)
, colors = Orange and white
, colors_label = Corps colors
, march =
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, anniversaries = 21 June 1860
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, notable_commanders = BG
Albert J. Myer
Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and United States Army general. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor ...
BG
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts an ...
, identification_symbol =
, identification_symbol_label = Branch insignia
, identification_symbol_2 =
, identification_symbol_2_label = Regimental insignia
, current_commander =
, current_commander_label =
, ceremonial_chief = Colonel Paul D. Howard
, ceremonial_chief_label = Chief of Signal
, command_sergeant_major = CSM Darien D. Lawshea
, command_sergeant_major_label = Sergeant Major of the Regiment
The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the
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 ...
that creates and manages
communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
and
information systems
An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...
for the
command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
of
combined arms
Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects (for example by using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other) ...
forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Major
Albert J. Myer
Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and United States Army general. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor ...
, and had an important role in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. Over its history, it had the initial responsibility for portfolios and new technologies that were eventually transferred to other U.S. government entities. Such responsibilities included
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 ...
,
weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...
, and
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
.
Mission statement
Support for the command and control of combined arms forces. Signal support includes network operations (information assurance, information dissemination management, and network management) and management of the electromagnetic spectrum. Signal support encompasses all aspects of designing, installing, data communications networks that employ single and multi-channel satellite, tropospheric scatter, terrestrial microwave, switching, messaging, video-teleconferencing, visual information, and other related systems. They integrate tactical, strategic and sustaining base communications, information processing and management systems into a seamless global information network that supports knowledge dominance for Army, joint and coalition operations.
Early history
While serving as a medical officer in Texas in 1856,
Albert James Myer
Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and United States Army general. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the invento ...
proposed that the Army use his visual communications system, called aerial telegraphy (or "wig-wag"). When the Army adopted his system on 21 June 1860, the Signal Corps was born with Myer as the first and only Signal Officer.
Major Myer first used his visual signaling system on active service in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
during the early 1860s Navajo expedition. Using flags for daytime signaling and a torch at night, wigwag was tested in
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
combat in June 1861 to direct the fire of a harbor battery at
Fort Wool
Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads, adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Now officially known as Rip Raps Island, the fort has an elevation of 7 feet and sits near Old Point ...
against the
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
positions opposite
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
. For nearly three years, Myer was forced to rely on detailed personnel, although he envisioned a separate, trained professional military signal service.
Myer's vision came true on 3 March 1863, when Congress authorized a regular Signal Corps for the duration of the war. Some 2,900 officers and enlisted men served, although not at any single time, in the Civil War Signal Corps.
Myer's Civil War innovations included an unsuccessful balloon experiment at
First Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas
, and, in response to McClellan's desire for a Signal Corps field telegraph train, an
electric telegraph
Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...
in the form of the Beardslee magnetoelectric telegraph machine. Even in the Civil War, the wigwag system, restricted to line-of-sight communications, was waning in the face of the electric telegraph.
Initially, Myer used his office downtown in Washington, D.C. to house the Signal Corps School. When it was found to need additional space, he sought out other locations. First came
Fort Greble
Fort Greble was an American Civil War-era Union fortification constructed as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during that war. Named for First Lieutenant John Trout Greble, the first West Point graduate killed in the U.S. Civil War, it p ...
, one of the
Defenses of Washington
The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (see Washington, D.C., in the Ame ...
during the Civil War, and when that proved inadequate, Myer chose Fort Whipple, on Arlington Heights overlooking the national capital. The size and location were outstanding. The school remained there for over 20 years and ultimately was renamed
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, ...
.
Signal Corps detachments participated in campaigns fighting Native Americans in the west, such as the Powder River Expedition of 1865.
In July 1866, Congress decided that there should be a unit or at least a Cadre of Signal even in peace time. It thereupon provided: One Chief Signal Officer of the Army, with the rank of Colonel. To confuse things even more, the 6 officers and 100 men authorized for the Signal Corp were to be chosen from the Corps of Engineers. Thus the Signal Corps was officially born.
