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138th Signal Battalion

The 138th Signal Battalion represents a significant component of the Indiana Army National Guard's communications heritage, serving as the primary signal element for the 38th Infantry Division for several decades during the latter half of the twentieth century. As a National Guard signal battalion organized under Tables of Organization and Equipment, the unit maintained responsibility for providing command, control, and communications support to one of the most storied divisions in American military history. The battalion's lineage traces back through multiple predecessor organizations dating to 1921, reflecting the complex organizational evolution typical of National Guard signal units as the United States Army adapted its communications structure to meet the demands of modern warfare.

The battalion's formal designation as the 138th Signal Battalion emerged on March 1, 1963, as part of a comprehensive reorganization of Indiana National Guard units supporting the 38th Infantry Division. This conversion represented the culmination of organizational transformations that had begun decades earlier, consolidating various infantry, artillery, and support units into a dedicated signal battalion capable of meeting the increasingly sophisticated communications requirements of division-level operations. The reorganization reflected the Signal Corps' evolution from its modest nineteenth-century origins into a technologically advanced branch essential to modern military command and control. During this period, the Army recognized that effective communications had become indispensable to coordinating the complex operations of Cold War-era divisions, necessitating the establishment of robust signal battalions at the division level.

The organizational lineage of the 138th Signal Battalion's subordinate companies reveals the rich military heritage characteristic of Indiana National Guard units. Company B of the 138th Signal Battalion traces its ancestry to organizations that were originally constituted in 1921 as infantry companies serving with the 152nd Infantry Regiment in Tipton, Indiana. These units underwent numerous redesignations throughout the interwar period and during World War II, serving variously as infantry, field artillery, and support elements before their eventual conversion to signal duties in 1963. The complexity of these lineages reflects the National Guard's practice of preserving unit identities and honors through multiple organizational transformations, maintaining continuity with units that had served with distinction in previous conflicts. Company E, 152nd Infantry, for example, was reorganized and redesignated multiple times between 1927 and 1963, ultimately becoming part of Company B, 138th Signal Battalion, carrying forward the battle honors and traditions of its predecessor organizations.

The 138th Signal Battalion operated as the organic signal element of the 38th Infantry Division, known by its distinctive "Cyclone" nickname and recognized for its service in World War II campaigns in New Guinea, the Southern Philippines, and Luzon. The division earned its unusual moniker when a tornado struck its training camp at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, during World War I, and the name became permanently associated with the unit. As the division's signal battalion, the 138th was responsible for establishing and maintaining the complex web of communications that enabled division commanders to exercise control over subordinate brigades and battalions, coordinate with higher headquarters, and integrate the actions of combat arms and combat support elements across the battlefield. This mission required the battalion to deploy radio relay stations, install wire communications, maintain switchboards, and provide signal security measures to protect sensitive command information from enemy interception.

Throughout the Cold War era, the 138th Signal Battalion participated in the Indiana National Guard's annual training exercises and maintained readiness for potential mobilization in support of national defense requirements. The unit trained on increasingly sophisticated communications equipment as the Signal Corps transitioned from analog to digital systems and as satellite communications began supplementing traditional line-of-sight radio networks. Battalion personnel received instruction at the Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia, where they learned to operate and maintain the latest communications equipment and studied signal doctrine and tactics. The battalion's training focused on the rapid establishment of communications during the critical opening hours of military operations, when commanders most needed reliable information flows to understand the tactical situation and issue orders to subordinate units. Signal soldiers trained to operate under field conditions, establishing communications networks while subject to simulated enemy interference, electronic warfare, and physical attacks on communications nodes.

The organizational structure of the 138th Signal Battalion reflected standard Army signal battalion design during this period, with the battalion headquarters company providing command and control functions while subordinate companies specialized in different aspects of signal operations. The battalion typically fielded a headquarters and headquarters company, along with several lettered companies that provided specialized capabilities including area signal support, forward area communications, and signal operations support. This modular structure allowed the battalion commander to task-organize signal assets to support specific operational requirements, attaching signal elements to subordinate brigades or retaining centralized control of communications resources depending on the tactical situation. The battalion's equipment inventory included radio sets ranging from man-portable tactical radios to powerful high-frequency transmitters capable of long-range communications, along with wire communications equipment, cryptographic devices, and the vehicles and generators necessary to maintain mobile communications in the field.

In 1991, significant organizational changes affected the 138th Signal Battalion as part of broader restructuring within the Indiana National Guard and the 38th Infantry Division. Company C of the battalion was reorganized and redesignated on May 1, 1991, as the division continued adapting its force structure to post-Cold War requirements. This reorganization reflected the Army's efforts to create more flexible and deployable National Guard units capable of supporting both wartime mobilization requirements and an increasing array of peacetime missions including disaster response and support to civil authorities. The changes also acknowledged the reality that modern signal units required increasingly specialized training and equipment, with signal soldiers expected to master complex communications technologies that had become far more sophisticated than the relatively simple radio and wire systems of earlier eras.

