History of The 341st Military Intelligence
The 341st Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist), was federally activated on December 1, 1989 under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel David J. Siefert. The Battalion which is affiliated with the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade (Linguist), was activated in the State of Washington with a Headquarters, Headquarters Service Company, and Company A. The mission of the Battalion is to provide trained linguists qualified as: Interrogators of Prisoners of War, Counterintelligence Agents, Signal Intelligence Operators, and Intelligence Analysts. In addition to providing the U.S. Army with foreign language support, the Battalion serves as a center for language training and development during peacetime.
The 341st Military Intelligence Battalion has supported the Global War on Terrorism since it began on 11 September 2001. On that date, almost immediately after the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell, two Arabic linguists left their civilian jobs in order to support sensitive Signals Intelligence missions. By early October 2001, five soldiers deployed to Afghanistan as Tactical Human Intelligence support to Special Forces teams operating with the Northern Alliance in their efforts to defeat Al Qaida and Taliban forces. In October 2001 twenty soldiers from the 341st MI Battalion mobilized in their local cities to support additional security requirements around the nation’s airports. Also in October 2001 six more soldiers mobilized to the Medina and Gordon Regional Signals Intelligence Operations Centers to conduct further Signals Intelligence intercept work supporting Global War on Terrorism efforts. In May 2003 two soldiers mobilized and supported a Multi-National Observers mission in Egypt. In January 2004 two four man Tactical Human Intelligence teams mobilized and deployed to Iraq in Support of combat operations while 15 more completed the Mobilize, Train, Deploy program. Those 15 soldiers supported missions in Bosnia, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. In February 2004 12 more soldiers mobilized to support operations in Bosnia with the 38th Infantry Division and 20 soldiers deployed supporting the Joint Interrogation Facility in Afghanistan.
The Battalion Headquarters and many individual soldiers from the 341st deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from January 2006 to January 2007 where they supported intelligence gathering and analysis. 341st soldiers continue to be engaged in missions around the globe.
On 1 July, 1987 the Military Intelligence Corps was activated as a regiment under the U.S. Army regimental system. To the left is the insignia of the Military Intelligence Corps. The Sphinx at the shield's center has been associated with U.S. military intelligence since 1923, when it was adopted as the insignia of the Military Intelligence Officers Reserve Corps. This mythological creature has exemplified the combination of wisdom and strength with silence from ancient times to the present. The Key and Lighting bolt represent Knowledge and Speed. The Motto "Always Out Front" is a reminder that the members of the Corps are continuously in action against the enemy's of our nation.
The Military Intelligence Branch is a basic branch of the U.S. Army, and its soldiers are primarily concerned with the intelligence aspects of the Army's mission. Although Intelligence personnel have been a part of the Army since its founding in 1775, it wasn't until July, 1967 that a number of intelligence and security organizations were combined to form this branch of service. Military Intelligence soldiers wear the branch insignia shown on the right. In 1971, the Unites States Army Intelligence Center and School, the home of Military Intelligence, was established at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