The electric telegraph, in addition to visual signaling, became a Signal Corps responsibility in 1867. Within 12 years, the Signal Corps had constructed, and was maintaining and operating, some 4,000 miles of telegraph lines along the country's western frontier.
In 1870, the Signal Corps established a congressionally mandated
national weather service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...
. Within a decade, with the assistance of Lieutenant
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts an ...
, Myer commanded a weather service of international acclaim.
Myer died in 1880, having attained the rank of brigadier general and the title of Chief Signal Officer. In 1881, as a lasting memorial to General Myer, Fort Whipple was renamed
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, ...
.
The Weather Bureau became part of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
in 1891, while the corps retained responsibility for military meteorology.
In 1881, the Signal Corps participated in the First
International Polar Year
The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred ...
. One of the groups under the command of LT
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts an ...
was to write another grueling chapter of suffering and extinction in the history of the Arctic. Greely's Signal Corps volunteers became separated from their base camp and were marooned on a huge ice flow. They were decimated by starvation and drowning; of the original 25 volunteers, only 7 survived.
The Signal Corps' role in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
of 1898 and the subsequent
Philippine Insurrection
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
was on a grander scale than it had been in the Civil War. In addition to visual signaling, including
heliograph
A heliograph () is a semaphore system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter. The heliograp ...
, the corps supplied telephone and telegraph wire lines and cable communications, fostered the use of telephones in combat, employed combat photography, and renewed the use of balloons. Shortly after the war, the Signal Corps constructed the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), also known as the Alaska Communications System (ACS), introducing the first wireless telegraph in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
.
In October 1903,, Congress handed the then Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General Greely what may be considered the supreme challenge. Accompanied by an appropriation $25,000 it decreed that the military should "build a flying machine for war purposes". Needless to say, the first attempts at flying were failures, but BG Greely handed the contract to the Wright brothers who piloted the first aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
World War I
''For more details on this topic, see
Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, Appendix 2 (1907–1914) was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronaut ...
and
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and con ...
''
On 1 August 1907, an Aeronautical Division was established within the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OCSO). In 1908, on
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, ...
, Virginia, the Wright brothers made test flights of the Army's first airplane built to Signal Corps' specifications. Reflecting the need for an official pilot rating, War Department Bulletin No. 2, released on 24 February 1911, established a "Military Aviator" rating. Army aviation remained within the Signal Corps until 1918, when it became the
Army Air Service
The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...
.
During World War I. Chief Signal Officer George Owen Squier worked closely with private industry to perfect radio tubes while creating a major signal laboratory at Camp Alfred Vail (
Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
). Early radiotelephones developed by the Signal Corps were introduced into the European theater in 1918. While the new American voice radios were superior to the radiotelegraph sets, telephone and telegraph remained the major technology of World War I.
A pioneer in
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
, Colonel William Blair, director of the Signal Corps laboratories at Fort Monmouth, patented the first Army radar demonstrated in May 1937. Even before the United States entered World War II, mass production of two radar sets, the SCR-268 and the
SCR-270
The SCR-270 (Set Complete Radio model 270) was one of the first operational early-warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world. It is also known as the Pearl Harbor ...
, had begun. Along with the Signal Corps' tactical FM radio, also developed in the 1930s, radar was the most important communications development of World War II.
During World War I, women switchboard operators, known as the "
Hello Girls
Hello Girls was the colloquial name for American female switchboard operators in World War I, formally known as the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit. During World War I, these switchboard operators were sworn into the U.S. Army Signal ...
