516th Signal Brigade
"Voice of the Pacific"
Headquartered on historic Palm Circle at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, the 516th Signal Brigade is a forward based major subordinate operations and maintenance command of the United States Army Signal Command (USASC), which supports the United States Army, Pacific (USARPAC). The 516th's motto -- "Voice of the Pacific" -- reflects its mission of supporting Pacific warfighting forces with power projection Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4) systems and information systems.
The Brigade has four subordinate commands to help accomplish its missions throughout the Pacific: the forward based 30th Signal Battalion in Hawaii and 59th Signal Battalion in Alaska, and the forward stationed 58th Signal Battalion in Okinawa and 78th Signal Battalion in Honshu, Japan. In addition, an element of the 311th Signal Command (United States Army Reserve) is attached to the Brigade, providing a direct link between USARPAC and the Theater Signal Command headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
The Brigade Commander is dual-hatted as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management (DCSIM), USARPAC. Similarly, the Battalion Commanders are dual-hatted as the Directors for Information Management (DOIMs) for their respective installations.
Functional support is provided by the brigade in each of the five Information Mission Area (IMA) disciplines of communications, automation, visual information, records management, and printing and publications. In addition, the 516th headquarters provides information systems engineering and integration, software development and maintenance, installation, quality assurance, and testing for various C4 programs and projects throughout USARPAC.
As part of its IMA support in the Pacific, elements of the 516th operate and maintain the Army's portion of the Defense Communications System, base telephone switches, telecommunications centers, Joint Chiefs of Staff-controlled tactical satellite assets, data processing centers, communications security (COMSEC) assets, high frequency Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) stations, Information Centers, forms and publications warehouses, reproduction facilities, electronic mail networks with Defense Data Network access, and other strategic/theater telecommunications assets. Among the Brigade/DCSIM missions are operating a Theater Network Management Center, providing a central point for managing and controlling information systems supporting USARPAC, as well as support for Army data networks for Eighth United States Army, Korea. It also has operational control of the USARPAC Global Command and Control System (GCCS) at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, to support command and control and communications (C3) requirements for Joint and Service components in the Pacific theater.
As USARPAC is the Army Component to the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, Pacific (USCINCPAC), the USARPAC DCSIM directly supports the USCINCPAC J6 with C4 capability and contingency assets.
The 516th Signal Brigade and its battalions were reactivated on 16 October 1992, assuming the former missions of the 1106th Signal Brigade and its battalions, which were discontinued 15 October 1992. The 516th is a Modified Table of Organization and Equipment, or MTOE command, while the 1106th was a Table of Distribution and Allowances, or TDA command.
Today's brigade headquarters therefore traces its legacy in two directions: On the MTOE side, the 516th Signal Brigade was originally activated as the 3367th Signal Service Battalion on 25 November 1944 at New Guinea; and on the TDA side, the 1106th Signal Brigade was a successor to the United States Army Strategic Communications Command-Pacific (STRATCOM-PAC), which was activated on 1 September 1964 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
During World War II, the original 516th (then the 3367th) earned battle streamers for the campaigns of New Guinea, Leyte, Southern Philippines, and Luzon, with another streamer recognizing the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. Following WWII, the 3367th Signal Service Battalion was redesignated as the 516th Signal Service Battalion in Guam. It was re-designated as the 516th Signal Group in Germany on 10 February 1954, deactivating there on 13 November 1967. Each of the 516th's Signal Battalions--the 30th today located in Hawaii, 58th in Okinawa, 59th in Alaska and 78th in Japan--also earned World War II battle streamers in their original incarnations. The 30th and 59th participated in the European Theater, while the 58th and 78th were in the Pacific Theater.
The 1106th's predecessor command, STRATCOM-PAC, had communications-electronics responsibilities during the 1960's and 1970's for the United States Army in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand, as well as Hawaii--a geographical area spanning one-third of the earth's surface. During this period, more than 27,000 soldiers and civilians were assigned to the command, with approximately 21,000 of them assigned to STRATCOM-PAC's 1st Signal Brigade in Vietnam. Over the years, many reorganizations changed the command's missions and names. It became the 1106th Signal Brigade on 1 October 1989, eventually having four signal battalions in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and Okinawa. During 1990-91, 17 soldiers and two officers from the 1106th Signal Brigade were deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Since STRATCOM-PAC's activation in 1964, the Commander has been dual-hatted as the Chief Information Officer of the supported Army Major Command. Today, the Commander of the 516th Signal Brigade is dual-hatted as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management (DCSIM), United States Army Pacific (USARPAC).
Over the years, many reorganizations changed the command's missions and names. It became the 1106th Signal Brigade on 1 October 1989, eventually having four signal battalions in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and Okinawa. During 1990-91, 17 soldiers and two officers from the 1106th Signal Brigade were deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
On 8 February 1993, the 516th/DCSIM assumed the mission for USARPAC's Worldwide Military and Command and Control System (WWMCCS) facility, which subsequently transitioned to the Global Command and Control System (GCCS) and is now the consolidated host for the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM). During 1993-94, several 516th soldiers deployed to Somalia and Kuwait, and since 1995, soldiers of the 516th have deployed to Haiti to support United Nations humanitarian efforts there. Since 1996, Brigade soldiers have deployed to Honduras, to Europe in support of Bosnia; and in 1999 and 2000, Brigade/DCSIM soldiers have deployed to East Timor, Indonesia in support of the UN's Operation Stabilise.
In 1996, the 311th Signal Command (United States Army Reserve), which would become the Theater Army Signal Command in event of mobilization, established a five-person Forward Cell in support of USARPAC, succeeding the cell established here in 1991 by the former 261st Signal Command (Delaware Army National Guard). The cell is attached to the 516th Signal Brigade and is the first organization of its kind in the Reserve Component to be attached to an Active Component command. The cell's mission is to provide training opportunities, exercise participation, planning, technical guidance and information exchange between members of the 311th, its CAPSTONE downtrace units, and USARPAC.
