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FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLIC RELEASE:

Active and Reserve Engineer Units Join Forces

AUSTIN, Texas (October 12, 2016) - On Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 10:30 a.m., the 840th Engineer Company of the Texas Army National Guard will conduct a patch-over ceremony to officially recognize its association with the 36th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Hood, Texas. The ceremony will be held at Cherry Park in Weatherford, Texas.

The partnering of forces is the result of a recent announcement, by the Army, to create and test a new concept called the Associated Units Pilot Program, which is designed to increase readiness and responsiveness of the Army as a total force.

“Readiness continues to be my number one priority and in order to maintain that readiness we must leverage our partnerships,” said Maj. Gen. William L. Smith, Deputy Adjutant General-Army and Commander of the Texas Army National Guard. “This Associated Units Pilot Program will be a dramatic shift in what has been a decades old paradigm.”

This three-year pilot program pairs active-duty units with those in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard so they can train together and deploy together, as well as includes an exchange of assigned personnel between the two partner units to promote better Total Force integration as part of the Army’s Associated Units Pilot.

"The Chief of Staff of the Army said that '[R]eadiness is the Army's #1 priority; there are no other #1s.'” The Associated Units seek to sustain the elevated level of experience, readiness and integration gained during the last 15 years of combat by establishing formal relationships between operational active component and reserve component units prior to deployment,” said Col. Mark C. Quander, 36th Engineer Brigade Commander. “With the increasing global requirements, we must find ways to maximize and sustain readiness.”

A total of 27 units were selected for the Associated Units Pilot Program with the Texas National Guard chosen for four partnerships. Other associations include:

--The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, is now associated with the 36th Infantry Division, TXARNG;

--The 1st Battalion (Airborne), 143 Infantry Regiment, Texas ARNG, is now associated with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, stationed in Vicenza, Italy; and

--The 249th Transportation Company, TXARNG and the 1245th Transportation Co., Oklahoma ARNG, is now associated with the 1st Cavalry Division’s Sustainment Brigade, stationed in Fort Hood.

The patch-over ceremony is where the 840th Engineer Company Commander will officially relinquish command and control of the unit to the 36th Engineer Brigade, for the duration of the pilot program and will include the changing of the unit patch on the guardsmen’s uniforms. Participation in this pilot program will not have an impact on the unit’s ability to respond or provide assistance during emergency response missions. 

The 840th Engineer Company is aligned under the 176th Engineer Brigade based in Grand Prairie.

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The mission of the Texas Military Department (TMD) is to provide the Governor and the President with ready and trained forces in support of the citizens of Texas and State and Federal civil/military authorities at home and abroad.

The Texas Military Department is commanded by the Adjutant General of Texas, the state's senior military official appointed by the governor, and is comprised of the Texas Military Department (formerly the Adjutant General's Department), the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG), the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG), the Texas State Guard (TXSG) and the Domestic Operations Command (DOMOPS).

For more information about the Texas Military Department visit our Website at https://tmd.texas.gov.