CONGRESSMEN PETITION TO KEEP BATTALION ALIVE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 4, 1992                   TAG: 9202040313
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
CONGRESSMEN PETITION TO KEEP BATTALION ALIVE
Members of Virginia's congressional delegation are urging the National Guard to reconsider the planned elimination of the 276th Engineer Battalion, one of the country's oldest military units.
The battalion, the oldest in Virginia, is based in Richmond. It has units around the state including three in Southwest Virginia: at Vansant in Buchanan County and at Richlands and Tazewell in Tazewell County.
"We are fighting to retain this award-winning battalion, which has a distinguished service record," said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon. "Eliminating this unit would be a disservice not only to the battalion's soldiers, but also to the state that has called upon the 276th to provide emergency assistance with floods and other natural disasters."
Urging the Army to reconsider the future of the battalion in a joint letter to the chief of the National Guard are U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va.; U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and Reps. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg; Hebert Bateman, R-Newport News; Thomas Bliley, R-Richmond; Owen Pickett, D-Virginia Beach; George Allen, R-Charlottesville; and Boucher.
The delegation asked Lt. Gen. John Conaway to make no final decision about the battalion's status until he has met with the delegation.
"We want to know why the National Guard has targeted this unit, repeatedly recognized for excellence, when others in the force structure to be retained do not have comparable records," Boucher said.
Boucher said the timing is inappropriate because it comes when he is seeking funds to build a new armory for the Richlands unit.
The proposed building would be on the campus of Southwest Virginia Community College near Richlands and double as an academic building.
"We have already received $115,000 for detailed planning for the new facility, and construction monies of more than $2 million are expected this year," Boucher said.
"Obviously, the preservation of the 276th is essential to this valuable community project going forward."
The 276th can trace its lineage back to the 1st Virginia Regiment, once commanded by George Washington and Patrick Henry.
About 700 of its members were on the Southwest Virginia Community College last summer being honored for the work they completed in the region during their two-week training exercise.
They worked on 27 construction projects, ranging from grading access roads and potential industry sites to putting a chain-link fence around a Little League ball field.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB