DEACTIVATED: REORGANIZATION TO CLOSE ARMY RESERVE CENTERS

The Department of the Army is reorganizing the 21st General Hospital, resulting in the deactivation of three subordinate detachments in Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff and Springfield, Mo.

The closing of the leased centers in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff on Sept. 17 will leave 63 reservists in each detachment without a training center.

In Springfield, Mo., a new unit the 313th Hospital Unit Surgical will be activated. Reservists formally assigned to Detachment 3, 21st General Hospital will form the core of the new unit.

"This is just part of the downsizing and reorganization of the Army," said Maj. Frank Tucker, public affairs officer of the 102nd Army Reserve Command in St. Louis. "A lot of things we used to do, we're just not doing anymore. Conditions in the world are changing, and now we're changing, too."

The changes are the result of a plan developed a few years ago, called MEDFORCE 2000, which reflects the belief that Army medical units of the future must be more flexible.

"The idea is to do away with the bigger units; make them smaller and more mobile," Tucker said. "But it will strain the medical side of the armed forces even more; we'll end up having fewer and fewer slots for trained people.

"It's a real tragedy, especially since so much money is spent in finding and training them."

Tucker said that the units have been aware of the deactivation for several months, and were just waiting for official orders to come through.

"The reservists will still live and work (in Cape Girardeau), but the bad news is that we're going to close the administrative center," Tucker said. "The administrative personnel are going to be reassigned to the home unit in St. Louis.

"This could mean a tremendous inconvenience to reservists assigned to the units," he said. "Having to travel to St. Louis or other areas for drills could be quite a strain."

Reservists train one weekend a month, in addition to serving on active duty for two weeks out of the year.

The reservists will have the option of finding another detachment in need of their specialty, being re-assigned to St. Louis, or, if nothing can be worked out, either leaving the military or switching to the local National Guard or Naval Reserve units.

"Unfortunately, all medics are not interchangeable," Tucker said. "In the Army, medical units are specialized. When one is deactivated, the reservist either has to find a unit that is in need of his services or retrain in another area.

"Otherwise, he would be out of a job," he said.

The commanders of the Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau units are negotiating with local hospitals to use their facilities for monthly drills.

"The bottom line is, if we can't get a training site, we're going to have to break up the unit," Tucker said.

The 21st General Hospital is one of the oldest units in the Army Reserve. It was formed at Washington University in St. Louis, at Base Hospital 21 in World War I.

The unit saw action in World War II, and more recently members of all the affected units served in Operation Desert Storm.