", were sworn into the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Despite the fact that they wore U.S. Army uniforms and were subject to Army regulations (Chief Operator
Grace Banker
Grace D. Banker (October 25, 1892 – December 17, 1960) was a telephone operator who served during World War I (1917–1918) as chief operator of mobile for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. She led thirty-th ...
received the
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
), they were not given honorable discharges but were considered "civilians" employed by the military, because Army regulations specified the male gender. Not until 1978—the 60th anniversary of the end of World War I—did
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
approve veteran status/honorable discharges for the remaining "Hello Girls".
World War II
When the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
was reorganized on 9 March 1942, the Signal Corps became one of the technical services in the Services of
Supply (later Army Service Forces). Its organized components served both the
Army Ground Forces
The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the large ...
and the Army Air Forces.
The Army Chief Signal Officer (CSO) was responsible for establishing and maintaining communications service schools for officers and enlisted soldiers, ranging in qualifications from those holding doctorates to functional illiterates. The single pre-war Signal training site was
Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
, New Jersey. To keep up with the demand for more signallers, the CSO opened more training facilities:
Camp Crowder
Fort Crowder was a U.S. Army post located in Newton and McDonald counties in southwest Missouri, constructed and used during World War II.
Establishment and purpose
Camp Crowder was a military installation named in honor of Major General Eno ...
, Missouri; Camp Kohler, California; and Camp Murphy, Florida.
The Eastern Signal Corps Training Center at Fort Monmouth consisted of an officers' school, an
officer candidate school
An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...
, an enlisted school and a
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...
center at subpost Camp Wood. The officer candidate school operated from 1941 to 1946 and graduated 21,033 Signal Corps second lieutenants.
The term "
RADAR
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
" was coined by the Navy in 1940 and agreed to by the Army in 1941. The first Signal Corps Field Manual on Aircraft Warning Service defined RADAR as "a term used to designate radio sets SCR (
Signal Corps Radio
Signal Corps Radios were U.S. Army military communications components that comprised "sets". Under the Army Nomenclature System, the abbreviation SCR initially designated "Set, Complete Radio", but was later misinterpreted as "Signal Corps Radio."
...
)-268 and
SCR-270
The SCR-270 (Set Complete Radio model 270) was one of the first operational early-warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world. It is also known as the Pearl Harbor ...
and similar equipment". The SCR-268 and 270 were not radios at all, but were designated as such to keep their actual function
secret
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
. Although important offensive applications have since been developed, radar emerged historically from the defensive need to counter the possibility of massive
aerial bombardment
An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...
.
In 1941, the laboratories at Fort Monmouth developed the
SCR-300
The SCR-300 was a portable radio transceiver used by US Signal Corps in World War II. This backpack-mounted unit was the first radio to be nicknamed a "walkie talkie".
History
In 1940, Motorola (then the Galvin Manufacturing Company) received a ...
, the first FM backpack radio. Its pioneering
frequency modulation
Frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave. The technology is used in telecommunications, radio broadcasting, signal processing, and computing.
In analog fre ...
circuits provided front-line troops with reliable, static-free communications. The labs also fielded multichannel FM radio relay sets (e.g., AN/TRC-1) in the European Theater of Operations as early as 1943. Multichannel radio broadcasting allowed several channels of communications to be broadcast over a single radio signal, increasing security and range and relieving
frequency spectrum
The power spectrum S_(f) of a time series x(t) describes the distribution of power into frequency components composing that signal. According to Fourier analysis, any physical signal can be decomposed into a number of discrete frequencies, ...
crowding.
In December 1942, the War Department directed the Signal Corps General Development Laboratories and the
Camp Evans
Camp Evans Historic District is an area of the Camp Evans Formerly Used Defense Site in Wall Township, New Jersey. The site of the military installation () is noted for a 1914 transatlantic radio receiver and various World War II/Cold War labo ...
Signal Lab to combine into the Signal Corps Ground Service (SCGS) with headquarters at
Bradley Beach, New Jersey
Bradley Beach is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 4,298,prisoners of war, arrived at Fort Monmouth to perform housekeeping duties. A lieutenant colonel and 500 enlisted men became hospital, mess, and repair shop attendants, relieving American soldiers from these duties.
