Alabama Army National Guard



The Alabama Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.

Alabama Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ran ks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Alabama Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Alabama.

Units

 * 167th Theater Sustainment Command
 * 440th Theater Opening Element
 * 279th Army Field Support Brigade
 * 111th Ordnance Group (EOD)
 * 441st Ordnance Battalion (EOD)
 * 641st Ordnance Co (EOD)
 * 666th Ordnance Co (EOD)
 * 135th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
 * 122nd Troop Command
 * 1103rd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion
 * 161st Medical Battalion (Multifunctional)


 * 62nd Troop Command
 * 142d Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (activated in September 2009)
 * 1st Battalion, 167th Light Infantry
 * 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
 * 31st Signal Company
 * 711th Brigade Support Battalion
 * 877th Engineer Battalion
 * 1st Battalion, 117th Field Artillery Regiment (EAB FA 155 Towed)
 * 1st Battalion, 131st Aviation Regiment


 * 31st Chemical Brigade
 * 145th Chemical Battalion
 * 690th Chemical Company (Recon/Decon)
 * 440th Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon)
 * 151st Chemical Battalion
 * 1343rd Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon)
 * 208th Chemical Company (Recon/Decon)
 * 231st Military Police Battalion
 * 214th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
 * 217th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
 * 1165th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
 * 203rd Military Police Battalion
 * 128th Military Police Company (Combat Support)
 * 152nd Military Police Company (Combat Support)
 * 1166th Military Police Company (Combat Support)


 * 20th Special Forces Group

Duties
National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary DutY Assignments TDY), but only as part of their respective units. However, there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations (2001-?); the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.

Active Duty Callups
For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a small portion of each unit working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. New forces formation plans of the US Army were announced in early 2007 modifying the recent (2001–2006) United States National Guard active duty callup pace. The new plan will nominally anticipate that each National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) will serve one year of active duty for every five years of service. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates imposed "a one-year limit to the length of [Federal deployments] for National Guard Soldiers." Callups by Alabama authorities for state emergencies are not included in this policy.

History
The Alabama Army National Guard was originally formed in 1807. The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

On the morning of July 21, 1861, the Union Army under the command of Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, in an effort to cripple the newly assembled Confederate Army at Manassas, Virginia, fired the opening shots of the first major battle of the Civil War. Both armies were largely made up of volunteer militia with regiments of both sides wearing blue and gray uniforms. The brunt of the Union attack fell on the Confederate left flank. Confederate Brig. Gen. Bernard Bee (Barnard Elliott Bee, Jr.?), having recently resigned from the U. S. Army and still wearing his blue uniform, realized that the army's left flank was seriously exposed. Gen. Bee ordered the Fourth Alabama Regiment (of the The Alabama Brigade) to advance rapidly in order to plug the gap in the Confederate line. For over an hour, the Fourth Alabama held position and repulsed several Union regiments. The gallant stand of the Fourth Alabama stalled the Union advance and gave the Confederate forces more time to regroup. The regiment played a prominent part in the fighting all day and contributed to the Confederate victory. The Battle of First Manassas proved to both sides that the Civil War would be a bitterly contested struggle. The Fourth Alabama went on to fight in every major battle in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War and never surrendered its colors. The heritage and traditions of the Fourth Alabama are carried on by the 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry, Alabama Army National Guard.

Following the inactivation of the 31st Infantry Division in 1968, the Alabama Army National Guard was allotted the 31st Brigade, 30th Armored Division, located in Tuscaloosa. In 1973 the 30th Armored Division was inactivated and Alabama was assigned a new major headquarters, the 31st Armored Brigade (Separate). In 2002, the 31st Armored Brigade was inactivated, merging into the 149th Armored Brigade headquartered in Kentucky. Alabama was again assigned a new major headquarters, the 122nd Chemical Brigade, later redesignated as the 31st Chemical Brigade.

On February 13, 2009, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen tricked guard officers into allowing him to participate in training at the Alabama Military Academy at Fort McClellan. The officers were led to believe that Cohen was a reporter making a German TV documentary. The ruse ended when a young Alabama cadet recognized the actor. Said Guard spokesperson Staff Sergeant Katrina Timmons on March 16, 2009 about the incident, "It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard. Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Historic units

 * 131CavRegtCOA.jpg 131st Cavalry Regiment (United States)
 * 167InfantryRegtCOA.gif 167th Infantry Regiment (United States)
 * 200InfRegtCOA.jpg 200th Infantry Regiment (United States)
 * 117FARegtCOA.jpg 117th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
 * 203rd Field Artillery Battalion (United States)
 * 142SigBdeSSI.svg 142d Signal Brigade (inactivated in August 2008)