The battlefield surveillance brigade (BfSB) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

formation introduced from 2006 to 2015. The

planned for the creation and transformation of nine intelligence brigades to a 'battlefield surveillance' role in 2007. The first battlefield surveillance brigade was deployed the same year conducting Surveillance,

Reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

and

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

( ISR) operations. However, gathering information is only a part of the challenge it faces. Along with the structural changes and intelligence capabilities, the sustainment capabilities of the brigade also changed. The

is currently reorganizing these BfSB formations into expeditionary military intelligence brigades. These brigades were designed to be self-sufficient Army modular forces.

Mission

The BfSBs were meant to improve

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...

for commanders at

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

or higher so they can focus joint combat power in current operations while simultaneously preparing for future operations. The units had the tools to respond to the commanders needs from

unmanned aerial vehicles An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

to signals gathering equipment and

human intelligence Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. High intelligence is associated with better outcomes in life. Through intelligence, humans ...

collectors. One of the major initiatives of the modernization plan involves migrating the army from a

-centric force designed to fight one or two potential major-

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

wars toward a modular,

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

-centric force that is expeditionary in nature and deployed continuously in different parts of the world.

Structure

Each BfSB consisted of a

headquarters and headquarters company In United States Army units, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

; active component units have two

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

battalions while the Army National Guard BfSBs had one; each brigade had a reconnaissance & surveillance squadron consisting of a headquarters troop; two ground troops (Troops A and B) and a

Long-range surveillance Long-range surveillance (LRS) teams (pronounced "lurse") were elite, specially-trained surveillance units of the United States Army employed for clandestine operation by Military Intelligence for gathering direct human intelligence information de ...

(LRS) company; a signal company (network support company, or NSC); and a brigade support company (BSC). In 2012, the active component brigades started grouping the brigade HHC, the signal company, and the support company under a special troops battalion.

Transformation

Former units consisted of one Regular Army component and two

reserve component The reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are military organizations whose members generally perform a minimum of 39 days of military duty per year and who augment the active duty (or full-time) military when necessary. The reserv ...

detachments, there were both active-duty and National Guard surveillance brigades, each having a specific

table of organization and equipment A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the u ...

. The changes made were all part of an Army-wide transition to the Army modular force, future-concept (" Grow The Army Plan" of modernization) proposed by

US Army Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

General

Peter Schoomaker Peter Jan Schoomaker (born February 12, 1946) is a retired four-star general of the United States Army who served as the 35th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 1, 2003 to April 10, 2007. Schoomaker's appointment as Chief of S ...

in 2007. That plan called for ten Surveillance Brigades. Former US Army Battlefield Surveillance Brigades By 2015, five Battlefield Surveillance Brigades were reorganized into expeditionary military intelligence brigades. The rest were converted to other types of units or inactivated.

References

{{Reflist *

Mission

Structure

Transformation

See also

References