Equipping the Army National Guard

National Guard, Sep 1998

The Army National Guard continues to modernize, while simultaneously embracing new missions and force structure designs. New designs in the Army's structure will not only impact the size and composition of the Guard, but also how it is equipped.

MG Roger C. Shultz, Army National Guard Director, recently made clear that the Army Guard needs to mirror the active Army. This will generate a new array of equipment requirements ranging from new trucks to digitized information systems and upgrades to combat systems to match its active counterparts.

Indicative of the support Congress provides, the Guard received $1.6 billion in additional funding last year, or 38 percent of the total DoD add-on. This represents a significant investment by Congress in the National Guard. It appears Congress will again support Guard modernization in 1999.

A status report on the Army National Guard equipment follows.

The M-1 Abrams main battle tank is the standard mainstay armored weapon system of the 1990s. Powered by a turbine diesel engine, the Abrams sounds more like an aircraft than the tanks it replaced.

The main difference between the original M-1 and the A-1 is that the newer model has a 120 mm gun, while the standard version has the 105 mm main gun common to the M-60 series tanks.

National Guard armor units are equipped with tanks ranging from the M-1 to the M-lAl. The active Army is now receiving a limited number of M1A2 tanks.

The remainder of the active Army tank force will be upgraded with a digital communications and electronic applications.

These upgrades will ensure the US Army's technological superiority in armored forces into the next century.

The General Dynamics Tank Division manufactured the M-1 series of tanks. General Dynamics built the tanks in two plants, one in Lima, Ohio, the other in Warren, Mich. The A-2 upgrade, the remaining domestic production, is accomplished at the Lima plant only. The M-1 series tanks are to be issued to all armored brigades. The 49th Armored Division in Texas is equipped with the M-lAl.

General Dynamics is a Legion de Lafayette member and is also an annual Corporate Associate member of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS).

M-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle

The M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle was introduced into the Army inventory in the early 1980s, and is designed to be more than just a troop carrier. The Bradley is armed with a 25 mm cannon.

The infantry squad, whose vehicle it is, can fight from inside as well as outside the Bradley due to its installed weaponry, as well as its rifle ports on each side. Weighing 67,000 pounds, the Bradley provides adequate protection of troops from most types of small arms fire.

The M-2, which also has an M-3 Cavalry version, is built to keep up with the M-1 tank at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. There is also an M6 Stinger Air Defense version known as the "Linebacker" and an M-7 BFIST version of the Bradley.

The M-2 Bradley is no longer in production. However, the system chassis is still being manufactured as a platform for various other missions including command and control vehicles (C2V), Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), protective armor ambulances and engineer systems.

The remaining M-2s in the inventory are being upgraded to the M2A20D and the M-3 configurations. Like the tank, these upgrades include lethality improvements and greater digital information processing capabilities.

All the mechanized infantry and armored divisions in the Persian Gulf were equipped with the Bradley.

The Bradley is manufactured by the United Defense (FMC/BMY) in San Jose, Calif.

United Defense is a Legion de Lafayette member and an annual Corporate Associate Member of the NGAUS.

M-113 FOV

The M-113 family of vehicles (FOV) has many purposes. It s most familiar one is the armored personnel carrier (APC) but there are others such as the M-577 command post vehicle, the Fire Support Team Vehicle (FISTV) and the improved TOW vehicle (ITV), several of which are described below.

The APC is designed for the infantry squad to dismount through the rear-door ramp to join the battle. The only weapon organic to the vehicle is the .50-caliber machine gun manned by the squad leader.

The M-113 FOV is manufactured by United Defense, L.P., which is a partnership combining the experience and defense products of FMC's Defense Systems Group and BMY's Combat Systems Division.

Although relatively old, it is being upgraded to the A-3 configuration for the active Army and the Army National Guard.

United Defense is a Legion de Lafayette and an annual Corporate Associate Member of the NGAUS.

Paladin

The Paladin provides the primary indirect fire support to heavy divisions and armored cavalry regiments.

Like the earlier M-109 models, the Paladin is a fully tracked, armored vehicle with a 155 mm howitzer.

The Paladin includes an on-board ballistic computer and navigation system, secure radio communications, an improved cannon and gun mount, automatic gun positioning, automotive improvements, improved ballistic and nuclear-biological-chemical protection, driver's night vision capabilities and builtin test equipment.