One of the more unusual units of the Signal Corps were the Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCOs). These companies were Signal Corps units that were made up of several hundred
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
communications specialists specially trained to link land, sea and air operational elements. They saw combat throughout the Pacific and European theaters during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in late 1943. JASCOs were much larger than normal signal companies. The joint assault signal companies were the predecessor to the
Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) is an airborne fire support and liaison unit of the United States Marine Corps. The mission of ANGLICO is "To provide Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Commanders a liaison capability to plan, coo ...
that exists today. JASCOs represented but one of many unprecedented Signal Corps' activities in the Pacific theater. Shipboard fighting was a new kind of combat for Signal Corps soldiers. Army communicators sometimes plied their trade aboard Navy and civilian ships. Signal Corps personnel also served on Army communications ships.
In particular the
Southwest Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...
(SWPA) formed a fleet, unofficially known as the "Catboat Flotilla" and formally as the CP fleet, that served as command and communication vessels during amphibious operations, starting with two Australian schooners ''Harold'' and ''Argosy Lemal'' acquired by the Army and converted during the first half of 1943 by Australian firms into communications ships with AWA radio sets built by Amalgamated Wireless of Australia installed. These initial vessels were joined by ''
Geoanna
''Geoanna'' was a steel auxiliary schooner built in 1934 by Craig Shipbuilding Company in Long Beach, California. ''Geoanna'' was requisitioned during World War II for service briefly with the U.S. Navy before transfer to the U.S. Army for South ...
'', ''Volador'') and later by a more capable fleet as described in ''The Signal Corps: The Outcome (Mid-1943 Through 1945)'':
The first task was to obtain ships more suitable than the ''Harold'' or the ''Argosy''. Such a ship was the freighterpassenger, FP-47, acquired by Signal Corps in March 1944, at Sydney. The Army had built her in the United States in 1942, a sturdy, wooden, diesel-driven vessel only 114 feet long, but broad, of 370 tons, intended for use in the Aleutians. Instead she had sailed to Australia as a tug. The Signal Corps fitted her with Australian transmitters and receivers, also with an SCR-300 walkietalkie, two SCR-808's, and an SCR-608, plus power equipment, antennas, and, finally, quarters for the Signal Corps operators. The Australian sets were intended for long-range CW signals operating in the high frequencies; the SCRs were short-range VHF FM radios for use in the fleet net and for ship-toshore channels. Armed with antiaircraft weapons and machine guns (served by 12 enlisted men of the Army ship and gun crews), navigated by a crew of 6
Army Transport Service
The United States Army Transport Service (ATS) was established as a sea-going transport service that was independent of the Navy Department. ATS operated army transport ships for both troop transport and cargo service between United States ports ...
officers and the 12 men already mentioned, the FP-47 was ready for service in June. Her Signal Corps complement consisted of one officer and 12 men.
The facilities of FP-47 were needed immediately at Hollandia to supplement the heavily loaded signal nets that could hardly carry the message burden imposed by the invasion and the subsequent build-up there of a great base. Arriving on 25 June, she anchored offshore and ran cables to the message centers on land. Her powerful transmitters opened new channels to SWPA headquarters in Brisbane and to the advance headquarters still at Port Moresby. At Hollandia, and at Biak, to which the FP-47 moved early in September, this one ship handled an average of 7,000 to 11,000 code groups a day.
Many film industry personalities served in the Signal Corps, including Stan Lee, an American comic book writer,
Tony Randall
Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...
, the actor, and
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...
, radio storyteller, author and narrator of '' A Christmas Story''.
In 1942 General
George C. Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
ordered the creation of the Army Pictorial Service (APS) to produce motion pictures for the training, indoctrination, and entertainment of the American forces and their
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. The APS took over
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The pr ...
in 1942 and produced over 2,500 films during the war with over 1,000 redubbed in other languages. The Army left Astoria studios and film production in 1971.
