29th Infantry Division

[Legbreaker]

In this case, the Army would have deactivated several of the Training Divisions and assign their cadre to other divisions...

Isn't that essentially what the books are saying The personnel of the training units were reassigned to new active combat units, but they were all "reassigned" at the same time to the same "new" unit.

[dragoon500ly]

According to "Armies of NATO's Central Front"

The US Army Reserve maintained the following Training Divisions: 70th; 76th; 78th; 80th; 84th; 85th; 91st; 95th; 98th; 100th; 104th; and the 108th

The "American Vehicle Guide" disposes of these divisions as follows:

70th is converted into a LID 20Jul98 and committed to Austria
76th is converted into a LID 20JUL98 and goes to Yugoslavia
78th gets converted into a LID 20JUL98 and is at Fort Dix
80th is converted into a LID 20JUL98 and goes to Yugoslavia
84th goes LID 29JUL98 and stays in V Military Region(northern US)
85th becmes a LID 20JUL98 and is serving in the SW US
91st goes LID 20JUL98 and is in central California
95th goes the way of the LID 20JUL98 and is in Oklahoma
98th becomes a LID 20JUL98 and is in Louisiana
100th becomes a LID 20JUL98 and is at Fort Carson Colorado
104th goes LID 20JUL98 and is in the Pacific NW
108th becomes a LID 20JUL98 and is in the III Military Region

So at the height of WWIII, when troops are badly needed as replacements, the decision is made to gut the training establishment and convert everything into LIDs and then throw them into combat.

I'm the first to admit that the DOD normally does not allow logic to interfere with its plans, but this would create a deadly sprial; without a training establishment of some kind, then there would be no replacement troops, which means that the combat units will rapidly sprial into total combat in-effectiveness within an very short period of time.

Perhaps GDW intended this to explain how divisions were reduced from 15-16,000 down to 1-2,000. The argument can even be made that with the press of civil unrest, a Soviet invasion of Alaska and a Mexican invasion of the Southwest, that there is a pressing need for organized troops to hold the line. But if the decision was made for that reason, then it is, without a doubt, one of the most short-sighted decisions ever made as it would doom any future combat operations.

[Legbreaker]

It's worth noting the there was a rapid succession of Presidents in the 2-3 months before this occurred. There was nobody in charge at the time the changes were made, and not exactly a lot of organisation above the local level.
Without working infrastructure around them, the training units were extremely unlikely to receive further recruits. Therefore, with events deteriorating rapidly both overseas and at home, the best use for the training units was not to keep them as they were and idle, but to transform them into something useful for civil defence, and reinforcements for the three main theatres (Europe, Middle East, Korea). Note also, the Soviets had just landed in Alaska (which explains the 104th).

[Olefin]

the one training division conversion that makes no sense is the 70th - why send it over as a new division when it would have made a lot more sense to allocate its troops to divisions that were hard hit The 2nd Armored was basically an empty shell of itself by then - those men would have been able to restore it back to being an effective unit.

Ditto several other units in Germany.

The rest I could see as emergency units that were needed because there wasnt enough left in the US - but the 70th definitely should have gone over as replacements for other units.

[Legbreaker]

...but the 70th definitely should have gone over as replacements for other units.

I disagree. Take a look at the other units in the XV Corps and why they are where they are. There's the 1st Armoured and 43rd Infantry, both of which were withdrawn from Poland and rushed into southern Germany to counter the Czech and Italian forces driving into Bavaria.
Then look at the units in Centag as a whole. Besides the two divisions mentioned above, there's only one other division - the 35th Infantry. The remaining two units both suffered major damage earlier in the war and consist (on paper) as no more than a brigade/regiment.

This area of the front obviously required reinforcement at the time and the 70th ID was likely the logical choice since taking a previously existing unit from another location would have had serious consequences.

Sure, the manpower could have been broken up and used as replacements, but the 70th was already a functioning unit with it's own internal command and logistical structure, with the NCOs and Officers having worked with each other for some time previously. Breaking it up would throw away the working relationships and "shorthand" these people had developed with each other - not something to be done lightly.

[Graebarde]

It's worth noting the there was a rapid succession of Presidents in the 2-3 months before this occurred. There was nobody in charge at the time the changes were made, and not exactly a lot of organisation above the local level.
Without working infrastructure around them, the training units were extremely unlikely to receive further recruits. Therefore, with events deteriorating rapidly both overseas and at home, the best use for the training units was not to keep them as they were and idle, but to transform them into something useful for civil defence, and reinforcements for the three main theatres (Europe, Middle East, Korea). Note also, the Soviets had just landed in Alaska (which explains the 104th).

Heres a list of the Division, HQ location, Probable Mobilization/training center* for the divisions. * Some of these are taken from sites I could find that listed where they actually were destined for training

70th Livonia MI () Several choices, but none really in CivGov AO.
76th West Hartford CT (Cp Edwards/Ft Devens MA)
78th Newark NJ (Ft Dix NJ)
80th Richmond VA (Ft AP Hill VA)
84th Milwaukee WI (Ft McCoy WI)
85th Chicago IL (Ft Campbell KY)
91st San Francisco CA (Ft Ord CA)
95th Oklahoma City OK (or Tulsa) (Ft Chaffee AR)
98th Rochester NY (Ft Polk LA)
100th Louisville KY (Ft Knox KY)
104th Vancouver WA (Ft Lewis WA)
108th Charlotte NC (Ft Bragg NC)

Given the 'home' area of the respective divisions many stayed where they were from per se. The ones sent overseas under the CivGov orders of course didn't. Only the 85th from Illinois which was sent to the SW, the 98th from New York which was sent to Louisiana, and the 100th from Louisville found themselves away from home country. Of course the relocations are under MilGov in CONUS and would be to meet the demand of the situation. Only the 98th would be at it's mobilization/training center I think.