WASHINGTON - The Army will deploy active component units in lieu of four Army National Guard units in Operation Enduring Freedom-Trans Sahara and the Multinational Force Observer Task Force Sinai as a result of an immediate fiscal year 2013 budget shortfall of $18 billion.
The units originally slated for these missions, 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Squadron-152nd Cavalry Regiment, Delta Company and Fox Company, 113th Combat Support Battalion, are all part of the Indiana Army National Guard.
These ARNG units were scheduled to deploy in June. Instead, active-duty units will replace these units at a savings of about $93 million.
The combination of the Budget Control Act of 2011, sequestration, and the underfunding of fiscal year 2013 Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO, requirements have severely constrained the Army's ability to perform directed missions with previously planned Reserve Component, or RC, forces.
The Army is committed to the Army Total Force Policy and intends to continue employing the RC as part of the Army's operational force.
The Army implemented these changes to achieve immediate cost savings based on current budget considerations. This decision does not represent a shift in policy with regard to the deployment and utilization of reserve component units in the future.