Julius Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
worked for the Signal Corps Labs from 1940 to 1945. He was dismissed early in 1945 when it was learned he had been a member of the Communist Party USA secret apparatus, and had passed to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Project Diana
Project Diana, named for the Roman moon goddess Diana, was an experimental project of the US Army Signal Corps in 1946 to bounce radar signals off the Moon and receive the reflected signals. This was the first experiment in radar astronomy ...
, in 1946, successfully bounced radar signals off the moon, paving the way for space communications.
In 1948 researchers at Fort Monmouth grew the first synthetically produced large
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...
crystals. The crystals were able to be used in the manufacture of electronic components, and made the United States largely independent of foreign imports for this critical mineral. In 1949 the first auto-assembly of printed circuits was invented. A technique for assembling electronic parts on a printed circuit board, developed by Fort Monmouth engineers, pioneered the development and fabrication of miniature circuits for both military and civilian use. Although they did not invent the
transistor
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...
, Fort Monmouth scientists were among the first to recognize its importance, particularly in military applications, and did pioneer significant improvements in its composition and production.
Everything was to change as world tensions increased with the Cold War and the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
. To sustain the Army's worldwide commitments, it again became necessary to enlarge the capacity of every activity on-post.
In June 1950, with the onset of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
quickly received the necessary authorization to call the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
and
Organized Reserves
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 202 ...
to 21 months of active duty. He also signed a bill extending the Selective Service Act until 9 July 1951. The Officer Candidate School was reestablished.
The fighting in Korea brought to light the need for new techniques in the conduct of modern warfare. The use of mortars by the enemy, and the resultant need to quickly locate and destroy the mortar sites resulted in development of the Mortar-Radar Locator AN/MPQ-3 and AN/MPQ-10 at the Communications Electronics Research and Development Engineering Center, better known as the
Albert J. Myer
Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and United States Army general. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor ...
Center, or simply, the Hexagon. Korea's terrain and road nets, along with the distance and speed with which communications were forced to travel, limited the use of wire. The Signal Corps' VHF radio became the "backbone" of tactical communications throughout the war.
The development of new equipment, however, placed requirements on the Signal Corps to provide increased numbers of trained electronics personnel to work in the
fire control
Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...
and guided missiles firing battery systems. To meet this need, Signal Corps Training Units—the 9614th and 9615th—were established at
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Maryland and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. These units provided instruction on electronics equipment used in the anti-aircraft artillery and guided missile firing systems.
Following the arrest of the
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
in 1950, two former Fort Monmouth scientists,
Joel Barr
Joel Barr (January 1, 1916 – August 1, 1998), also Iozef Veniaminovich Berg and Joseph Berg, was part of the Soviet Atomic Spy Ring.
Background
Born Joyel Barr in New York City, to immigrant parents of Ukrainian Jewish origin. He attended C ...
and
Alfred Sarant
Alfred Epaminondas Sarant, also known as Filipp Georgievich Staros and Philip Georgievich Staros (September 26, 1918 – March 12, 1979), was an engineer and a member of the Communist party in New York City in 1944. He was part of the Rosenbe ...
, defected to the Soviet Union. On 31 August 1953, having received word of possible subversive activities from Fort Monmouth's commanding general, Kirke B. Lawton, the Chairman of the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...
(PSI), SenatorJoseph McCarthy, suspected a spy ring still existed in the Signal Corps labs. At first, McCarthy conducted his hearings behind closed doors, but opened them to the public on 24 November 1953. Extensive
Congressional hearing
A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure unique ...
s were continued in 1955 under the chairmanship of Senator John McClellan of Arkansas.
In the 1950s the Army Pictorial Service produced a series of television programs called '' The Big Picture'' that were often aired on American television. The last episode was produced in 1971.
