Surveillance brigade stands up, changes command

By Don Kramer, Northwest Guardian

In an impressive display of ceremonial multitasking, the 201st Military Intelligence Brigade changed its name, its organization and its commander on July 3 at Fort Lewis.

Colonel Robert P. Whalen Jr. accepted the brigade colors from Col. Carl L. Chappell Jr. on Watkins Field as the leader of the newly designated 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. A native Virginian, Whalen came from the Central Intelligence Agency where he was an Army War College fellow.

“Together we’ll create a brigade that’s ready to do anything our country asks of us,” Whalen said, “and I promise I’ll shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, 100 percent.”

The ceremony marked the transformation to an all active-component battlefield surveillance brigade, which included reorganizing its two MI battalions, doubling the size of the brigade headquarters and headquarters company, integrating a forward support company and adding a long-range surveillance troop. A reconnaissance surveillance squadron will be activated to join the brigade in the future. Two reserve battalions, the 250th and the 373rd, will depart to fall under new reserve-component chains of command.

Symbolizing the passing of an era, a 42-year Army veteran of the Military Intelligence Corps and longstanding member of the 109th MI Battalion, CW5 Michael Fried assisted in the passing of the colors.

The 201st BFSB brought with it a new era, Chappell said, “not just an MI brigade by another name, but an exciting organization that will provide significant capabilities to senior commanders.”

The 201st transformed into a fully modular unit, the third battlefield surveillance brigade generated by the Army.

“What you see today is only a foundation, a down payment on an organization that by this time next year, will number 900 Soldiers, Human Resources Command willing,” Chappell said. “It consists of the 502nd MI Battalion in a new configuration, the return of the 109th Battalion, a unit with a long history at Fort Lewis, and two new units, the 602nd Forward Support Company and the 63rd Signal Company and finally Charlie Troop, 38th Cavalry, a long range surveillance company that carries forward the lineage of the 38th Mechanized Cavalry Squadron, which distinguished itself in the European theater of operations in World War II.”

The I Corps commanding general marked the importance of transforming his chief intelligence-gathering asset to a multicomponent force, able to respond to the challenges of a wartime environment.

“Much more than a deactivation and a redesignation,” said Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., who presided over the proceedings, “this ceremony represents the dynamic forward momentum of Army Transformation and an opportunity for military intelligence Soldiers and leaders to serve the Army, the nation and Team Lewis in even more powerful ways.” Jacoby said the 201st will remain the corps’ “intelligence organization of choice” when it deploys next year in support of Multinational Corps-Iraq.

The ceremony, the commanding general said, closed out the history of the 201st MI Bde. that dates back to World War II. It was activated in 1944 and has supported I Corps as its intelligence eyes and ears at Fort Lewis and during deployments since its inception.

“It was the only MI brigade in the Army that combined all three components,” Chappell said, “Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.”

The brigade met all of its challenges, said the outgoing commander, in peace time and during war. Every supporting unit deployed in some capacity.

The 502nd, the brigade’s active-component battalion, served twice in Iraq. The National Guard battalion, the 250th from California, also deployed. All 201st units “contributed personnel to contingencies all around the world,” Chappell said, in addition to supporting the predeployment phase of Stryker brigades and other units.

Jacoby called the military intelligence Soldiers on the field “some of the most talented and hard-working Soldiers in our Army. Their mission is real world ... They quietly and relentlessly work every day to defeat those who would wish to do this nation harm.

“They keep pace with the enemy so leaders can make well-informed decisions that accomplish missions and save lives,” Jacoby said. “They are heroes. They are the Soldiers of the 201st Military Intelligence Brigade.”