The 319th Military Intelligence Battalion is a

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and is part of the

525th Military Intelligence Brigade The 525th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (Expeditionary) is a unit of the United States Army specializing in the acquisition and analysis of information with potential military value. On 28 October 2014, the unit was reflagged from t ...

(Expeditionary).

History

The 319th Military Intelligence Battalion (Operations) traces its lineage to the 319th Military Intelligence Headquarters Detachment at

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&nb ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, 1 August 1945, an interrogation unit for

German Prisoners of War German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. In 1946, the unit was sent to Japan. It was joined by other interrogation units which served in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 1944 and later the reformed 319th served in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. After deactivation in 1968, the battalion was reactivated in 1982 at

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...

, as a subordinate unit of the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade to provide both general intelligence support and special communications support to the

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

. In October 1983, elements of the battalion deployed to the island of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pet ...

for

Operation Urgent Fury The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fur ...

. In 1988, battalion personnel participated in the emergency deployment to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

to counter an incursion by Nicaraguan forces. In 1989, the 319th deployed to Panama in support of

Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. The 319th MI Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia for

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In September 1994, the battalion deployed to the island of Haiti in support of

Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by t ...

. In December 1995 and again in October 1996, the battalion deployed elements to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

in support of

Operation Joint Endeavor The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NAT ...

. In March 2003, the Battalion's B Company (TENCAP) deployed to

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

in support of the

1st Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

(MEF). In November 2004 the 319th (Task Force Hurricane) deployed to

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

along with the 525th MI BDE (Task Force Lightning) ahead of the XVIII Airborne Corps assuming the mission of the

Multi-National Corps Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more ...

(MNC-I), as well as intelligence responsibilities for the

Multi-National Force Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more na ...

(MNF-I). Alpha Company and Bravo Company incorporated personnel of 297th MI BN, 513th MI BDE (

INSCOM The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and nationa ...

) which became a separate BN Task Force under 525th MI BDE, doubling their deployed strength and equipment. The units redeployed in November 2005 after turning the mission over to

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

' 302nd MI BN, 205th MI BDE. During this time, Bravo Company, 319th MI BN (Task Force Banshee) became the first unit to download

RQ-4 Global Hawk The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft of the 1990s–2020s. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The ...

imagery in a theater of war. The 319th Military Intelligence Battalion later deployed to

Regional Command South In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 a ...

in July 2010 and stayed there until July 2011. After returning to

the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion prepared for another deployment. They deployed to

Regional Command East In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2013 and returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in October 2013.

Lineage

*Constituted 14 July 1945 in the Army of the United States as the 319th Headquarters Intelligence Detachment *Activated 1 August 1945 in Germany *Inactivated 31 October 1946 in Germany *Redesignated 20 December 1946 as the 319th Military Intelligence Company *Activated 30 December 1946 in Japan *Reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1952 as the 319th Military Intelligence Service Company and allotted to the Regular Army *Inactivated 28 March 1954 in Japan *Redesignated 14 January 1955 as the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion *Activated 7 March 1955 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland *Reorganized and redesignated 25 January 1958 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 319th Military Intelligence Battalion *(162d Military Intelligence Company ee ANNEX 1reorganized and redesignated 13 July 1959 as Company A) *Battalion inactivated 15 February 1968 at Fort Shafter, Hawaii *Activated 1 April 1982 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (336th Army Security Agency Company ee ANNEX 2concurrently reorganized and redesignated as Company B) ;Annex 1 *Constituted 5 April 1945 in the Army of the United States as the 162d Language Detachment *Activated 23 April 1945 in the Philippine Islands *Inactivated 10 February 1946 in Japan *Redesignated 14 January 1955 as the 162d Military Intelligence Platoon and allotted to the Regular Army *Activated 7 March 1955 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland *Reorganized and redesignated 25 January 1958 as the 162d Military Intelligence Company ;Annex 2 *Constituted 1 July 1952 in the Regular Army as the 336th Communication Reconnaissance Company *Activated 6 August 1952 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts *Reorganized and redesignated 16 May 1955 as Company A, 311th Communication Reconnaissance Battalion *Redesignated 1 July 1956 as Company A, 311th

Army Security Agency The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the United States Army's signals intelligence branch from 1945 to 1976. The Latin motto of the Army Security Agency was ''Semper Vigiles'' (Vigilant Always), which echoes the declaration, often ...

Battalion *Inactivated 18 December 1957 at Camp Wolters, Texas *Disbanded 15 February 1966 *Reconstituted 21 September 1978 in the Regular Army as the 336th Army Security Agency Company *Activated 16 September 1979 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Campaign participation credit

Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait Company A additionally entitled to: *World War II: Luzon *Armed Forces Expeditions: Panama

Decorations

*Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for KOREA 1953 *Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991 ;Operation Iraqi Freedom *

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

2007 *

2009 ;Operation Enduring Freedom *

2011

A Company

A Company additionally entitled to: *Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945

References

{{Reflist

319 __NOTOC__ Year 319 ( CCCXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinius (or, less frequently, year 1 ...