On 18 December 1958, with
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
assistance, the Signal Corps launched its first
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
,
Project SCORE
SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment) was the world's first purpose-built communications satellite. Launched aboard an American Atlas rocket on December 18, 1958, SCORE provided the second test of a communications relay sys ...
, demonstrating the feasibility of worldwide communications in delayed and real-time mode by means of relatively simple active satellite relays.
The Vietnam War's requirement for high-quality telephone and message circuits led to the Signal Corps' deployment of tropospheric-scatter radio links that could provide many circuits between locations more than 200 miles apart. Other developments included the SYNCOM satellite communications service, and a commercial fixed-station system known as the Integrated Wideband Communications System, the Southeast Asia link in the
Defense Communications System
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA prov ...
.
Korean War and Vietnam War
During the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
the Signal Corps operated officer candidate schools initially at Fort Monmouth in 1950–1953, graduating 1,234 officers, and at Fort Gordon in 1965–1968, which produced 2,213 signal officers. (The World War II Signal OCS program at Fort Monmouth, from 1941–1946 graduated 21,033 Signal Corps officers.)
Modern warfare utilizes three main sorts of signal soldiers. Some are assigned to specific military bases ("Base Ops"), and they are charged with installation, operation and maintenance of the base communications infrastructure along with hired civilian contracted companies. Others are members of non-signal Army units, providing communications capability for those with other jobs to accomplish (e.g. infantry, medical, armor, etc.) in much the same way as, say, the unit supply sections, unit clerks, or chemical specialists. The third major sort of signaleer is one assigned to a signal unit. That is to say, a unit whose only mission is to provide communications links between the Army units in their area of operations and other signal nodes in further areas served by other signal units.
Sending radio signals across the vast Pacific Ocean had always been unreliable. In August 1964, radio communications across the sea were given a huge boost in quality: The first satellite terminal ever installed in a combat zone was installed in Ba Queo, near Saigon, led by Warrant Officer Jack Inman. This enabled trustworthy communications to Hawaii, and thereby to Washington, D.C.
From north to south, communicating across the varied landscapes of Vietnam presented a variety of challenges, from mountains to jungle. The answer came by utilizing the technology of "troposcatter". A radio signal beamed up into the atmosphere is "bounced" back down to Earth with astonishingly good results, bypassing debilitating terrain. The Army had little experience with this technology, so they contracted the development of the systems to Page Engineering. In January 1962, Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...
approved the system of troposcatter units under the operational name of BACKPORCH.
The escalation of the number of troops in the Vietnam War caused an increasing need for more communications infrastructure. In the spring of 1966 the assorted Signal units were reassigned to the newly formed 1st Signal Brigade. By the close of 1968 this brigade consisted of six signal groups, and 22 signal battalions—roughly 23,000 soldiers.
The first Vietnam War death on the battlefield was a Signal Corps radio operator, SP4 James Thomas Davis of the 3rd Radio Research Unit of the
United States Army Security Agency
The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the United States Army's signals intelligence branch from 1945 to 1976. The Latin motto of the Army Security Agency was ''Semper Vigiles'' (Vigilant Always), which echoes the declaration, often ...
.
Post Vietnam and Gulf War
A major program in 1988 was the initial production and deployment phase of the mobile-subscriber equipment (MSE) system. The MSE system called for setting up the equivalent of a mobile telephone network on a battlefield, allowing a commander or Tactical Operations Center (TOC) to connect mobile telephones and fax machines in vehicles with each other, sending and receiving secure information. Talking through signal nodes, MSE established a seamless connection from the battlefield even back to commercial telephone lines. Significant to the Signal soldiers, MSE was fielded on the backs of
Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ...
, rather than on the larger, less-mobile
M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck M35, M.35 or M-35 may refer to:
Military
* M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck, a US Army truck
* , a Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel launched in 1982
* ADGZ or ''M35 Mittlere Panzerwagen'', a 1930s Austrian Army heavy armored car
* Cannone ...
s—the "deuce and a half".
