AUGUSTA, Maine — Contradicting recent efforts to downplay a controversial plan to replace the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion with an infantry unit, the state’s top Guard official advocated for the plan in an email last month.
Brig. Gen. James Campbell, adjutant general of the Maine Guard, said the plan would likely go forward regardless of whether proposed federal reductions to the Guard are imposed, and that he was trying to “minimize any turmoil surrounding this issue.”
The April 29 email, in which Campbell outlines the benefits of the plan, also indicates there may be a divide between him and Gov. Paul LePage, the commander in chief of the Maine Guard, who in recent weeks has vocally opposed any plan to relocate the 133rd.
The relocation scheme was first drafted by the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., as a contingency plan meant to address a reduction in the National Guard forces proposed in the Pentagon’s budget request, which cuts Army forces to pre-9/11 levels.
All told, the budget would cause a drawdown of between 20,000 and 30,000 Guardsmen nationwide.
Reports of the plan to relocate the roughly 500-member 133rd to Pennsylvania and replace it with an infantry battalion surfaced earlier this month. Maine Army National Guard Col. Jack Mosher discussed the proposal in a meeting with staffers of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree in late April, according to Pingree spokesman Willy Ritch.
Pingree’s staff divulged the plan to the Bangor Daily News earlier this month in response to a request for comment.
Recently, in response to the plan becoming public, Campbell and Gov. Paul LePage have downplayed the proposal, stressing that the plan was not set in stone — a point LePage repeated after meeting with Campbell on Thursday.
“No decision has been made, nor will it be for years,” LePage said Thursday in a written statement.
LePage also sent a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama, urging him to oppose the force reduction in the National Guard, thus preventing the need for changes.
But in the email, addressed to Maine congressional staffers, Campbell said “it is highly likely at this point that we will seek to make a change with another state, regardless of whether or not the cuts we are fighting against actually happen … we have been looking for an infantry unit for some years now.”
The email was provided to the Bangor Daily News by Ritch on Thursday, in response to accusations by LePage that Pingree had “mischaracterized” the plan in discussing it with the media. Ritch said the email showed Pingree had not.
Pingree has proposed a bill in Congress to prevent any reduction in National Guard forces. In April, she was contacted by several members of the Maine Army National Guard who were concerned about the proposed loss of the 133rd, Ritch said. Those concerns prompted her to reach out for an explanation from Campbell.
“I’m sure the Guard personnel who contacted us will be relieved to hear there’s no change planned, and the governor will fight to keep the 133rd in Maine. That’s the right thing to do,” Ritch said Thursday.
In the email, Campbell — who ascended through the infantry as an officer and has served in several commands — said that the state had been seeking an infantry battalion since 2008, and that such a battalion would be better suited to serve the state. Some units in the 133rd have struggled with recruitment, he said, and the engineering battalion is “a more complex unit to recruit for, train and maintain.”
The change is not without historical context, he said: The 133rd was an infantry battalion from 1760 until the mid-1960s. It fought in both World War I and World War II. He also said an infantry battalion would be a more financially stable group for the state, going forward.
“An infantry battalion would be affiliated with a Brigade Combat Team, the basic unit structure of the Army and one which gives us better funding and training opportunities, as well as more security for our structure in this time of fiscal uncertainty,” Campbell said. “Infantry units are easier to train given our weather and terrain, and require less expensive maintenance.”
Campbell also alluded to the likelihood that news of the change would be met with opposition from the public.
“There will be some in the state who will have an understandably emotional reaction to such a change if it occurs,” he said. “However, we will proceed with what we feel is the best decision given our current and anticipated needs, and our future ability to maintain the best force possible in our state.”
After initial reports of the battalion relocation plan were published, LePage told the BDN that the 133rd wasn’t going anywhere under his watch. Earlier this week, Campbell sent an email to all members of the Maine National Guard in an attempt to quell concerns over the plan. He also stressed that no decision had been made, but indicated the plan to relocate the 133rd is still on the table.
Attempts Thursday to reach Campbell, who recently returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, were unsuccessful. A spokesman directed all inquiries to the governor’s office.
Adrienne Bennett, LePage’s press secretary, said she could not speak for Campbell, and would not address the content of Campbell’s email. She stressed the governor had been clear that he would not support any plan that would cause Maine to lose the 133rd.
“The governor opposes Obama’s draconian cuts on core government functions like homeland security,” she said. “Since 2008, the Guard has been exploring the possibility of the addition of an infantry unit [in Maine]. That’s something the governor would support, but not if it comes at the cost of the 133rd.”
About 170 members of the 133rd are currently deployed in Afghanistan working to downsize and consolidate bases as the United States prepares to withdraw its remaining military forces.
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
