The 525th Military Intelligence Brigade is a United States Army unit specializing in the collection and analysis of information with potential military value. On 28 October 2014, the unit was reflagged from the "525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade" to an expeditionary military intelligence brigade, the first of its kind.525th Military Intelligence Brigade Unveiled on Fort Bragg, Military.com, by Drew Brooks, dated 30 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014
Mission The 525th Military Intelligence Brigade provides intelligence to commanders at the corps or lower levels. The unit is designed to be adaptable and able to deploy as part of the Global Response Force, or in support of any number of operations across the globe. As the only rapidly-deployable military intelligence (MI) brigade in the United States Army, the 525th specializes in intelligence collection and analysis support to the XVIII Airborne Corps. The brigade headquarters and two MI battalions are stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The brigade's capabilities include a full range of advanced intelligence collection and analysis that includes human intelligence, counterintelligence, aerial signals intelligence, and Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP), as well as electronic warfare support. Its Soldiers come from across the range of Military Occupational Specialties in the Army to include military intelligence disciplines, aviation, signal, and the full range of critical Combat Support and Combat Service Support experts. Its mission is to provide all-source, predictive intelligence and electronic warfare in support of worldwide contingency operations.
History The 525th Military Intelligence Brigade traces its lineage back to World War II: the 218th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment and the 525th Interrogation Team. These units were deactivated after World War II. On 21 February 1948, the 525th Headquarters Intelligence Detachment was reactivated and assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was redesignated the 525th Military Intelligence Service Group in December 1950. During the Korean War, elements of the Group participated in seven campaigns and earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations. In December 1953, the unit was redesigned again as the 525th Military Intelligence Group, and was transferred from Fort Bragg to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
Upon arrival in South Vietnam, in November 1965, the 525th Military Intelligence Group was assigned to the U.S. Army, Vietnam. There, the Group provided advisor and intelligence support to include aerial reconnaissance and surveillance, counterintelligence, interrogation, technical intelligence, and area intelligence (espionage in support of USARV). After Vietnam, the Group moved several times. On 16 September 1978, it returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where it was redesignated as the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade (Airborne).
In December 1989, the brigade participated, once again, in a rapid deployment operation, providing critical intelligence support to Joint Task Force (JTF) during Operation Just Cause. Brigade soldiers interrogated key Panamanian Defense Force members, screened documents, and served as the nucleus of the JTF Panama J2. The soldiers who served with JTF Panama, J2, received the Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation award.
Operation Desert Shield deployments began in early August 1990. The brigade sent over 1,600 soldiers in support of XVIII Airborne Corps. Missions included all source analysis to Corps Headquarters and subordinate units, interrogating over 5,000 enemy prisoners of war, flying over 550 combat intelligence collection missions, collecting signals intelligence, providing communications jamming support, conducting long range surveillance operations, and augmenting the 6th French Light Armored Division.
The brigade also deployed to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy. The brigade task force conducted split-based operations which provided signals intelligence and direct support teams to the maneuver brigades. The brigade also provided imagery support, intelligence analysis support, signals intelligence analysis, and national imagery support to the headquarters of both Joint Task Forces (JTF) 180 and 190. The task force also used its counter-intelligence/human intelligence teams and established and ran the joint detainee facility in support of JTF-190.
From late 2004 to late 2008, 525th MI Brigade deployed several times to Iraq in support of XVIII Airborne Corps, which was serving as the Multinational Corps-Iraq for the majority of 525th's deployment. Upon returning from Iraq, the brigade began the process of reorganizing into the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. The largest change was that the Analysis and Control Element was detached and became attached to the Corps G2 staff section. For its participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 16 November 2004 until 15 November 2005, the 525th received a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
OIF 04-05 Order of Battle 525th Military Intelligence Brigade 319th Military Intelligence Battalion 297th Military Intelligence Battalion 519th Military Intelligence Battalion 250th Military Intelligence Battalion 1st Military Intelligence Battalion Attached
Concurrent with the reorganization and redesignation as the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the Airborne tab was deleted from the shoulder sleeve insignia effective 16 March 2009.
The brigade is deployed in support of Operation Joint Guardian as Multinational Battle Group East part of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) (525 BfSB) and is headquartered at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The Multinational Battle Group East additionally has multiple Regular Army, National Guard, Reserve component forces and has 12 different Multinational units.
