What do the 116th Armor Cavalry Brigade, Major General Gilbert McConnel and the Idaho State Guard have in common?
Mervin Gilbert McConnel, was born near Parma, Idaho
on December 29, 1882, the son of early western pioneers. McConnel was
educated in the public schools of Idaho and attended the University of
Idaho from 1901 to 1903 where he received his first military
training,that being the ROTC military science program at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.On October 16,1908, Mervin McConnel, enlisted as a private in the 2nd Idaho Infantry,Idaho National Guard. In April 1909, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant,and assigned to Company
G, in Caldwell, Idaho.
McConnel, moved up fast from a 2nd Lieutenant to a Captain he was
promoted on January 1,1911 and took command of the company. McConnel,
was not ready for such responsibility's. In 1914, due to the pressure of
affairs, he was obliged to submit his resignation. McConnel was
almost immediately re-commissioned on the Battalion Staff as a Second
Lieutenant.
In 1916 McConnel's guard unit was deployed to Mexico to participate in the Pancho Villa Expedition.
He accompanied the 2nd Idaho Infantry on the Punitive Expedition on the
Mexican Border and on March 27, 1917, he was promoted to 1st Lt. and
assigned to the position of Battalion Adjutant. During his time McConnel
seen battle for his first time. The declared objective of the
expedition by the Wilson administration
was the capture of Villa. Despite successfully locating and defeating
the main body of Villa's command, responsible for the raid on Columbus, New Mexico U.S. forces were unable to achieve Wilson's stated main objective of preventing Villa's escape.In October 1917, at Charlotte, North Carolina, when Idaho Troops where reorganized by order of the War Department,
the Battalion to which McConnel belonged became a Machine Gun
Battalion. He almost immediately applied for transfer to the Field
Artillery,which application was approved,and he was assigned to the
146th Field Artillery,which was also Idaho Troops.” The 146th was
activated for service with the Allied Expeditionary Force and sailed for
France. While in France, McConnel participated in several actions including the Aisne-Marne,Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne.
After November 11,1918 armistice that ended the war McConnel,volunteered to stay behind. He joined the American Army of Occupation. He returned to the United States July 18, 1919. McConnel was discharged from the military on July 30, 1919.
McConnel made his way back to Idaho after his return to the states. He
became employed at the United States Postal Service and it didn't take
long before he reenlisted in the Idaho National Guard. McConnel was
instrumental in organizing what became the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team
as he put the unit together. The unit was Federally recognized on January 9, 1922. On November
5,1924, he was assigned to the position of Squadron Commander and
promoted to Major. McConnel's service did not go unnoticed and on
January 1,1925, he was appointed to the position of Adjutant General of
Idaho by Governor Charles C. Moore.
This brought him a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He was promoted to
Colonel on October 31,1926.
Around this same time ultimately,seven governors from both major parties
would appoint McConnel to serve as Adjutant General. McConnel served
eleven successive terms or twenty-two years as Adjutant General for the State of Idaho. When the outbreak of world war 2 the federal government activated the national guard leaving the state with no national guard units. The governor undertook the creation and staffing of the Idaho State Guard (state defense force) on December 15, 1941 and by March 5, 1942 twelve hundred men had been assigned to the new state defense force. McConnel then only a brigadier general was placed as it's commanding officer. McConnel approved the use of the Idaho State Guard to fight wild fires but the need never arose. The state of Idaho then took steps to muster out all units of the state defense force by April 1944 over 8,502 men in 165 companies where disbanded.
To read the full story please visit the Pass In Review from the Idaho Military Historical Society at:
https://museum.mil.idaho.gov/Newsletters/3rdQtr2002.pdf (Pages 5-7)
116th Armor Cavalry Brigade (Today)
The
116th Armored Cavalry Brigade has units located throughout Idaho,
Montana, Utah, and Oregon. It was reorganized into a heavy armor
brigade in 1989. The 116th Cavalry Brigade, one of only 15 Heavy
Separate Brigades in the country, is Idaho's largest unit. It consists
of two armor battalions (one located in eastern Oregon), a Combat
Engineer Battalion, a Field Artillery Battalion, and a Support Battalion. The 116th fields the most modern equipment in the Army inventory and serves as a model for other National Guard units. The Brigade's Idaho units include more than 3000 citizen soldiers.
The mission of the National Guard differs from the Army in that the National Guard typically supports three missions instead of one primary mission -- a Wartime Mission, a State Mission and a Community Support Mission.
