49th Armoured Division

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

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, t
he 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.

Thanks, that is REALLY useful info, exactly the sort of info i need, bits will make it into the next draft. Do you want a fictional mention?

Are the unit designations right? It is a mix of different sources and a couple of educated guesses.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by James Langham

Thanks, that is REALLY useful info, exactly the sort of info i need, bits will make it into the next draft. Do you want a fictional mention?

Are the unit designations right? It is a mix of different sources and a couple of educated guesses.

The unit designations are correct as I remember them.

At Annual Drills, we spent the better part of week simply trying to weld 1st Battalion back into an integrated unit. Even so, the "outlyers" (as we called them) had their ways of doing things, some of which were non-SOP. So you use that, instead of turning the Drill into Basic Training. Bravo and Charlie were used to operating alone, and they made outstanding scouts when you couldn't get the Scout Platoon to be assigned to a recon for you.

[Legbreaker]

We had a similar situation in the reserve units I was in. Platoons and companies tended to be able to work well enough with only a few days to a couple of weeks of training, but pulling anything more together was a long and intensive process of months.
The larger the formation, no matter what nationality it is, the longer it would take to get operational as a large unit. Elements should be able to operate effectively fairly quickly though, provided the individual soldiers knew their jobs and the small units of platoon and companies had been able to train fairly regularly in peacetime.

[Webstral]

Don't get me started on the inadequacies of the US reserve system to keep combat units in fighting trim. Don't get me started. Don't do it.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Webstral

Don't get me started on the inadequacies of the US reserve system to keep combat units in fighting trim. Don't get me started. Don't do it.

*Poke* *poke*
Go on, do it. you know you want too!

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

*Poke* *poke*
Go on, do it. you know you want too!

Leg, there are times when I think you were born with a pot stirrer in your hand. For now, I must resist. I have been assigned a critical mission by my better half: clear off the desk in the office and put all that [expletive deleted] Twilight: 2000 stuff away!

[James Langham]

I've tried to resolve the replacement issue now and added a few quotes.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Webstral

For now, I must resist. I have been assigned a critical mission by my better half: clear off the desk in the office and put all that [expletive deleted] Twilight: 2000 stuff away!

Ah, that is a critical task. Essential to continued survival even given the source of the orders!