Cape Guard unit to be eliminated

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After it returns from Iraq in late 2006, the Cape Girardeau-based Engineer Brigade, 35th Infantry Division will cease to exist under a force restructuring plan the Missouri National Guard announced on Monday.

Capt. Tamara Spicer, a Guard spokeswoman, said members of the unit will have the option of switching to other units that operate out of the armory in Cape Girardeau or joining units elsewhere in Southeast Missouri.

Another major change to Guard units in the region is the return of the 1221st Transportation Division to Dexter. The division had been headquartered in Dexter for decades before being moved out last year. The 1221st will have branch units in Sikeston and St. Peters.

The changes, which will be implemented between now and September 2006, were prompted by the U.S. Army and are intended to craft smaller, more flexible units that are better able to serve the needs of the commanders in the field.

The shuffling of duties and soldiers among the state's 50-plus armories also is intended to concentrate various specialties geographically, which officials said would help units more quickly respond to in-state emergencies.

"The Missouri National Guard must be able to provide the kind of forces that Missouri and America need," said Brig. Gen. King Sidwell of Sikeston, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. "We are no longer the strategic reserve force of the past; we are now an operational reserve force."

A strategic reserve force is one that remains in the background and is called to active duty if needed. An operational reserve force is one commanders know in advance will be activated and is figured into the military's overall plans.

No effect on troop strength

No armories are slated for closure, but the number of soldiers reporting to each armory will change -- with some sites becoming responsible for more soldiers and others fewer.

Sidwell described the reorganization as the largest since World War II.

Missouri's Army and Air National Guard units currently have a combined strength of about 10,500 soldiers and airmen. Although authorized troop strength will be cut by approximately 500 positions, the state Guard is currently below its authorized levels, so actual troop strength will not be affected.

Other changes in Southeast Missouri include establishing a haul team, which operates dump trucks and other heavy equipment, at Perryville; placing a company at Jackson that specializes in building overseas base camps; and transforming a Portageville unit from engineers to military police.

In Poplar Bluff, the 205th Military Police Battalion will move in to replace the 735th Support Battalion. However, some elements of the outgoing unit will remain based there.

The reorganization calls for decreasing the number of artillery units in favor of more military police units. Engineering units will be split into smaller, modular forces.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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