of the 163rd Armored Brigade

The Montana Army National Guard was originally formed in 1867. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. The 163rd Infantry Regiment of the Montana Guard formed part of the 41st Infantry Division, which fought through the Pacific during World War II. Their engagements included the Battle of Buna-Gona, the Salamaua-Lae campaign, Operations Reckless and Persecution and the Battle of Biak, as well as the liberation of the Philippines. The Montana ARNG maintained the 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (whose roots date back to 1884), at least up until 1988. In 1985 its units included the 1/163 Cavalry, the 2/163 Cavalry, the 3/163 Cavalry (based in Texas), an Air Troop, an Attack Helicopter Troop (based in Utah), and the 1063rd Engineer Company.^[1] The MT ARNG maintained the 163rd Armored Brigade at least up until 1995.

It appears that on the disbandment of the 163rd Armored Brigade, the 1-163 Battalion was reassigned to the 116th Cavalry Brigade headquartered in Idaho. 'Commonly referred to as the Griz Battalion, the 1-163rd at first was designated as a Cavalry Regiment in 1953, named the 163rd Cavalry Regiment. The unit was renamed the 1-163rd Infantry Battalion during the 2006 reorganization of the Montana Army National Guard, and has been re-designated as Cavalry once again, combining mechanized infantry with Abrams tank units.'^[2]

Units and Formations

• 95th Troop Command
• 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment
• 1-190th Combat Service Support Battalion (CSSB)
• 1-189 Aviation (GSAB)
• 495th Transportation Battalion
• 208th Regiment (RTI)
• 631st Chemical Company (RECON/DECON)
• 83rd WMD Civil Support Team (WMD-CST)

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. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations (2001-?); the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.

Active Duty Callups

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 portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies).

See also

• Coats of arms of U.S. Armor and Cavalry Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Artillery Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Infantry Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Air Defense Artillery Regiments
• Mayhew Foster

References

1. ^ Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.385. ISBN 0-7106-0341-X
2. ^ http://www.mtguard.com/MTARNGunits163rd.php, accessed September 2009

External links

Military of the United States portal

• Bibliography of Montana Army National Guard History compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
• Montana Army National Guard, accessed 25 Nov 2006
• GlobalSecurity.org Montana Army National Guard, accessed 25 Nov 2006