519th Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Exploitation) (Airborne)
The mission of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Exploitation) (Airborne) is to conduct interrogation of prisoners of war, counterintelligence, and long range reconnaissance and surveillance in support of XVIII Airborne Corps and subordinate divisions.
The 519th Military Intelligence Battalion was activated on 15 October 1948 at Fort Riley, KS. Elements of the battalion served in the Republic of Korea from 1951 until 1954, participating in seven campaigns and earning one Meritorious Unit Commendation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations. The battalion was inactivated in 1954.
On 25 January 1958, the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion (Airborne) was reactivated at Fort Bragg, NC. During the Vietnam conflict, the battalion again left the United States and distinguished itself by participating in sixteen campaigns and earning three Meritorious Unit Commendations. In 1972, the battalion returned to Fort Bragg.
After several reorganizations, the battalion officially achieved a three-company configuration in September 1978, with Headquarters, Headquarters Service Company; Company A (Interrogation); and Company B (Counterintelligence). In April 1981, the Forces Command Intelligence Training Detachment (FITD) was attached to the battalion, bringing with it the mission of training Army Reserve and National Guard units throughout the United States.
On 16 April 1982, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Exploitation) (Airborne), resulting in the activation of Company C (Electronic Warfare). Since then the battalion has reorganized one more time. Company C was deactivated and F Company 51 Infantry Long Range Surveillance Company) was assigned to the battalion to provide the Corps with long range surveillance capability.
The battalion participated in combat operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury), Panama (Operation Just Cause), and in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm). The 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, as a subordinate unit of the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, provides the highest quality ground-based Signals Intelligence, Human Intelligence, and Counterintelligence support to the XVIII Airborne Corps and Corps Major Support Commands.
As of mid-2001, the battalion had elements deployed in support of Operations in Europe, Southwest Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific and remained ready to deploy world-wide in a moments notice.
