Positions cut, units shuffled so soldiers can stay at home

Wyoming Army National Guard units’ location and structure is changing due to recent national budget cuts that are impacting guard units across the country.

None of Wyoming’s armories will close, but names will change for some — including Powell and Worland’s unit, 920th, which is swapping with Douglas and Torrington’s, 960th.

“The name is moving, but the soldiers are staying in Powell,” said Thomas Blackburn, deputy public affairs officer with the Wyoming Army National Guard. “The soldiers have been positive about it because we get to stay in the communities and we get to provide the presence — getting to do community things is the key. Our people that drill there are from those areas and part of that community and that is something they are very proud of.”

The two units are similar, so soldiers will be reassigned jobs under their new unit so they can remain in their hometowns.

“Our personnel office is helping case-by-case to make sure they are taken care of,” Blackburn said. “It has been a positive reception.”

The National Guard is decreasing from 350,000 soldiers to 335,000. The Wyoming Army Guard will go from 1,707 soldiers to approximately 1,590 by Sept. 1, 2016. The Powell armory will go from 57 soldiers to 41.

“Everyone had to take a cut,” Blackburn said.

Powell’s headquarters are in Sheridan, but they are switching with Casper.

Some soldiers will be retrained and moved to fill vacancies in various units, but no soldier will lose their military job.

The reason so many groups are moving around is to help with recruitment by having larger numbers in places where the population is higher.

For instance, Cheyenne is increasing from 319 soldiers to 335.

“There will be national guardsmen in your community and the soldiers can stay,” Blackburn said.

Unlike other military branches, members of the National Guard are not fulltime so they can drive to where their new drill location is if needed. But, some drives could be long and the weather doesn’t always cooperate, so reassignment to keep soldiers at home is the goal.

“That is not what we are about,” Blackburn said. “The moves are based on the fact that we are trying to situate the Guard going forward so we can continue to be a presence in the communities and a force that can be relied upon in case of state or national needs.”

The biggest change for Wyoming is the 1,041st Multi-Role Bridge Company in southwestern Wyoming will be deactivated and a new infantry company will be activated next year. Soldiers in the 1,041st will be able to transition into the new company or be assigned to a different unit in the state.

The new infantry company, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry, will be stationed in Evanston and Afton, which formerly housed the 1,041st.

The 133rd Engineer Company will receive an additional platoon, expanding the Laramie-based company into the Rock Springs armory, formerly assigned to the 1,041st.

The Wyoming Army National Guard will also receive a new radar section assigned to Headquarters Battery, 115th Field Artillery Brigade, in Cheyenne and a legal team assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters.

Brigade support battalions are also decreasing by about 114 positions, but that’s not due to budgetary issues, according to Blackburn.

Although the number of guardsmen in Wyoming is decreasing, the need for recruits remains.

“Our recruiters work around the clock to try to continue to fill our units,” Blackburn said. “One of the state’s top priorities is to have a ready force — we need qualified soldiers in every slot.”