Tuesday, August 9, 2005

By BYRON HENSLEY
hensley@dnj.com

NASHVILLE — Smyrna will not be the new headquarters of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and it will lose the 30th Troop Command.

But it will gain the 473rd Support Battalion of the Tennessee Army National Guard, the Guard's commander announced Monday.

Smyrna was one of five locations the Guard considered for the new home of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Knoxville.

But the 278th headquarters will stay in Knoxville, with subordinate unit headquarters in Smyrna, as well as Cookeville, Henderson, Kingsport, Winchester and Lebanon, said Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee's adjutant general, in an announcement of the Guard's proposed transition Monday.

The 30th Troop Command, currently based in Smyrna, will move to Tullahoma, and the 473rd Support Battalion, now based in Knoxville, will come to Smyrna, said Randy Harris, the Guard's public information officer.

Chattanooga's 196th Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters, currently deployed to Afghanistan, will be replaced by a Sustainment Brigade.

"We feel it positions it a little better to control the units that are under its umbrella from Tullahoma," Harris said of the decision to move the 30th. "The Tullahoma location also gives it the ability to use the training center there to train these soldiers."

The 30th Troop Command, a 45-person unit, controls the 168th and 117th Military Police battalions, based in Dyersburg and Athens, Harris said.

The 473rd Support Battalion provides support services such as logistics, maintenance, transportation, fuel, food and medical services to the various units of the 278th.

"The reason that headquarters is moving to Smyrna is that it's a centrally located position in the center of the state and is able to support the units of the 278th that are spread across the state," Harris said.

Harris did not have figures on how many personnel would be in the 473rd. The Guard is evaluating its facilities in Smyrna to see if additional facilities will be needed or current ones restructured to accommodate the 473rd, he said.

Army veteran Morris Williams, of Murfreesboro, said he hopes the restructuring helps the Tennessee Army National Guard.

"I think Tennessee has some of the best Guard units in the United States, from what I've seen," he said. "Tennessee has a great representation as far as the service they provide through the National Guard units and reserves."

The Guard spent months reviewing Tennessee's military structure to determine how to "meet both today's threats and tomorrow's challenges," Hargett said.

"We believe that the changes we are implementing enhance our command and control, the ability for our units to train together and the ever-changing demographics of our state," he said. "All of these factors affect our ability to fulfill both our wartime and state emergency response missions. The transition of units throughout the state will enhance our ability to respond in the event of natural disaster, civil disturbance or Homeland Security events. The changes will also allow recruitment of females in areas where we have not been able to do so in the past."

Hargett also said that Dyersburg's 230th Area Support Group, currently deployed to Kuwait, will be replaced by a Military Police Battalion Headquarters, while the 194th Engineer Brigade Headquarters, currently deployed to Iraq, will remain in Jackson.

"Although this transformation will change the face of the Tennessee Army National Guard as we now know it, the moves are what are best for the state of Tennessee and the Tennessee National Guard," Hargett said. "The changes will support the U.S. Army's concept of developing modular units able to be utilized in many configurations."

The Department of Defense is overhauling the U.S. military and defense establishment worldwide to enable it to counter 21st century threats more effectively, Hargett said.

Originally published August 9, 2005

Story Copyright to Daily News Journal- Murfreesboro