16th Signal Battalion
On order, the 16th Signal Battalion deploys worldwide to install, operate, and maintain area and range extension communications in support of III Corps Missions.
The 16th Signal Battalion was activated on 9 October 1942 and assigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. A year later, on 10 October 1943, the battalion was assigned to Headquarters, 6th U.S. Army in Brisbane, Australia. During two years in the Pacific theater supporting the 6th and 8th Armies, the 16th participated in the New Guinea, Bismark Archipelago, Leyte Island, and Luzon campaigns. In February 1946, the 16th Signal Battalion was inactivated at Wakayma on the Japanese island of Honshu.
The 16th was reactivated at Camp Gordon, Georgia on 10 February 1951. In April of 1951, the Battalion moved to Camp Cooke, California for training and to support Major exercises in the Far West. The battalion also provided communications support for atomic testing at Desert Rock in the Nevada Desert.
On 15 May 1952, the 16th Signal Operations Battalion reorganized and received the designation of 16th Signal Battalion. It assumed the mission of supporting the III Corps, headquarters at Fort Mac Arthur, California. In August of 1953, the battalion moved again, this time to Fort Lewis, Washington where it continued it's signal support mission. In August of 1954, the battalion moved to Fort Huachuca, Arizona where it received a new designation as Combat Area, Army-level Signal Battalion. The 16th remained at Fort Huachuca to support U.S. Army proving ground testing until September of 1961 when it moved to Schloss Kaserne located in Butzbach, Federal Republic of Germany. Upon closure in Germany, the battalion became a subordinate unit of the 505th Signal Group where it also received an additional company into it's structure, the aptly named 16th Signal Company. This company became Delta Company.
In the summer of 1972, Delta Companies of the 1st, 16th, 26th, 93rd, and 440th Signal Battalions in the 7th Signal Brigade returned to Fort Hood, Texas. They were designated as REFORGER companies, and were placed under the control of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 366th Signal Battalion. On 21 September 1977 the 16th Signal Battalion was reduced to zero strength, and the colors were returned to Fort Hood, Texas where the battalion reformed under the 5th Army and was attached to III Corps. the 16th joined the 1st Signal Group, subsequently designated as the 3rd Signal Brigade, when it activated on 12 June 1978. During the fall of 1987, the 16th participated in REFORGER Exercise "Certain Strike", the largest mobilization and deployment of troops to Europe since World War II.
In February 1989, the 313th Signal Company was attached to the 16th when the 54th Signal Battalion deactivated. The 16th Signal Battalion began it's transition to Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) in 1989, completing it in November of the same year with the Commanders Acceptance Exercise. The new equipment and the people who made it work were an unparalleled success. Concurrent with MSE fielding, the 313th Signal Company (Range Extension) fielded Digital Troposcatter Radio Equipment. The 16th Signal Battalion successfully integrated those two families of equipment for the first time ever in November of 1989.
In September 1990, the 313th Signal Company of the 16th Signal Battalion deployed to Southwest Asia to participate in Operation Desert Shield. The company successfully supported the XVIIIth Airborne Corps Element during both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, subsequently returning to Fort Hood and the 16th's operational control in August of 1991.
The 16th Signal Battalion deployed to Germany in August of 1991 in support of REFORGER Exercise "Certain Shield" where it received praiseful comments from all headquarters and maneuver elements supported, including NORTHAG and III Corps. With just three days turnaround time after marrying up with it's REFORGER equipment, the battalion deployed in support of the III Corps' Warfighter Exercise with outstanding success.
During 1992, the 16th Signal Battalion faced a number of challenges including Brigade Command Inspections and an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (EDRE) during which the battalion simulated a rapid deployment in 72 hours. The 16th continued it's winning ways when it provided communications support during III Corps' first ever Contingency Operations Exercise at the National Training Center (NTC) in March. Elements of the battalion also deployed to Fort Cahffe, Arkansas in June of 1992 to train and evaluate the 212th Signal Battalion, while the remainder of the battalion supported the 49th Armored Division (Texas National Guard) during it's annual training cycle.
In the summer of 1992, the 16th upgraded it's equipment and conducted an intensive training program and validation exercises to certify it's new capability. In October of 1992, the 16th celebrated the 50th anniversary of it's initial activation at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
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