Pfc. Dan Balda
4th Bde.
The 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, out of Modesto, Calif., does not want to people to think of them as weekend warriors.
As part of an enhanced National Guard brigade the 1/184 Infantry is equipped with the same modern weapons and equipment as the active Army. The 1/184 Infantry also is allocated additional funding for increased training and a resident training detachment of active Army advisors to assist in operational readiness, according to the unit's Web site, www.calguard.ca.gov.
Their mission will not be much different from the 1st Cavalry Divisions", whom the 3rd Inf. Div. is replacing.
"We'll be patrolling the streets of Baghdad," said 1st Lt. Matthew McCarthy, a platoon leader for 1/184. "We've been tasked to stop the terrorists so the democratic process can continue uninhibited."
Ready for the challenge that lies ahead in Baghdad, the regiment has been training hard for the last year in preparation for this deployment.
"We've been training just as hard as the rest of the brigade," said McCarthy. "I look forward to a successful mission and getting everybody home safely."
"This is the unit's second trip down here (Kuwait)," the Sacramento, Calif., native said. "Last time was during Operation Desert Spring guarding Patriot Missile sites, it's going to be a little more dangerous this time."
Besides the last rotation to Kuwait, the unit has a long and illustrious lineage to fall back on, if the need be.
The unit was organized in 1864 in the California Militia at Sacramento as the Sacramento Light Artillery. They were redesignated by the Organized Militia of California as the California National Guard in 1866, according to the unit's Web site.
1/184 has received campaign participation credit in World War I and II, and Korea. They have received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation as well as the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
During World War II, the 1/184 had the honor of being the only National Guard regiment to regain lost American territory in Alaska from a foreign enemy.
The unit was the first to do so since the War of 1812.
Another World War II first was achieved during the Pacific island hopping campaigns. The regiment participated in the battle for Kwajalien. They were the first National Guard unit to seize and hold territory that Japan held prior to the start of the war, according to the military museum Web site, www.militarymuseum.org/184th.html.
As the line blurs between active-duty and reserve forces, the 1/184th Inf. is ready to meet the challenges ahead and serve beside their fellow Soldiers.