Summary
The 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (Special Operations) (Airborne) is the United States Army's intelligence support battalion to 1st Special Forces Command. It is headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. It was originally known as the 1st Special Forces Command Military Intelligence Battalion.
| 389th Military Intelligence Battalion | |
|---|---|
 The battalion's distinctive unit insignia | |
| Active | 2019 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Military intelligence |
| Role | Operational intelligence |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | 528th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Special Forces Command |
| Headquarters | Fort Liberty, North Carolina, United States |
| Nickname(s) | "Daggers" |
| Motto(s) | De Consilio Ductus (From Wisdom, Decisive Action) |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | LTC Matthew Utley |
| Insignia | |
| 389th Military Intelligence Battalion Beret Flash |  |
| 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by the battalion |  |
| Map symbol (MIL-STD-2525D) |  |
Mission edit
The 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (SO) (A) "conducts command and control of multi-disciplined intelligence operations in support of the 1st Special Forces Command, component subordinate units, and mission partners." On order, it deploys and conducts intelligence operations as part of a special operations joint task force leveraging the capabilities of its three organic companies: a headquarters company; an Analytical Support Company with a cryptologic support element and five geographically aligned regional support teams; a Mission Support Company with a Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (PED) detachment, a HUMINT and GEOINT detachment, and operations the Special Warfare SIGINT Course for the Army Special Operations community; and an additional PED detachment stationed at Fort Eisenhower.[1][2]
History edit
Constituted 14 December 1944 in the Army of the United States as the 389th Translator Team then deactivated on January 9, 1945 at Fort Worth and reactivated February 27, 1945 in the Philippines. It was later inactivated March 25, 1947 in Korea. In May 1948, the unit was moved to the Organized Reserves Corps and reactivated May 21, 1948 at Fort Worth, Texas. The unit was then redesignated September 6, 1950 as the 389th Translator Detachment and moved on October 2, 1950 at Cincinnati, Ohio. The unit changed location again on February 5, 1951 to Fort Thomas, Kentucky then inactivated July 20, 1952. The unit was redesignated November 5, 1962 as the 389th Military Intelligence Detachment and reactivated January 7, 1963 at Louisville, Kentucky where it was eventually reorganized and redesignated March 16, 1985 as the 389th Military Intelligence Company, eventually being inactivated September 15, 1990. Redesignated June 1-, 2018 as the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion and activated July 16, 2019 at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina.[3]
Unit campaigns edit
Unit decorations edit
- Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered with "OKINAWA"[3]
List of Commanders edit
| No. | Commander | Term | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |
| - | Lieutenant Colonel Richard A. Malaga[4] Acting | July 2015 | August 2018 | 3 years, 58 days | |
| 1 | Lieutenant Colonel Sapriya Childs[5] | August 2018 | June 2021 | 2 years, 277 days | |
| 2 | Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Utley | July 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 293 days | |
![Richard A. Malaga[4]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Portrait_gray.png/100px-Portrait_gray.png)
References edit
- ^ FROM LEYTE TO THE LEVANT, A Brief History of the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (Airborne), USASOC's Office of the Command Historian, by Christopher E. Howard, dated 2019, last accessed 27 December 2020
- ^ 528th Sustainment Brigade - 389th MI Battalion Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
- ^ a b Lineages and Honors Information, Military Intelligence, 389th Military Intelligence Battalion, Department of the Army, dated 16 August 2019, last accessed 25 March 2022
- ^ Howard, Christopher E. (2019). "From Leyte to the Levant: A Brief History of the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (Airborne)". Veritas. 15 (1): 17–21.
- ^ Childs, Sapriya (April 2021). "1st Special Forces Command Has a Military Intelligence Battalion" (PDF). Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. 47 (2): 63–64.