The 184th Infantry Brigade

[Tegyrius]

I was idly taking a look at the military assets available to the U.S. federal government circa early 2001 when I ran across this item in Howling Wilderness:

184TH INFANTRY BRIGADE

A Mississippi National Guard Brigade which was brought into federal service on 25 August 1996 as 184th Transportation Brigade. In November of 1996, the brigade moved to Richmond, Virginia and became responsible for logistical movement within the port of embarkation. In June of 1997, the brigade was made responsible for security and distribution of foodstuffs in Military Regions II (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) and III (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina). In September of 1997, the brigade was redesignated an infantry brigade and took over general security duties in III Military Region. In January of 1999, the brigade commander, in conjunction with the GOC (General Officer Commanding) III Military Region, declared in favor of the civilian government. In the spring of 1999, the brigade concentrated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Emphasis is mine.

This has to be a typo that started in the US Army Vehicle Guide and was subsequently copied and pasted forward into Howling Wilderness and the American Combat Vehicle Handbook. I just can't see that mission assignment occurring five months before the first nuclear strike on CONUS, nor the redesignation occurring two months before. It's far more likely that those events took place in 1998.

Also, because I'm now in this rabbit hole lined with a tar pit that we laughingly call "research," I would be grateful to anyone who can provide a source for the composition and mission of the 184th before the war. It was the only transportation brigade in the Guard and there is frustratingly little historical documentation on it beyond its redesignation as the 184th Transportation Command, and later as the 184th Sustainment Command. I did find a MS NG annual report from 2005, after the first redesignation, that breaks down its component units at the time, but it still leaves me scratching my head:

HQ, 184th Trans Cmd Element, Laurel
HC, 184th Trans, Laurel
114th Army Liaison Team (ARFOR), Greenville
HQ, 114th Area Spt Gp, Hattiesburg
HC, 114th Area Spt Gp, Hattiesburg
31st Spt Det, (ROC (ASG)), Jackson

HQ, 298th Corps Spt Bn, Philadelphia
HD, 298th Corps Spt Bn, Philadelphia
367th Maint Co (-), Philadelphia
Det 1, 367th Maint Co, Dekalb
3656th Maint Co (-), Camp Shelby
Det 1, 3656th Maint Co, Waynesboro
Det 2, 3656th Maint Co, Gloster
1387th QM Water Supply Co, Leland
Det 1 1387th QM Co, Greenville
1687th Truck Co, Southaven

HQ, 112th MP Bn, Canton
HD, 112th MP Bn, Canton
113 MP Co, Brandon
114 MP Co (-), Clinton
Det 1, 114 MP Co, Vicksburg
Det 2, 114 MP Co, Canton

A maintenance/transport/water battalion and an MP battalion seems kind of sparse (though it would arguably fit the jobs that the Joint Chiefs had the brigade doing after September 1997... uh, 1998). Contemporary regular Army transportation brigades seem, from a cursory review, to be port material handling and traffic control units, which aligns with what the 184th was doing earlier in the war.

- C.

[Tegyrius]

The headache grows. The 43rd and 49th Military Police Brigades have similar continuity issues:

43RD MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE

A Rhode Island National Guard Brigade which was brought into federal service on 25 August 1996. In November of 1996 the brigade moved to Fort Devens, Massachusetts and became responsible for internal security and logistical movement in Military Region I (New York and the New England states). In June of 1997, the brigade was made responsible for security and distribution of foodstuffs in Military Region I.

49TH MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE

A California National Guard Brigade, which was brought into federal service on 20 August 1996. In November of 1996 the brigade moved to San Diego, California and became responsible for traffic control in the area of the port of embarkation. In June of 1997, the brigade was made responsible for security and distribution of foodstuffs in the southern half of military region IX (California, Nevada and New Mexico). In September of 1997, the brigade reformed at Fort Irwin, California and came under command of newly formed 89th Corps. It was soon involved in combat with advance elements of the Mexican Army, and by the end of the year had been forced back to Camp
Roberts, California.

Emphasis mine again for the same reason. I'm now wondering if someone the US Army Vehicle Guide was working off a draft timeline that had the nuclear strikes occurring in 1996 rather than 1997, and this discrepancy didn't get caught during the book's development cycle. I can't find any evidence that there were major internal security and food distribution problems happening before the TDM.

- C.