SOME ST. LOUIS GUARDSMEN TO COME HERE

Deactivation of the 1138th Combat Engineer Battalion at Jefferson Barracks in South St. Louis County Sept. 30 will mean additional manpower and equipment for the 1140th Combat Engineer Battalion and its four line companies in Southeast Missouri, a spokesman for the Missouri Army National Guard in Cape Girardeau said Tuesday.

The 1140th Engineer Battalion and its headquarters company are based at the National Guard Armory in Cape Girardeau. The battalion has four line companies: Company A in Jackson and Charleston; Company B in Perryville and Fredericktown; Company C in Sikeston and Portageville; and Company D in Farmington.

Guard officials said the deactivation of the 1138th will increase the strength of the 1140th Engineer Battalion by at least 149 people effective Oct. 1. In addition, the 1140th will also receive most of the equipment assigned to the 1138th, including heavy earthmoving and construction equipment.

Major James Rabenold, administrative officer for the 135th Engineer Group based in Cape Girardeau, said the deactivation of the 1138th Engineer Battalion is a result of cutbacks in armed forces that began several years ago. The deactivation was authorized by the National Guard Bureau in the Pentagon.

"The downsizing has had an immediate and strong impact on soldiers throughout the county, but for National Guard members in the Southeast Missouri area the downsizing will have a different impact," Rabenold said. "While a few units of the Guard in Missouri will be deactivated, some soldiers will find themselves adapting to new jobs and new units in order to meet the constraints of a post-Cold War fighting force. We've lost some spaces but not faces in the Missouri Guard," he adds.

Rabenold said most of the soldiers and equipment now assigned to the 1138th in St. Louis will be absorbed by the 1140th in Cape Girardeau and the 110th Engineer Battalion in Kansas City.

Although both units will gain personnel and equipment, Rabenold said there is no significant increase in each unit's authorized strength. "Traditionally, Guard units in Missouri operate at about 85 to 90 percent of their total authorized manned strength. With the deactivation of the 1138th, most of the approximately 600 men now assigned to the 1138th will be reassigned to other units in the state, including the 1140th and the 110th," he said.

"The 1140th's current authorized strength is 715 men, but our actual strength, as of March 26, was 566 men. We'll will pick up about 149 men from the 1138th, which will bring the 1140th up to 100 percent of its authorized strength."

Because the Guard is authorized by the state to extend a percentage above its authorized strength, the 1140th will actually have approximately 893 people assigned to the battalion by Oct. 1

Rabenold said personnel from the 1140th were at Jefferson Barracks earlier this month to meet with soldiers now assigned to the 1138th. "In effect, we were conducting job interviews for the guardsmen who would like to transfer to the 1140th," he said. "Most of the personnel assigned to the 1138th live in the metro St. Louis area. The majority of them will transfer to the 1140th or 110th, but some will transfer to other Guard units in the St. Louis area because of the distance involved."

Rabenold said the decision to maintain a strong National Guard combat engineer presence in Southeast Missouri is based in part on the close proximity of the New Madrid seismic area. Seismologists say a significant earthquake is possible in the area within the next 10 to 15 years. Such a quake could cause damage to bridges, highways, and other public facilities.

"The Missouri National Guard's state-oriented primary mission is to assist in natural disasters and protect in times of civil unrest. Members of the Guard here in Southeast Missouri provide a well-trained and highly capable protective force to the citizens of this area," said Rabenold.

In 1990, the Pentagon proposed eliminating the 1140th Engineer Battalion and 30 other Guard units in Missouri by 1996 as part of its downsizing of the armed forces. The effort failed in September 1991, when U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond and U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, both of Missouri, joined others in Congress to defeat the proposed cutbacks.

Then-state adjutant general, Maj. Gen. John M. Kiefner, said he was never consulted about the cuts. He said the Pentagon's proposal would have wiped out the National Guard's presence in Southeast Missouri.

The 1140th Engineer Battalion is equipped with heavy construction equipment, including bulldozers, front-end loaders, road graders, dump trucks, gasoline tanker trucks and other specialized military equipment.

In February 1979, units of the Missouri National Guard plowed their way into Cape Girardeau County from Perry County to reopen roads and highways blocked by 24 inches of snow and 8-15-foot snow drifts left by a blizzard that paralyzed all normal activity in the Cape Girardeau area.

In addition to protecting life and property in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, Rabenold said the additional manpower gained by the 1140th will directly benefit the economic growth of Southeast Missouri.

"During 1992, members of the Missouri National Guard in Southeast Missouri alone generated approximately $5 million of prospective consumer spending for business in this area," he said. "Events such as the 46th annual Missouri National Guard Association Conference, which was held in Cape Girardeau last month, also provided a large base for consumer spending. This year's conference generated over $200,000 of consumer spending by the 867 Guard members and their spouses who attended."