The culmination of the 138th Signal Battalion's organizational evolution came on September 1, 2008, when the unit was reorganized and redesignated as the Signal Company, 38th Sustainment Brigade, and relieved from assignment to the 38th Infantry Division. This transformation reflected the Army's comprehensive force restructuring under the modular force design, which replaced the traditional division-based organization with a brigade-centric structure. The redesignation as a signal company rather than a battalion indicated a reduction in organizational size and scope, consistent with the Army's move toward creating smaller, more flexible units better suited to the operational requirements of the twenty-first century. The attachment to the 38th Sustainment Brigade rather than the 38th Infantry Division reflected the new emphasis on sustainment operations and the integration of signal capabilities with logistics and personnel support functions. This reorganization represented the end of the 138th Signal Battalion's existence as an independent battalion, though its lineage and honors were preserved through the newly designated signal company.

Subsequently, on September 1, 2011, further reorganization resulted in the unit being redesignated as the 338th Signal Company, continuing the signal mission for the 38th Sustainment Brigade with a modified numerical designation. This change maintained the organizational heritage while conforming to Army-wide standards for unit numbering and designation. The 338th Signal Company continues to serve as part of the Indiana Army National Guard's sustainment structure, providing communications support essential to logistics operations, personnel services, and medical evacuation coordination. The company's home station in Elwood, Indiana, places it among numerous other Indiana Guard units descended from organizations with lineages extending back to World War I and earlier. The motto "SUCCESS OF COMMAND," associated with the 138th Signal Battalion and its successor units, encapsulates the signal soldier's essential mission of enabling commanders to exercise effective control over their forces through reliable communications.

The distinctive unit insignia and heraldic items approved for the 138th Signal Battalion reflected both the unit's signal mission and its association with the 38th Infantry Division's service in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The insignia featured a shield design divided per pale in orange and black, with a pile between a mullet of eight points and three kampilans bendwise in pale, all rendered in white. Orange and white are the traditional colors of the Signal Corps, representing the distinctive branch identity that unites all signal soldiers regardless of their specific unit assignments. The inclusion of kampilans, traditional Filipino swords, directly referenced the 38th Infantry Division's combat service in the Philippines during World War II, when the division played a crucial role in liberating the islands from Japanese occupation. This heraldic connection ensured that signal soldiers serving with the battalion understood their unit's place within the larger story of the 38th Division's distinguished combat record.

The 138th Signal Battalion earned no specific campaign participation credits or unit decorations during its existence from 1963 to 2008, as the battalion was not mobilized for federal service during this period. However, the unit's subordinate companies inherited the campaign credits and honors of their lineal predecessors, including service in World War II and earlier conflicts. This inheritance of honors represents a fundamental principle of Army organizational policy, ensuring that the sacrifices and accomplishments of earlier soldiers are remembered and honored by later generations serving in units that carry forward their lineage. The practice of perpetuating unit lineages through reorganization and redesignation allows the Army to maintain historical continuity even as it adapts its organizational structure to changing operational requirements and technological capabilities. For signal soldiers serving in the 138th, the knowledge that their unit traced its heritage to organizations that had served with distinction in previous wars provided a powerful connection to Army traditions and fostered pride in the unit's historical legacy.

The transition from the 138th Signal Battalion to smaller signal companies in the early twenty-first century exemplified broader trends affecting Army National Guard signal units during this period. The modular force restructuring initiated by Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker fundamentally transformed how the Army organized its forces, moving away from the traditional division-centric structure that had characterized the service since World War II. This restructuring affected all components of the Army, but had particularly significant implications for National Guard divisions and their supporting units. The 38th Infantry Division headquarters itself transitioned to a new role, eventually becoming the 38th Infantry Division Headquarters, configured to serve as a deployable command and control element rather than commanding a fixed set of subordinate brigades. These changes required corresponding adjustments to signal support structures, resulting in the elimination of the division signal battalion concept in favor of signal companies organic to brigade combat teams and sustainment brigades.

The contemporary descendants of the 138th Signal Battalion continue serving the communications mission in support of Indiana National Guard units deploying worldwide. The 338th Signal Company, now stationed in Elwood, Indiana, represents the direct lineal successor to the 138th Signal Battalion and maintains the unit's organizational heritage. Modern signal companies operate far more sophisticated equipment than their predecessors, including tactical satellite communications systems, digital networking equipment, and advanced command post technologies that enable commanders to access real-time information from multiple sources simultaneously. Signal soldiers today must master skills that would have been unimaginable to earlier generations, including network administration, cybersecurity, electromagnetic spectrum management, and the integration of commercial and military communications systems. Despite these technological advances, the fundamental mission remains unchanged: providing reliable communications that enable commanders to understand the battlefield situation and exercise effective control over their forces.

The history of the 138th Signal Battalion exemplifies the evolution of Army National Guard signal units from relatively simple organizations focused on radio and wire communications to highly technical units capable of operating complex information networks. The battalion's service from 1963 to 2008 spanned a period of revolutionary change in military communications technology, from the Vietnam War era through the end of the Cold War and into the early years of the Global War on Terrorism. Throughout this period, the battalion maintained readiness to support the 38th Infantry Division's mission while adapting to new equipment, new doctrines, and new operational concepts. The unit's ultimate redesignation as a company reflected not a diminishment of the signal mission's importance, but rather a reorganization of how the Army delivered signal capabilities to operational commanders. The lineage and honors of the 138th Signal Battalion remain perpetuated through its successor organizations, ensuring that future generations of Indiana National Guard signal soldiers will maintain connection with this important chapter in the state's military heritage.