Unlike the US Army Reserve, which primarily contains the CS and CSS units, the Army National Guard consists of combat units. A majority of the units are organized into enhanced brigades. Previously referred to as "roundout brigades," this organizational concept began at the end of the Vietnam era. The enhanced brigades are affiliated with an active division to include light, heavy or mechanized. These brigades have a dedicated forward support battalion aligned under the division support commander during war. The enhanced brigades train with their dedicated divisions and rely on their divisions to evaluate RC training. For example, during the Brigade Command Training Program, the 116th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Boise, ID, participates with the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized). In the event of a Presidential call-up, Army National Guard units must be federalized. Therefore, these units cease to be under the control of the governor of a state. The governors use the Army National Guard, when not federalized, for support within each state as determined by each state governor.
The 116th Armored Cavalry Brigade is one of only 15 Enhanced Heavy Separate Brigades in the U.S. It has a higher operations tempo and increased funding for training. In July 1998, the 116th deployed to the National Training Center (NTC) in Southern California to conduct the most intense training the U.S. Army offers during a three-week rotation. As only the second National Guard Brigade to deploy to the NTC since Desert Storm, the 116th shattered some preconceived ideas that National Guard combat units are unable to fight against a formidable enemy without an extensive train-up. The 116th not only fought a "World-Class Opposing Force" but they won two of the four battles. This was unexpected because; even the soldiers who train 365 days a year are more often then not, unable to accomplish this feat. This was the first time that everyone in this brigade has had the chance to maneuver together. Its primary armor, mechanized infantry and cavalry units are based in Idaho, Oregon and Montana. But its total force -- including an air defense artillery company in North Dakota, a signal company in Arkansas and a chemical company in Minnesota -- are scattered over 41 states. That all of those units must first answer to their governors and then to their brigade headquarters is what makes the National Guard unique among this nation's military organizations. The mission involved maintaining and operating up to 81 Abrams tanks, 57 Bradley fighting vehicles and 20 self-propelled howitzers along with hundreds of trucks and Humvees against an uncompromising home team, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment that, for the training, has been configured as a Russian motorized rifle regiment.
Approximately
300 Idaho Army National Guardsmen and women served in Bosnia in 2001
and 2002. The 116th Cavalry Brigade, headquartered at Gowen Field,
deployed approximately 100 soldiers in March 2002, returning in October,
2002. The 116th will be under the command and control of the Army's
25th Infantry Division, Hawaii, during the deployment. The 91st
Division (Training Support) trained the 116th Cavalry prior to its
deployment to Bosnia for Stabilization Force 11.
The 116th Cavalry (Snake River Regiment) was constituted on 4 March 1920 in the Idaho National Guard as the 1st Cavalry. It organized between March-November 1920 in the valley of the Snake River. It was redesignated on 12 October 1921 as the 116th Cavalry (less 2nd and 3rd Squadrons): Headquarters was Federally recognized on 11 February 1922 at Boise (2nd and 3rd Squadrons were allotted in 1929 to the Idaho National Guard). The location of Headquarters changed on 15 March 1929 to Weiser; and on 9 December 1930 to Boise. The 116th Cavalry (less 3rd Squadron) converted and was redesignated on 16 September 1940 to the 183rd Field Artillery (the 3rd Squadron concurrently converted and was redesignated as elements of the 148th Field Artillery - hereafter separate lineage).
The 183rd Field Artillery was inducted into Federal Service on 1 April 1941 at home stations. The Regiment was broken up on 8 February 1943 and its elements were reorganized and redesignated as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 183 Field Artillery Group; the 1st Battalion as the 183rd Field Artillery Battalion (it inactivated on 30 October 1944, Camp Myles Standish, MA); the 2nd Battalion as the 951st Field Artillery Battalion (it inactivated on 13 October 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, MA).
The above units were reorganized as elements of the 183rd Infantry (Headquarters was Federally recognized on 10 January 1947 at Twin Falls) and the 116th Mechnanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Headquarters was Federally recognized on 8 January 1947 at Caldwell). The 183rd Infantry (less 3rd Battalion) and 116th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron were consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated on 12 September 1949 as the 116th Armored Cavalry with Headquarters at Twin Falls. The 3rd Battalion, 183rd Infantry, was concurrently converted and redesignated as the 116th Engineer Combat Battalion- hereafter separate lineage. The 3rd Squadron was allotted on 15 December 1967 to the Nevada Army National Guard; it was relieved in 11 May 1974 from allotment to the Nevada Army National Guard and allotted to the Oregon Army National Guard. The 1st Squadron was relieved on 1 May 1977 from allotment to the Idaho Army National Guard. The Attack Helicopter Company was allotted on 1 September 1975 to the Washington and Wyoming Army National Guard.
The unit reorganized and was redesignated on 1 September 1989 in the Idaho and Oregon Army National Guard as the 116th Cavalry, a parent regiment under the United States Army Regiment System, to consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions and Troop E, elements of the 116th Cavalry Brigade, and Troop F, and element of the 41st Infantry Brigade. It was reorganized on 1 October 1995 to consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, elements of the 116th Cavalry Brigade.
