At Ease - Wisconsin National Guard Department of Military Affairs

Mission:
The 157th Maneuver Enhancement
Brigade provides a versatile, flexible combat
force that can be tailored to a wide spectrum
of military combat and support missions, and
it can provide specialized forces to support
brigade combat teams and other combat units.
The unit, formerly the 57th Field
Artillery Brigade, began transformation into
a maneuver enhancement brigade. This type
of brigade is relatively new to the Army; its
concepts and doctrines are being refined as
part of U.S. Army strategic transformation
initiatives. The 157th includes units
specialized in communications networking,
chemical detection and decontamination, and
forward support, as well as High Mobility
Artillery Rocket System firing batteries and
combat engineers. The 157th is headquartered
in Milwaukee, and has an assigned strength of
more than 2,100 Soldiers.
The 157th MEB largely is made up of
units that were formerly part of the 57th Field
Artillery Brigade and the 264th Engineer
Group.
An Overview: Wisconsin Army National Guard
157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
2008 Highlights:
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The 157th made significant progress in the transition into a
maneuver enhancement brigade. The 157th participated in
conferences and exercises to help develop and refine MEB
doctrine, and this is the first year that the units worked together
under a unified brigade headquarters.
The unit provided support to assist the 32nd Infantry Brigade
Combat Team in preparing for its mobilization for duty in Iraq.
This support included logistics; operation of individual and
crew-served weapons ranges; and provision of training in
land navigation, convoy operations, and defeating improvised
explosive devices.
Several 157th units — including the 829th Engineer Company;
Battery A, 121st Field Artillery; the 108th Support Company;
and some Soldiers from the 257th Brigade Support Battalion —
prepared to be mobilized to augment the 32nd Infantry Brigade
Combat Team during its deployment.
The 951st Engineer Company (Sapper) was mobilized Nov.
30 and trained at Camp Shelby, Miss., in preparation for its
deployment to Afghanistan.
The 724th Engineer Battalion provided flood relief to Wisconsin
in June and July. The 924th Engineer Detachment provided
command assistance elements, which are advance teams that
assess needs and damage and prepare response plans.
Wisconsin officials including Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton; Brig. Gen. Donald Dunbar, the adjutant general; and Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, deputy
adjutant general, Army, visit the 951st Sapper Company, at Camp Shelby, Miss., for a military send-off ceremony in November, prior to the
unit’s departure for Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Photo by Maj. Jackie Guthrie
88 at ease