Quote:
Originally Posted by James Langham
Another unit history. It isn't finished yet but as I am no expert on US units I would welcome feedback before I go much further.
As ever nitpicks and comments welcome.
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I'll tell you a bit about 1/141 INF(M). I assigned to A Co of that battalion -- but I will caution you that my experiences only go back to mid-1986. (This is, of course, well before its reflagging in 2004.)
1/141 INF(M) in mid-1986 is one of the most spread-out of all of the units in the 49th AD. Alpha and the Scout Platoon are in San Antonio, along with the 1/141's HHC. Bravo Company is in Alice, Texas, except for Third Platoon, who is in Victoria, along with a small unit (about half a platoon) of support troops). Charlie Company is in Eagle Pass along the Mexican border, again with third Platoon and a support element in Hondo.
The upshot of this is that the troops of the 1st Battalion rarely see each other except during annual drills. Except for special occasions, they don't train together during the year. Even the units in San Antonio rarely train together, with the exception of Alpha Company and the HHC's Weapons Platoon.
While the individual units of the 1st Battalion are surprisingly competent and crafty for a National Guard unit -- if you are expecting "just another Nasty Guard Unit" in opposition, you're likely to get your clock cleaned. However, due to it's wide dispersal and limited opportunities for combined training, the 1st Battalion does lack a sense of cohesiveness -- and this is not helped by the fact that, at least in 1986, Alpha Company is a deliberately overstrength company, with an extra platoon, one extra man per squad, and a small (4-man) scout element of its own.
Even in the face of a Mexican invasion, it will still take a little bit of time for 1st Battalion to operate as one, unitary battalion. In that time, Charlie Company and Hondo detachment could be lost to the Mexicans, unless they been pulled back before then. If not, Charlie's isolated position forward may caused their disintegration as a Company, with their essentially having gone to ground and their only contact with 49th AD by radio, sending SITREPs, sightings, spot reports, and the results of scouting missions. Charlie Company may in fact not be wearing uniforms, and may be using a fair amount of civilian weapons to blend in.
I feel that this sort of information might be more applicable than ORBATs from after the 2004 reorganization.