The 155th Armored Brigade (Mississippi National Guard) will send 600 of its troops to Bosnia with the 10th Mountain and 29th Infantry Divisions in Oct 2001. As with other National Guard units sent to Bosnia, the entire brigade will be looted for volunteers to form a composite battalion for the mission. Critics have charged that sending Guard troops to Bosnia proves that the US Army is too small, and is destroying combat units (including Guard units) by requiring them to spend a year training for peacekeeping before they leave and another year re-acquiring warfighting skills when they get home.--Stephen V Cole

National Guard soldiers at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, fired environmentally-friendly "green" bullets on the rifle range for the first time in the Army's history on 23-24 Oct. The rifle range had been declared a hazardous waste site due to all of the lead bullets in the soil, so the Army has begun a switch to biodegradable tungsten alloy bullets on rifle ranges. These cost somewhat more than older lead ammunition. --Stephen V Cole