The Guard Trains to go to the Sinai

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1397″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]The Maryland Army National Guard conducted hand-to-hand combatives training at the Dundalk Armory July 11, 2010, in preparation for a unique mission to the Middle East.

Members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment received special instruction in the Army’s hand-to-hand combat known as the Modern Army Combatives Program in preparation for their deployment to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula early next year.
Combatives training is part of a larger program of instruction and evaluation that every Soldier must complete prior to mobilization.

MACP encompasses various hybrid martial arts, including jiu-jitsu, that incorporate fighting techniques from conventional martial arts and combat sports popularized by commercial competitions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The unit is scheduled to deploy as part of the Multinational Force and Observer peacekeeping mission, which was established as a result of the Camp David Accords. Ongoing for nearly 30 years, the peacekeeping mission was recently taken on by the National Guard, which has maintained a battalion-sized force there since 2002 verifying continued observance of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The approximately 440 Soldiers are assigned to one of three line battalions which will conduct operations throughout the peninsula alongside comparable battalions from Colombia and Fiji. Their mission will be to man remote observation posts and checkpoints in their areas of operations.

The 175th has served in a wide range of state and federal missions in recent years. Since September 11, 2001, members of the 175th have been called to serve on active duty in support of homeland security missions immediately following the terrorist attacks, as well as natural disaster relief efforts for hurricanes Isabel and Katrina among others. In 2007 and 2008, the regiment was part of the largest overseas deployment of Maryland National Guard Soldiers since World War II as part of 58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. More recently, the unit distinguished itself by helping the state dig out from this winter’s historic snowstorms.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]