500th Military Intelligence Brigade (United States)

The 500th Military Intelligence Brigade is a unit of the United States Army and subordinate to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. Its mission is to provide tailored, multi-disciplined intelligence and intelligence capabilities in support of USARPAC and other Commands, to defeat adversaries, promote regional stability, support partners and allies, and protect US interests. The 500th is headquartered at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

500th Military Intelligence Brigade
500th MI Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Part ofUnited States Army Intelligence and Security Command
Garrison/HQSchofield Barracks
Nickname(s)Pacific Vanguard
DecorationsMeritorious Unit Commendation
Superior Unit Award
Commanders
Commanding OfficerCOL Carol M. Stauffer
Brigade Command Sergeant MajorCSM Billy J. Budd
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

Fukuhara Hall, the 500th's HQ, is named for Col Harry K. Fukuhara, a Japanese-American Military Intelligence Hall of Fame inductee who served with the Military Intelligence Service during World War 2.[1][2]

History

The 500th Military Intelligence Service Group was stood up under the Far East Command in September 1952, serving as the successor to the joint Australian/American Allied Translator and Interpreter Section intelligence agency created to handle as a centralized allied intelligence unit in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War 2.[1]

As part of the drawdown of American troop strengths in Japan, relocating the Army's Pacific headquarters from Tokyo to Hawaii, the 500th was inactivated in 1957. The 500th Military Intelligence Group (Collection) was reactivated at Camp Asaka in March 1961, heading up all aspects of the HUMINT mission in the Pacific.[1]

In 1965, the 500th MI relocated from Japan to Hawaii, and earned Meritorious Unit Commendations in 1968-69 and 1972-74 for its contributions to the Vietnam War, an unprecedented honor for a unit not located within a combat zone.[1]

When the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) was created in 1977, the 500th MI Group was reassigned as one of INSCOM's regional military intelligence groups.[1]

The 500th MI continues to provide excellent support to US Army Pacific and its predecessor the US Army Western Command to this day.[1]

Organization

References
  1. "500TH MI BDE HISTORY". United States Army Intelligence and Security Command.
  2. Matsunaga, Mark (22 January 2016). "Midnight In Broad Daylight". Hawaii Herald.
  3. "INSCOM United States Army Intelligence and Security Command". Inscom.army.mil. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  4. "732nd MI Bn is redesignated as the 715th Military Intelligence Battalion". Army.mil. Retrieved 20 May 2011.


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