Throughout the history of warfare, soldiers have needed to know who and where the enemy is. In order to address that need in the context of the 21st century threat, the army has planned for the creation and transformation of nine units, in 2007 to the Battlefield Surveillance Brigade format. The first Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BfSB) was deployed the same year conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operations.
However, gathering information is only half the challenge it faces. Along with the transformation of its structure and intelligence capabilities, the sustainment capabilities of the brigade also changed.[2] The United States Army is currently reorganizing its intelligence formations into Battlefield Surveillance Brigades (BfSB). The brigades are self-sufficient Army Modular Forces.
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The Brigades are meant to improve situational awareness for commanders at division or higher so they can focus joint combat power in current operations while simultaneously preparing for future operations. The units have the tools to respond to the commanders needs from unmanned aerial vehicles to signals gathering equipment and human intelligence collectors.[3] One of the major initiatives of the modernization plan involves migrating the Army from a division-centric force designed to fight one or two potential major-theater wars toward a modular, brigade-centric force that is expeditionary in nature and deployed continuously in different parts of the world.
The BfSB improves situational awareness for commanders at division or higher so they can focus joint combat power in current operations while simultaneously preparing for future operations. The units have the tools to respond to the commanders need from unmanned aerial vehicles to signals gathering equipment and human intelligence collectors.[3]
Each BfSB consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Active units have two military intelligence battalions, while the Army National Guard BfSB's have one. Each brigade has a Reconnaissance & Surveillance Squadron consisting of a headquarters troop, two ground troops (Troops A and B) and a Long Range Surveillance (LRS) unit (Troop C); a signals company (Network Support Company, or NSC); a Forward Support Company (FSC) and, depending on the component, at least one military intelligence company (MI).
Former units consisted of one active component and two inactive detachments, there are now both Active-duty and National Guard Surveillance Brigades, each having a specific Table of Organization and Equipment.
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 General Peter Schoomaker in 2007.[1] The plan calls for ten Surveillance Brigades, three of which are active units: the 504th BfSB at Fort Hood, Texas;[4][5] the 525th BfSB at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 201st BfSB at Fort Lewis, Washington.[6][7] The planned fourth active BfSB to have been stationed at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, had its activation cancelled. The remaining seven BfSB's are designated to the Army National Guard: the 58th BfSB from Maryland, the 67th BFSB from Nebraska, the 71st BfSB from Texas, the 142nd BfSB from Alabama, the 219th BfSB from Indiana, the 297th BfSB from Alaska, and the 560th BfSB from Georgia, all of which are moving to the objective designs by the scheduled completion of the Grow The Army Plan by fiscal year 2013.