By Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — The West Virginia Army National Guard’s 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment, will soon be transformed into a Tactical Combat Formation unit.
That’s according to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who says the proposed change will save the 150th Cavalry Regiment, retain 532 authorized military personnel in the state and protect hundreds of jobs across Southern West Virginia.
Headquartered in Bluefield at the Brushfork Armory, the 1-150th Cavalry has soldiers stationed at multiple locations across the state, including in Bluefield, Holden, Salem, Glen Jean and Red House. The unit had been on the “chopping block “as part of the U.S. Army’s Transformation in Contact (TIC) initiative, according to a statement released by Morrisey.
“I want to thank Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the administration for listening to the people of West Virginia and recognizing the importance of this unit — not just in terms of military capability, but also heritage, community, and economic resilience,” Morrisey said in a prepared statement. “I also want to commend Maj. Gen. (Jim) Seward for his determined leadership. He argued forcefully that eliminating the 150th was not only a mistake strategically, but also a devastating blow to southern West Virginia. This is an area that has sacrificed greatly for this nation and deserves continued investment.”