By 1990, most Army units had replaced their older VRC-12 series FM radios for the new
SINCGARS
Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) is a Combat-net radio (CNR) used by U.S. and allied military forces. The CNR network is designed around three systems: SINCGARS, the high frequency (HF) radio, and the SC tactical sate ...
("SINgle-Channel Ground-Air Radio Systems") family of equipment. Rather than sending a signal along one signal frequency, the SINCGARS radios sent its signals across many frequencies, "hopping" from one frequency to another at high speed. This allowed many nets to share an already-crowded frequency spectrum. Later generations of these radios combined the communications security (COMSEC) encryption devices with the receiver/transmitter, making a single easier-to-program unit. Most significant, the SINCGARS radios could send and receive digital traffic with great fidelity. By the advent of
Operation Desert Shield
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
, all Army units were deployed using the most secure FM communications in the world. The SINCGARS radios have a failure rate in extreme heat of once every 7,000 hours compared to the VRC-12 series' failure rate of 2–300 hours.
Global War on Terror
Since 11 September 2001, the Signal Corps has been supporting the Global War on Terror in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Signal Corps is currently fielding the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T). It will eventually provide "On-The-Move" down to the company level for maneuver, fires and aviation brigades, and will fully support the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program; and also provide protected satellite communications "On-The-Move" capability against jamming, detection and intercept and will be aligned with the Telecommunications Satellite (TSAT) program.
Military occupational specialties
Signal Corps List of United States Army careers#Signal Corps Branch, military occupational specialties are:
Enlisted
* 25B: Information Technology Specialist
* 25D: Cyber Network Defender
* 25E: Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager
* 25H: Network Communications Systems Specialist
* 25M: Multimedia Illustrator
* 25P: Microwave Systems Operator / Maintainer
* 25R: Visual Information Equipment Operator / Maintainer
* 25S: Satellite Communication Systems Operator / Maintainer
* 25T: Satellite / Microwave Systems Chief
* Signal Support Systems Specialist (United States Army), 25U: Signal Support Systems Specialist
* 25V: Combat Documentation / Production Specialist
* 25Z: Visual Information Operations Chief
* 26L: Microwave Radio Operator / Repairman
* 36C: Telephone Lineman / Field Wireman
* 68X: Armament and Electrical Systems Repairer AH-64 A and D models
* 94F: Computer/Detection Systems Repairer
* 74F: Computer Programmer Analyst
Warrant officer
* 255A Information Services Technician
* 255n, 255N Network Management Technician
* 255S Information Protection Technician
* 255Z Senior Signal Systems Technician
:Note 1: 250N has been changed to 255N.
:Note 2: 251A and 254A have been merged into 255A.
:Note 3: 255S is new.
Commissioned officer areas of concentration (AOC)
* 25A Signal Officer
Commissioned officer functional areas (FA)
* FA26A Telecommunications Systems Engineer
* FA26B Information Systems Engineer
Heraldic items
Coat of arms
* Shield: Argent, within a bordure tenne a baton fesswise or and suspended therefrom a signal flag gules charged at center with a square of the first, in chief a mullet bronze.
* Crest: On a wreath of the colors argent and tenne a dexter hand couped at the wrist, clenched, palm affronte, grasping three forked lightning flashes, all proper, flashes argent.
* Motto: ''Pro Patria Vigilans'' (Watchful for the Country).
* The U.S. Army Signal Corps March: "From flag and torch in the Civil War, to signal satellites afar, we give our Army the voice to give command on battlefield or global span, in combat, we're always in the fight we speed the message day or night, technicians too, ever skillful, ever watchful, we're the Army Signal Corps."
* Symbolism:
# Orange and white are the colors traditionally associated with the Signal Corps.
# The signal flag suspended from a baton is adopted from a badge that originated in 1865 and was called the Order of the Signal Corps.
