The state of Maine might lose a key army unit to Pennsylvania soon as the Army National Guard decides to move its unit elsewhere. Experts have said that the Guard has changed significantly over the previous few years including a fall in its strength.

The Army National Guard is likely to move the 133rd Engineer Battalion of the Maine National Guard to Pennsylvania. It will replace the unit with less specialized combat infantry unit, according to local media reports. The unit manages vital engineering and construction duties during civil emergencies like storms, flooding and other natural disasters. The unit includes training for soldiers with community service in order to develop school athletic facilities, youth camps, nature trails, municipal sand and salt sheds, rural fairgrounds and other projects in the area.

The unit also offered significant training opportunities to women in the area and experts said that such opportunities will diminish as the combat unit is based in the state. Michel Steinbuchel, spokesman for the 133rd Engineer Battalion said it was a plan for the state to place infantry in Maine's Army National Guard by the National Guard since 2008. He also said that it was difficult to fill specialized engineer positions than those for unit's infantry.

Steinbuchel said, "What we need is units that are flexible for both state and federal missions. When the governor calls for state-supported civil authority, the majority of that support in terms of heavy engineering equipment is rarely used extensively. A more flexible general-purpose unit, they tend to be more useful."