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Old HAWK batterybe training on•f 'By Jeff Buell Observer staff writerAlthough the former HAWK Battalion’s mission change is less glamorous npw that it. will be hauling .. cargo rather than firing missiles, there will still .be some fire power left at the Rio Rancho site.• A battery from another battalion/■ Delta Battery Has a secondary mission to its Stinger operation^ It will also serve as a police-type unit to respond to various crisis situations both at home and abroad.For instance, said Tapia, a police action such is the current situation■ - ---------- , ciwiiyii ouv/ii id• will use the Rio Rancho base as its, jn gosnja wquld have been the typeTUrt flalln Haftnn/ ’ « . . .4 . ■ t i l. _training site. The Delta Battery, which is attached to the 6th Battalion which is scattered across the state, will be housed at the HAWK site. The Delta Battery remains an air-defense unit, which specializes in the use of Stinger missiles, a short range air defense weapon.There won’t be any live Stingers kept at the Rio Rancho site due to security concerns. The actual live-missile training will take place at Fort Bliss in E) Paso, where the HAWK missile firing used to take place.The current Delta Battery used to be attached to the HAWK Battalion, under the name of Alpha Battery. They were the unit that fired the last of the HAWK missiles this past summer. The attachment change came about a month ago as a result of a state-wide reorganization of the National Guard’s air defense mission.. Air defense used to be the primary mission of the New Mexico National Guard, explained Delta Battery Lt. Tim Tapia. There has been a push to incorporate support units into the mission lately, which led to the HAWK Battalion’s new mission as a transport service unit.Delta Battery is quite large for its category. In military hierarchy, a battery is one unit.below a battalion. Yet Delta Battery is authorized to have about as many personnel as the entire HAWK battalion, roughly 140 men and women. On paper, it is made up of six platoons, but so far has only two platoons “fitted,” or staffecHo capacity. Tapia expects a full contingent by mid-1998.of crisis that their battery would be likely to respond to; Closer to home, if the governor were to activate the National Guard in the event of a civil disturbance, such as rioting, or a natural disaster, the Delta Battery would probably be among the first members of the National Guard on the scene.The reservists assigned to Delta Battery are currently being trained for both their primary mission as a Stinger unit and their secondary mission as a police force. Tapia anticipates the force will be “trained up” within the next two years.In its active-duty capacity, the 6th Battalion serves as air defense to the 42nd Infantry Division, the bulk of which is stationed in New York. In simple terms, the Delta Battalion would be responsible for keeping the division defended against enemyaircraft attacks.Delta Battalion will have some familiar faces serving at officers. All of Delta’s officers were assigned to the HAWK Battalion before the battery was reassigned last month.All of the changes that have taken place in the past few months with the HAWK Battalion have left a general air of confusion about what is happening out at the base.Delta Battery is planning an open house on December 8 to address this confusion and show local officials what their battery is up to these days. Tapia said he will invite Mayor Tom Swisstack, the Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce and area state legislators to the open house.
Newspaper Details
Rio Rancho Observer
Rio Rancho, New Mexico, US
Fri, Nov 15, 1996
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Justin Y.
NA, 09 Jul 2020
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