Southwest Asia

The end of the draft in 1973 ushered in a period of tremendous change for the U.S. military. Cut off from their source of cheap manpower and under pressure to cut costs, the active services realized they must make better use of their reserve components. The Air Guard had been integrated into the workings of the Air Force since the mid-1950s. By the mid-1970s the "Total Force" policy resulted in more Army National Guard missions, equipment, and training opportunities than ever before.

The National Guard shared in the huge defense buildup initiated by President Ronald Reagan. In 1977, the first small Army National Guard detachment had traveled overseas to spend their two weeks of active duty training with regular Army units. Nine years later, the Wisconsin National Guard's 32nd Infantry Brigade was deploying to Germany with all its equipment for the major NATO exercise REFORGER.

From the first days of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Army National Guard soldiers reacted, initially as volunteers, and later as members of mobilized units. During this period the Guard went through its largest mobilization since the Korean War. More than 62,000 Army National Guard soldiers were mobilized, of which 39,000 deployed to Southwest Asia. Six Army National Guard field artillery battalions supported the advance into Iraq, including one with the Multiple-Launch Rocket System. These systems were so accurate and deadly that the Iraqi soldiers called them “steel rain.”