# The bronze battle star represents formal recognition for participation in combat. It adorned a signal flag and was first awarded to Signal Corps soldiers in 1862.
Branch insignia
* The Signal Corps branch insignia is represented by two signal flags crossed, dexter flag white with a red center, the sinister flag red with a white center, staffs gold, with a flaming torch of gold color metal upright at center of crossed flags.
# "Crossed flags" have been used by the Signal Corps since 1868, when they were prescribed for wear on the uniform coat by enlisted men of the Signal Corps.
# In 1884, a burning torch was added to the insignia and the present design adopted on 1 July 1884.
# The flags and torch are symbolic of signaling or communication.
Regimental Distinctive Insignia
* Description: A gold color metal and enamel device that consists of a gold eagle grasping a horizontal baton from which is suspended a red signal flag with a white center, enclosing the flag from a star at the bottom, a wreath of laurel all gold and at top left and right a white scroll inscribed PRO PATRIA at left and VIGILANS at right in gold.
* Symbolism:
# The gold eagle holds in his talons a golden baton, from which descends a signal flag.
# The design originated in 1865 from a meeting of Signal Corps officers, led by Major
Albert J. Myer
Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and United States Army general. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor ...
, the chief signal officer, in Washington, D.C.
# The badge was a symbol of faithful service and good fellowship for those who served together in war and was called the Order of the Signal Corps.
# The motto ''Pro Patria Vigilans'' (Watchful for the Country) was adopted from the Signal School insignia and serves to portray the cohesiveness of Signal soldiers and their affiliation with their regimental home.
# The laurel wreath depicts the myriad achievements through strength made by the corps since its inception.
# The battle star centered on the wreath represents formal recognition for participation in combat. It adorned a signal flag and was first awarded to Signal Corps soldiers in 1862. The battle star typifies the close operational relationship between the combined arms and the Signal Corps.
Inception
The Signal Corps was authorized as a separate branch of the Army by Act of Congress on 3 March 1863 (Public Law No. 58 Article VIII, Section 17 and 18). However, the Signal Corps dates its existence from 21 June 1860, when Congress authorized the appointment of one signal officer in the Army, and a War Department order carried the following assignment: "Signal Department—Assistant Surgeon Albert J. Myer to be Signal Officer, with the rank of Major, 17 June 1860, to fill an original vacancy."
Branch color
Orange with white piping. Orange was selected in 1872 as the Signal Corps branch color. In 1902, the white piping was added to conform to the custom that prevailed of having piping of a different color for all branches except the line branches.
Notable members
Notable members of the Signal Corps include General of the Army (later General of the Air Force) Henry H. Arnold, Frank Capra, John Cheever, Frank Lautenberg, Stan Lee, Russ Meyer,
Tony Randall
Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play '' The Odd Couple'' by Neil Sim ...
,
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...
, John C. Holmes,
Julius Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
, Darryl Zanuck, Samuel Alito, and Carl Foreman.
Five members of the Signal Corps have been awarded the Medal of Honor:
* Pfc. Will C. Barnes, for actions during the Indian Wars
* 1Lt. Gordon Johnston (soldier), Gordon Johnston, for actions during the Philippine–American War
* 1Lt. Charles E. Kilbourne, for actions during the Philippine–American War
* Pvt. Morgan D. Lane, for actions during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
* BG
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts an ...
, for life service to the Signal Corps and Army Service from the American Civil War until 1908
See also
* List of U.S. Signal Corps Vehicles
* Ghost Army, Ghost Army (''Operation Quicksilver'')
* Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM)/9th Army Signal Command, Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command (Army)
* Joint Electronics Type Designation System
* Russian Signal Troops
* [http://www.history.army.mil/banner_images/focus/150th_signal_corps.html 150th Anniversary Portal] at the United States Army Center of Military History
Army Lineage Series – Signal Corps