The 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

unit which is part of the

35th Signal Brigade The 35th Corps Signal Brigade is a signal brigade in the United States Army. The brigade was previously based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and provided rapidly deployable force projection signal support, and rapid communications for Army, joint, ...

located at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina. The Brigade's mission is to provide worldwide contingency, force projection, forced-entry signal support to the XVIII Airborne Corps for power-projection operations during war and operations other than war. In 2018, 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced (50th ESB-E), 35th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade is serving as the ESB-E pilot unit. 50th ESB-E supports the

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

. Potentially this ESB-E will provide capabilities that are scalable, from small units (forcible-entry alongside paratrooper jumps), to larger, mature operations, as an expeditionary force keeps growing on the ground. Amy Walker, PM Tactical Network/PEO C3T Public Affairs (October 9, 2018) Army pilots new signal battalion for scalable expeditionary comms support

History

The 50th has been supporting the needs of the Army for 114 years, longer than any other active-duty signal unit. With missions ranging from underwater cabling to disaster relief home and abroad to convoy security, to peacekeeping, the 50th Signal Battalion has seen it all. The unit has served with distinction in the Philippines, Japan, Iceland, France, Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia, Somalia, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Jamaica, and Honduras. The 50th stormed the beaches at Normandy and led from the front in Desert Storm. It was the first and only Airborne Signal Battalion when it joined the XVIII Airborne Corps in the 1950s, though the airborne tab was dropped as a part of force modularity in 2006.

References

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