The local National Guard unit will participate in a statewide reorganization of Guard units, state officials say.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

The local National Guard unit will participate in a statewide reorganization of Guard units, state officials say.

National Guard Staff Sgt. Ed Holt said the state Department of Military Affairs is reorganizing the Guard throughout Minnesota over the next year in an effort to keep troops current with the structure of the active-duty Army.

"The National Guard is trying to bring itself in line with the active duty side of the Army," Holt said.

Overall, 108 soldiers are members of Austin’s 2nd Battalion, 135th Mechanized Infantry. The unit will become part of the larger 434th Main Support Battalion when the changes are complete by the end of March, Holt said. The 434th is the largest unit in the 34th Infantry Division and will have 850 troops in places such as Camp Ripley, St. Cloud, Long Prairie and Duluth, as well as Austin. The Headquarters Headquarters 434th Detachment is based at Camp Ripley.

During the Guard’s reorganization, no soldiers will lose their jobs.

"This means some soldiers will need to retrain into new military jobs," Lt. Col. Greg Langley, the Guard’s mobilization and readiness officer at Guard headquarters in St. Paul, said in a news release. "Our bottom line in this reorganization is retaining every soldier we have while gaining the same capabilities as active military components."

The Austin unit is involved in the first of four phases of changes statewide. While a large group of Guard units will be involved with changes in the first phase, others will occur in the other three phases.

While the local Guard unit’s current role is to be a part of and to support the front line of soldiers, its new role will be to support the infantry.

"Their role is equally as important," Holt explained, adding that the unit will perform maintenance, medical and logistics functions. "The front line can’t operate without the support."

While local Guard members will perform some of the same administrative functions, they now will support the infantry instead of being the infantry, Holt said.