In October 2014, the brigade was the first of three brigades reorganized and re-designated as Military Intelligence Brigades (Expeditionary) to better support the requirements of the U.S. Army during a time of shrinking budgets and reduction in personnel. The biggest change to the brigade was the loss of the 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment leaving only two battalions under it, the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion and the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion.
Following the outbreak of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the brigade was deployed to Rzeszów, Poland.
Subordinate units 103rd Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion
The 103rd Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion (103rd IEW Battalion) is a United States Army military intelligence and electronic warfare battalion which serves as a direct subordinate unit to the 3rd Infantry Division.
The battalion was activated in Germany and designated as the 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion on 16 September 1981, after the U.S. Army directed the merger of the 851st Army Security Agency Company, and the 3rd Military Intelligence Company. As such, the 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion draws its lineage and honors from these two historical units. In the summer of 1996 the Battalion along with the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), relocated to Fort Stewart, Georgia.
The 851st Army Security Agency Company was originally formed as the 3377th Signal Service Detachment which was activated in January 1945 on Luzon in the Philippines. In October 1951 the 851st Communications Reconnaissance Detachment, participating in four Korean War campaigns, including the first United Nations counteroffensive. The detachment was deactivated in Japan in August 1956. That same year it was briefly reactivated as the 851st Army Security Agency Detachment. It was finally designated the 851st Army Security Agency Company and reactivated in July 1974.
The 3rd Military Intelligence Company was activated in France in September 1944 as the 3rd Counterintelligence Corps. It was inactivated 2 years later after having participated in four World War II campaigns, including Rhineland and Ardennes-Alsace. In 1949, the detachment was reactivated and served in the Korean War. It participated in 8 campaigns including the Chinese Communist Force Intervention and the second and third Korean Winters. During January 1958, the detachment was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Military Intelligence detachment and attached to the 3rd Infantry Division. The detachment was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in April 1974.
The 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion, as part of the 3rd Infantry Division participated in the first iteration of Operation Iraqi Freedom. At the orders of the President of the United States, the 3rd Infantry Division already had a Brigade-sized element in Iraq for a year prior to the start of the war and Company B, 103rd MI BN was part of that brigade. In late summer/early fall of 2002, the 103rd MI BN sent more forces into Kuwait in anticipation of combat operations. By 27 January the entire battalion was on the ground and conducting intelligence operations. The battalion, equipped with the AN/MLQ 40 PROPHET system, began collecting signals intelligence on the Iraqi Forces. On 20 March 2003, the battalion joined the division in the attack with its direct support companies (A, B, C) providing support to each of the 3rd Infantry Division Brigade Combat Teams, and Company D, and HHOC providing support to the division as a whole. The battalion would participate in a number of operations including seizing OBJ LION (Saddam International Airport), and follow-on operations to Fallujah, Iraq before redeploying in Aug 2003.
It was reactivated 16 September 2022, after an 18-year hiatus resulting from the elimination of all division-level intelligence units.
319th Military Intelligence Battalion
The 319th Military Intelligence Battalion (Operations) traces its lineage to the activation of the 319th Military Intelligence Headquarters Detachment at Bad Schwalbach, Germany, 1 August 1945 where it served as an interrogation unit for German Prisoners of War. In 1946, the unit was sent to Japan and began a long association with the Orient. It was joined by other interrogation units which served in the Philippines in 1944 and later the reformed 319th served in the Korean War. After deactivation in 1968, the battalion was reactivated in 1982 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 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. In October 1983, elements of the battalion deployed to the island of Grenada for Operation Urgent Fury. In 1988, battalion personnel participated in the emergency deployment to Honduras to counter an incursion by Nicaraguan forces. In 1989, the 319th deployed to Panama in support of Operation Just Cause. The 319th MI Battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In September 1994, the battalion deployed to the island of Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy. In December 1995 and again in October 1996, the battalion deployed elements to Hungary, Italy, and Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. In March 2003, the Battalion's B Co (TENCAP) deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force(MEF). The 525th MI BDE consisting of both the 319th/519th battalions deployed in support of Operation Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 and 2007.
The battalion deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Combined Task Force Lightning (525 BfSB). The battalion deployed in July 2010 and returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in July 2011. While deployed the battalion was headquartered out of the Kandahar City area of RC-South, Afghanistan.